Joshua 18-19, Jeremiah 41, Proverbs 17:1-14

Read Joshua 18-19, Jeremiah 41, and Proverbs 17:1-14.

This devotional is about Proverbs 17:10

I’ve never received “a hundred lashes” in my life, thankfully. Two or three swats on the backside, when I was a kid? Yes, that happened to me a few times, but never any lashes. Old Testament law allowed for a guilty person to be beaten, but the number lashes was limited to 39 (see Deuteronomy 25:1-3). ¹ But our Proverb for today says that a fool can receive a hundred lashes–more than double what God’s law allowed–without it changing him or his actions.

You would think that such a beating would change someone’s behavior. I almost got caught jaywalking the other day. If I had received even one lash for that, I don’t think I would never do it again. But the fool is stubborn; he will not change even when the consequences are severe. Why not? Because the fool thinks he is always right. He determines for himself what is right or wrong, good or bad, wise or unwise.

Proverbs and other passages of scripture tell us that the fool has rejected God. God, as our Creator, is the ultimate authority. And, God is truth, so he is never wrong. Once a person rejects God, then, why would he listen to any other authority? This person is unteachable by choice, so no amount of human punishment will change him. He also won’t be changed if the consequences of his actions lead to painful results in his life.

By contrast, the first part of our verse, Proverbs 17:10 says, “A rebuke impresses a discerning person….” The word rebuke is a good choice by the NIV’s translators, because the Hebrew word behind it is strong–even carrying the idea of a threat. And the word “discerning” here is describing someone who is skilled at life. So, the Lord is telling us that someone who is skilled at life will listen when he is told that he is wrong, when he is warned about the future consequences of his actions, and when he is threatened with punishment if he does a certain act.

We humans don’t like it when someone tells us we’re wrong or threatens us if we do something or do something again. But, a rebuke is a powerful way to learn. It can keep you from those one hundred lashes or from the natural lashes that life deals out when we make bad decisions.

So, how about it? Are you taking criticism to heart–not believing that something is defective about you as a person, but that your choices or behavior is wrong or unwise? When you get a bad review at work, do you listen and find out how you can perform better? Or, if your spouse expresses his or her dislike for something you do, are you willing to stop doing that thing?

God wants you to be wise. He loves you and wants you to avoid the lashes that this world holds for the foolish. Be the wise person who listens to a rebuke.

1. Incidentally, in 2 Corinthians 11:24, Paul wrote, “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.” This is a reference to the punishment prescribed in Deuteronomy 25:1-4. It happened to him five times! ↩︎