Proverbs 24:27 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

Navigator

Proverbs 24:27

Comments

This proverb is about following a proper order in all that we do in the spiritual life. It is taught by means of an illustration depicting a settler who comes to a new piece of land on which he plans to set up home. There is no house when he arrives and the land has not yet been subdued. He is going to need to be self-sufficient and support himself. What then would be the point of building a fine house with all its fineries and trimmings when the land has not been cultivated and there is no produce coming into the house for the family to live off? He cannot turn to his friends and ask them to supply all his needs, because they will reply that he has gone about things in the wrong order. He ought to have put up a basic structure and concentrated on establishing his small holding, clearing the land of scrub and weeds, planting good crops, and putting up fences for his livestock, because it is more important to have something to eat than to have all the best furnishings in his house. The fine house is the final piece to be added to the smallholding, but if it is built at the start, it will be unsustainable and will become a folly.

Application

The same principle applies in the kingdom of heaven. Let no one rush to call himself a disciple of Christ before he has counted the cost. The man who presents himself or the ministry without having studied Scripture and learned its doctrines, without having any experience in God’s house or any proving that he is really called by God; he cannot take on the role of a pastor-teacher. He has not yet shown himself to be a workman who needs not be ashamed. Even the apostle Paul had to spend years of preparation, first in Arabia and then in Cilicia, from where he was fetched by Barnabas, before he could begin to serve as an apostle. Even the Sunday school teacher cannot go straight into the work on being converted, but must receive some training and learn to handle children and prove than he has understood how to communicate gospel truth to the young. On a larger scale, the Christian does not expect to rest in this world but to work for the Lord; his place of rest and the fruit that follows from his labour is in the world to come.

Questions

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Proverbs 24:27 Commentary and Bible Study