Understanding Proverbs 22:15-- "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him."

There's a popular proverb in my mother tongue (Yoruba) that roughly translates into "A white chicken does not realise its own age." Of course most Yoruba people know that this isn't at all about a literal mature white chicken acting like a chick. We know that this Yoruba proverb is a cue for its recipient to "Respect yourself."

This hidden meaning in words reflects the style of the entire Book of Proverbs. In fact, Proverbs 1 tells us the purpose of the Book:

"These kingdom revelations will break open your understanding to unveil the deeper meaning of parables, poetic riddles, and epigrams, and to unravel the words and enigmas of the wise." Proverbs 1:6 (TPT).

Christ our Wisdom from God is "the Wise." The Proverbs break open our understanding of His words. Little wonder there are 31 in all- one for each day of the month and we do as He says aka "pay attention to my words, incline your ear to my saying" by His Grace alone, so ask.

Each proverb in the Book is a poetic riddle; an enigma of the wise, not to be taken at face value alone. For the believer in Christ, the Book of Proverbs and indeed the entire Old Testament is all about Jesus Christ and our salvation in Him. Recall Luke 24 where Christ preached the gospel to two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus? This was on the same day of His resurrection. See what Christ did as He walked with them on the way in Luke 24:27 —

“And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."

That same evening, Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem (the same Luke 24;) check out what He did in verse 45 (MSG)-

“He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.”

All of this happened on Resurrection Day. The New Testament had not yet been written. Christ taught His disciples about Himself in all the Scriptures -- including the Book of Proverbs. It's all about Jesus Christ and our salvation in Him. He teaches us to read our Bible through the lens of His finished work. For every demand, Christ is the Supply. He gives us an example of how to read the Old Testament in John 3:14-17 which shows us that we are saved from sin and death (get to "not perish but have eternal life") the same way the Israelites who were bitten by fiery serpents in the wilderness were saved from the serpents' sting (sin nature inherited from Adam) and its deathly effects (acts of sin that lead to death)-- by looking at the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up; for us, by looking to Christ lifted up for our salvation from sin and death plus its symptoms of lack, sickness and stupid mistakes. The bronze serpent is a type of Christ. But many churchgoers are trying to get rid of the sting and treat their wound (sin nature and sins/its deathly symptoms) by human effort. Beloved, let's not be found here. 

Now  consider Proverbs 22:15 bearing in mind that this is a riddle; an enigma that should not be taken at face value alone--

"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him."

While this has literal applications, even more important to note is that this riddle is all about Jesus and our Salvation in Him. 

First, the word "child" above is translated from the Hebrew word "na'ar." This does not just refer to kids.  The word is used a total of 238 times in the Bible: 76 times for "young man" and 54 times for "servant." Only 7 times is it used to refer to "children." In essence, the word "na'ar" is used principally for "young man" or "servant." So this verse is not simply about disciplining kids in whose heart "Foolishness is bound up..."

Then there's the Bible's interpretation of "foolishness." Man interprets "foolish" as being stupid, silly, idiotic or lacking in good judgment. Not so God's word whose definition of foolish we find in Galatians 3--

"Oh, FOOLISH Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How FOOLISH can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ."

In essence, "foolishness" according to God's word is trying to obey the law in order to get into God's good graces. It is calling oneself a Christian while depending/trusting in human effort for the attainment of godliness or any good thing. Proverbs 28:26 buttresses this truth:

"The one who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe."

To walk in Wisdom is to utterly trust none of self and ALL of Christ our Wisdom from God who came down from heaven to give life to we who were dead in our trespasses. The foolish are those who say:

"God will not come down from heaven to bathe your children and make your bed. Now that you are saved by Grace, you have to do your best to be godly so that you can be successful and xyz."

The above antichrist doctrine subtly reposes confidence in human effort for the attainment of perfection! The very definition of foolishness aka--

"How FOOLISH can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?" Galatians 3:5.

It is akin to telling an utterly helpless person who formerly had no brain, spinal cord, skeleton or blood (was totally dead) but now, has been joined to Christ who has become all these things and much more to him and no longer lives but Christ lives in him-- it's akin to telling him-

"Now that Christ has taken over you and you no longer live, you have to at least try to be financially smart and godly so that you can maintain your salvation and so that God can bless you."

The one with that kind of "I can be good by myself" mindset when Christ says "There is  none good but God" - that one is still alive in himself so he can take credit for his works/boast in the flesh (human effort.) For we who believe Jesus, we know that even our breathing, walking and our plenty good works and prosperity are all the evidences of God's Grace (Christ Himself) working in our lives; He gets ALL the credit/glory. Apart from Him, we can do nothing, not even be willing to do His good pleasure. He gives the willingness and the ability (Philippians 2:13.) In essence, Proverbs (a riddle, enigma) says:

"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him."

We can interpret this as:

"Foolishness (trying to be good/perfect like God by human effort while claiming that Christ is one's righteousness) is bound up in the heart of a child (young man, servant); The rod of correction will drive it far from him."

But what about the rod of correction that drives foolishness far from a young man or servant? Beloved, the word "rod" is translated from the Hebrew word "shavet" meaning:

"a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.)"

