Hope for a Future
Holidays 2024 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof:
But by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
Introduction
Introduction
My favorite subject in school was history. I enjoyed learning more outside of class through my own reading. Perhaps it is because my dad is a big fan of history as well. Regardless, I have learned much about history over the years. One of the truths that a historian will tell you is that history often repeats itself. Patterns emerge both in world history and in American history.
One of these patterns in world history is that moral poverty in a land foretells a swift end to that nation. We see this the most dramatically in the Fall of Rome. The Romans themselves began to spend more time enjoying the spoils of war and less in fighting and protecting their empire. This began as early as the time of Christ but was seen most dramatically in the centuries after. Reading a book about the history of Rome is a tale of intrigue and political maneuvering. Many times the city was partially burned by partisans of whoever had captured the imperial throne. The followers of the losing leader were killed and their possessions taken or burned.
We can even see the destruction of corruption as far back in history as Egypt. During a trip to spend time with the poet Percy Shelly and his wife, Horace Smith wrote a poem. The poem was in response to a statue of a pharoah that had been found in Egypt. Percy Shelly wrote a poem as well which is the more famous of the two. Both poems point to the truth that there is a time that is designated for each nation on earth. God has put bounds on the days that each nation will exist and the power that each has. The distinction of the poem by Smith is that it brings this truth home to the reader today.
Smith wrote,
In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desert knows:—
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
The wonders of my hand."— The City's gone,—
Naught but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.
We wonder — and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place.
— Horace Smith, "Ozymandias"
What will be said of our country? But there is comfort in the proverb that we see today. We will see that though sin maybe present in our land, there is hope for the servant of God. What part are we going to play in the days of our country?
Declaration
Declaration
Realize there is a restlessness in our land. We must choose to be the one who is both discerning and intelligent to ensure the longevity of our land. We see here two announcements this proverb makes.
1. We Might Have only a Few Years Left
1. We Might Have only a Few Years Left
Proverbs 28:2a (KJV 1900)
For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof:
A. Because there is transgression in the land
A. Because there is transgression in the land
What does the word transgression mean? This is a word indicating that a crime has been committed when a law has been broken. In the Proverbs, it has a broader meaning that the Covenant has been breached or a relationship has been severed between two people. There are crimes happening all over the land described in this proverb.
One commentator listed the ways that this word is described throughout Scripture,
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament 1846 פָּשַׁע
Not only does pešaʿ create a gulf between God and man, it generates distortions within himself, i.e. a tendency to hide his actions (Job 34:6), deceitfulness (Prov 28:24), apathy (Ps 36:1 [H 2]), illness (Ps 107:17), a love for strife (Prov 17:19), a sense of enslavement (Prov 12:13), easily angered (Prov 29:22), hypocritical worship (Isa 58:1) and a sense of defilement (Ezk 14:11). In one case, pešaʿ is depicted as a heavy, crushing weight (Isa 24:20).
Whoso robbeth his father or his mother,
And saith, It is no transgression;
The same is the companion of a destroyer.
The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips:
But the just shall come out of trouble.
That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God.
There was transgression even in the nation of Israel at the time of Solomon’s writing. This transgression in the land was expounded later on in the time of Amos.
Thus saith the Lord;
For three transgressions of Judah,
And for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof;
Because they have despised the law of the Lord,
And have not kept his commandments,
And their lies caused them to err,
After the which their fathers have walked:
For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins:
They afflict the just, they take a bribe,
And they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
Here this proverb about transgression is found in the context of a list of proverbs in chapters 28-29 that were used to instruct a new ruler for taking the throne. Solomon is preparing instruction for Rehoboam and his descendants who will take the throne of Israel. One subject that is often mentioned in this section is the the poor. We even see that in the next verse,
A poor man that oppresseth the poor
Is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
We see here the transgression in the land. In the Old Testament, we see that a land or nation is centered on a common lineage. The land here could have been any of the nations of the world at the time. Gen 10 gives 70 as the number of the families and this is found often in the writings of the rabbis as encapsulating the entire world. Whether the land of Israel or Assyria, there was transgression there. Even in America, we have transgressions. We have both legal and moral crimes. There is spiritual rebellion from God.
Righteousness exalteth a nation:
But sin is a reproach to any people.
B. Because there is division among the leadership
B. Because there is division among the leadership
The Kingdom of Israel had much conflict and strife after it split from Judah under Solomon’s son. Under Jeroboam and the following kings, the nation’s transgression increase greatly. During that time Hosea wrote,
Israel hath cast off the thing that is good:
The enemy shall pursue him.
They have set up kings, but not by me:
They have made princes, and I knew it not:
Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols,
That they may be cut off.
The real topic of the proverb before us is leadership and its relationship with the transgression in the land. Someone has wisely said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership”. In the Old Testament, leadership was not a developed skill or based on special talents. Instead, it was based on the relationship between the leader and how he conducted himself as a servant of God. Servant leadership was not a servant to others but to God Himself. The transgression and crime of the land show that serving God was not happening as it should have.
The word for prince here denotes those with power and influence but without the title of king. These were civic leaders who lead people in their neighborhoods and towns. These were the leaders that the people would have seen and interacted with every day. We see the importance of good leadership throughout the proverbs.
On the subject of wisdom, Solomon said
By me princes rule,
And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
Another,
Delight is not seemly for a fool;
Much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
The proverb before us can have one or both of two interpretations to the reader:
Because of transgression in the land, there are many leaders who try to lead at the same time. Chaos is the result. Every group vies for power and there is conflict and division. The time of Christ is a perfect Biblical example of this. The zealots and the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians, all were vying for position. Division was everywhere. This was a time of unrest that ended in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
Because of transgression in the land, there is a quick succession of different leaders over a short period. No consistency in policy. No peace or prosperity. Intrigue and bribery are prevalent. We see this pictured in the later history of the kingdom of Israel after the division. Murder was the method used to depose the rulers. In just a few years, several different families rule and are killed in the palace.
How does the transgression of the land effect its leadership? We have a story in Genesis that shows us the affect of transgression upon the leadership of a city. In Genesis 18, we see the story of God’s visit to Abraham on the plains of Mamre. God came to speak with Abraham specifically about Isaac’s birth.
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
During the visit, He chooses to tell Abraham that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed because of their blatant transgression. Abraham was familiar with the transgression of the cities and he knew a man who he greatly loved who lived in one of them. For the sake of Lot, his nephew, Abraham obtains a promise from God that if there were ten righteous people in the city, He would spare it. Abraham likely believed that at least ten would be righteous or perhaps he would have gone lower.
And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
As we see the story turn to the cities themselves in chapter 19, only Lot, his wife, and his two daughters heed the call to leave the condemned city. Though a leader in the city, we see him sitting in the gate, he could not bring about a change in the transgression of the people. He could not even convince his sons-in-law to leave the city. The transgression of the land had affected his leadership in the city of Sodom! His legacy is one that ends with the loss of all that he had and the destruction of his home because of the transgression of the land.
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
One resource explained the chaos of corrupt leadership this way,
Proverbs The Penalty of Revolt
If the crew of a vessel put their officers in irons, the difficulty will immediately arise as to who is to guide the vessel. If this is not speedily settled, the ship will be in danger of running upon the rocks while she is drifting on without a guide. It is the same with the vessel of the State. Many justifiable efforts to better the government of a country have broken down at this point—although there has been entire unity of feeling in favour of a change, there has been a great diversity of opinion as to who should inaugurate it and succeed those who have been deprived of authority
Leadership is not just a secular concern in our world. The church needs to have leaders who are focused and faithful. Peter commands his readers,
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
The leaders multiple in this crisis described in the proverb. When leaders multiple, conflict ensues.
When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily
2. But We Have every Opportunity to Change
2. But We Have every Opportunity to Change
Proverbs 28:2 (KJV 1900)
But by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
What can we do to change this description of the land? What part can we play? Is it even worth it to try? The word translated “man” here is not a masculine word. It does not apply this truth only to men. Instead, this word is often used to cover the concept of all of mankind. This word carries with it the idea of mankind as created in the image of God and thus means man and woman, boy and girl. All humans have a chance to change the landscape of the land that they live in. We can all be the one who will do right in the midst of the wrong all around us.
A man’s heart deviseth his way:
But the Lord directeth his steps.
A. First, Get Understanding
A. First, Get Understanding
Our understanding is part of the tool kit that we must have to bring about righteousness in the land that we live. This is the intelligence that comes through study or learning. We look into the Word of God. We watch how those who have gone before us served God. We see the truths of Scripture and how they apply to our lives.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will guide thee with mine eye.
Be ye not as the horse,
Or as the mule, which have no understanding:
Whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle,
Lest they come near unto thee.