Beloved, to cut a long story short, the "rod of correction" is God's law- given to drive foolishness far from us and to cause us to see our utter need for God's saving Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. See the purpose of the law in Galatians 3:19--

"19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people."

Also Romans 3:19-20-- "19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."

Beloved, the law which kills and gives the knowledge of good and evil like the tree of the same name in Eden was given not for us to keep in order to be godly (be like God) as Adam and Eve tried to do. No, beloved. The law was given to  show us our utter sinfulness of ourselves, bring us to the end of our self-help tether and cause us to see our utter need for God's saving Grace. Galatians 5:4 says-

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s Grace.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ says in Revelation 3-

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. 16 I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:15-16

Don't let anyone misinterpret these verses for you, deceiving you into thinking that being "hot" is burning for Christ by keeping the Law and being made right with God by doing its works. That horridly wrong interpretation of "neither cold not hot" would mean that being "cold" is living a hedonistic life without regard for God's law. Why would Christ wish for any to be this way? Our Lord said: 

"I wish you were either one or the other!"

Christ would rather we were HOT or COLD: totally under Grace where we get to have Him as our righteousness and strength and thus "live in triumph over sin and death" according to Romans 5:17; or totally under Law in its cold, rigid and pristine condition where one has to cut off limbs that cause one to sin and where breaking one law is equal to breaking all according to James 2:10. This way, man will realise the futility of trying to attain righteousness by keeping the law and thus see his utter need for God’s grace and thus, overcome sin and death. Hence Proverbs 22:15 beloved--

"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him."

aka--

"Foolishness (being neither cold nor hot/mixing law and grace/trying to be good or perfect by human effort) is bound up in the heart of a child (young man, servant) but the rod of correction (the law) will drive it far from him."

This was the experience of yours truly and many of us Grace children. Can you imagine feeling great guilt and condemnation for using hyperbole in a sentence e.g saying “she spilled water all over the floor" when the water didn’t really cover the entire floor? Constantly fearful, confessing sins and fasting and all sorts to get God to help and forgive me for things like lying to my mom that I was almost at her place when I was still far away. Churchgoers who claim to be for Christ (hot) but think they can obey the law (cold)have no idea about the law's severity. The law does not understand--

“I did my best and tried in the other laws so God will understand, do the rest and bless me.” 

That reasoning/mindset is as FOOLISH as the adulteress who was dragged to Jesus for stoning thinking that she could escape death based on the good things that she did previously or promises to be better. That is the definition of "neither cold nor hot." No matter what she did, the law demanded her death.

Thanks to false preachers who present a watered-down version of the law to their congregation such that they think that they can notch up points of righteousness with God by keeping it, the severity and utter rigidity of the law is lost on those who follow such lukewarm teaching. The utterly undeserved, unearned, unmerited nature of Grace as well as His free benefits is also lost on such who try to earn it via obedience and works. They lose both the wine and the wine skin.

The law demands absolute righteousness from those who are trying to get right with God or inherit eternal life by obeying it. See James 2:10. The law is not bothered about the ethical basis for sins like whether you stole because you were hungry or to save a life or the good things one did. Under law, every sin will be punished to the uttermost: Death. The ONLY language that the law understands to let one off the hook of the wrath of the Righteous Judge is the blood of Jesus. 

I promised myself and God and DETERMINED never to repeat some sins (very foolish, like Peter being determined to not deny Jesus!) Of course sin increased. Yet I plodded on in my works and had no idea that all of my (self-)righteous obedience and efforts at trying to get right with God amounted to the following in His sight-

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." Isaiah 64:6.

I got so exhausted trying to get right with God and get the blessing through obeying the Ten Commandments and trying to be good that I told God one day: “I can't do this anymore. I give up. I can't fight the devil. I can't obey the law. Do whatever you want with me. I can't go on like this….”

I was at the end of my self-help tether; and the PURPOSE OF THE LAW was fulfilled in me without me realising it as it is written in Proverbs 22:15-

"Foolishness (being neither cold nor hot/mixing law and grace/trying to be good or perfect by human effort) is bound up in the heart of a child (young man, servant) but the rod of correction (the law) will drive it far from him."

By God's Grace, we read the Old Testament as Christ teaches us to do-- Seeing Him in the Word and seeing the word through the lens of His Grace towards you and I.

The law was not given to for us to keep in order to get right with God, beloved. It was given to show up our guilt, to make us see how much we need God's saving Grace- Jesus Christ. Beloved of God, Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him: 

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Only in Christ do we get to live in triumph over sin and death, including death's symptoms of lack, sickness, depression, stupid mistakes, people just disliking one/zero acceptance or favour before God and man and every earthly ill. Beloved of God, only in Christ the Beloved are we accepted/highly favoured. 

Beloved of God, why don't you stop striving and start believing? By God's Grace, understand the purpose of the law, let go of your silly efforts to save yourself and let Christ love you into wholeness. Hear it from our Lord God Himself--

"God, the Master, The Holy of Israel,

    has this solemn counsel:

“Your salvation requires you to turn back to Me

    and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.

Your strength will come from settling down

    in complete dependence on Me—..." Isaiah 30:15-17 (MSG.)

When your believing is right, right living will follow.