One way that we receive this understanding is by listening to the Word of God. Preaching brings understanding. The job of the preacher is to explain the truth of Scripture. By listening to the Word of God each week, we can gain the understanding that we need to be a difference in the land.
And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Another way to receive understanding is through spending time reading the Bible. The Bible is our only text for understanding. If you want to grow as a Christian, spend time in your Bible. The Bible is where the preaching comes from and that is where the voice of God can be heard in our lives. Prayer is the way we talk to God and the Bible is how He speaks to us.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing froward or perverse in them.
They are all plain to him that understandeth,
And right to them that find knowledge.
B. Second, Get Knowledge
B. Second, Get Knowledge
What is knowledge? This is the experience that we gain through life. We can perceive what will happen. We have the remembrance of what we have learned and how life has gone. Knowledge takes time. We learn when we have seen and heard life. Relationships are key fountains of knowledge.
We do not live by rules but by relationships, a loving relationship to God that enables us to have a loving relationship with others.
Warren Wiersbe
For the Christian, our knowledge is centered on our walk with Christ. That is where our relationships with others begin and flow from. What has Christ taught you? How has your faith been strengthened? What is a truth in your walk that you can point to that will drive you forward in your pursuit of Christ?
A fool’s wrath is presently known:
But a prudent man covereth shame.
Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding:
But that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
Both of these verses show a comparison between the person who has knowledge and the one who is foolish. A foolish person continues through life without choosing to learn by his mistakes or the mistakes of others. A Christian needs to seek knowledge from the Word of God and her walk with Christ.
We can choose today to gain understanding from the Bible and knowledge from our Christian walk. You may not be a political leader but you surely can be a spiritual one!
C. By these, You can Be the Person who Prolongs our Nation
C. By these, You can Be the Person who Prolongs our Nation
The topic of the second part of the proverb is a man who has understanding and knowledge. Have you studied your Bible? Are you living the Christian life and growing in your walk with Him? One person can change the land by his obedience to God.
There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
We cannot imagine what a great deal of service one wise man may do to a nation in a critical juncture.
Solomon predicts by this proverb that the land will last longer there is a man with understanding and knowledge. If there is a person that is righteous, if there is a person that has the understanding and the knowledge, the land will last longer and the transgression of the land will diminish. This is the only place that this word “prolonged” is used. We see the concept of perseverance because of the righteous man as the land endures the transgression that is contained in it.
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
In the book Wealth and Democracy, Kevin Philipps spends the last few chapters discussing the decline of two of the financial powerhouses in the history of world empires: Spain and England. Both were brought down when they allowed debt and the distance between the rich and poor become the defining factor of policy. In these verses, we see a manual for a ruler and how he should treat the poor in the land. Philipps closes with this statement: “As the twenty-first century gets underway, the imbalance of wealth and democracy in the United States is unsustainable, at least by traditional yardsticks. Market theology and unelected leadership have been displacing politics and elections. Either democracy must be renewed, with politics brought back to life, or wealth is likely to cement a new and less democratic regime-plutocracy by some other name. Over the coming decades, American exceptionalism may face its greatest test simply in convincing the American people to continue to believe in its comfort and reassurance.” pg. 422
We have a job to do! The word translated “state” here is a word that shows determination. It creates an “if” clause in the the sentence. “If there is a man of understanding and knowledge, then the land will last longer.” It carries the thought of our word “thus”. Do you want stability? You can change that with studying the Bible and walking with Him.
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord,
And teachest him out of thy law;
That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity,
Until the pit be digged for the wicked.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The Secret of America’s Greatness
French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests—and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning— and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”
Source: America’s God and Country, William J. Federer
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
The proverb here tells us that, because of transgression in the land, there is an abundance of pretenders to the throne (or an abundance of short reigning leaders); but with a man of discernment and experience, the length existence for the land is thus established.
One final illustration of this truth can be given. Look at the French Revolution. There was chaos and there were many different leaders in short succession. While commenting on the revolution, Alexander Hamilton said
“The praise of a civilized world is justly due to Christianity; – war, by the influence of the humane principles of that religion, has been stripped of half its horrors. The French renounce Christianity, and they relapse into barbarism…”
Where were the men and women of understanding and knowledge in those dark times? France has had four republics while America has had but one. What is the difference? We have had leaders whose understanding and knowledge have prolonged our land. Are you going to be one of those leaders? Where is you understanding through the Word of God? Where is you knowledge by walking with Christ? What are you going to do today to ensure an America for many years to come?
