Symptoms of a Rebellious Heart
Holidays 2025 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom,
And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware:
And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother,
Is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
Cease, my son, to hear the instruction
That causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
An ungodly witness scorneth judgment:
And the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
Judgments are prepared for scorners,
And stripes for the back of fools.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:
And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Introduction
Introduction
Mother’s Day is a special day in the United States to celebrate mothers. Surely, one of the most familiar people in our early lives were our mothers. They cared for us and provided for us. Many times, they were with us more than any other adult.
There were the times driving in the car to games or activities. There were the opportunities to talk as dinner cooked on the stove. Our mothers have been there for us to show us care and concern for the bumps and bruises along the way. Some of our most vivid memories of our childhood are mistakes we made and lessons that they taught us. Our mothers ought to be honored for the care and kindness that they have given to us over our lifetime. Moses tells us,
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
But what happens when our parents get older? What about when we age out of the home? What about when we have the opportunity to live as we choose to live?
The writer of Proverbs was King Solomon. Now, after having been king for some time and observing life throughout his kingdom, Solomon is teaching his son about the effects of a rebellious heart. One thing that Solomon has been able to see first hand is that a rebellious heart is not seen most clearly in the teenage years but in the adult years instead. Solomon could tell his son of the case of his brother Absalom. Absalom’s rebellion became visible in his adult years when he lead a insurrection against King David. The entire kingdom was threatened and only a great battle saved it.
Solomon is teaching his son the importance of a heart that is right with God. What is in our hearts tends to come out in our actions. As we think about mothers this morning, we need to ask ourselves what is in our hearts. Are we faithful to the things that we were taught as children? Are we living with rebellious thoughts in our hearts? How have we lived our adult lives, for ourselves or for others? Solomon tells us,
Keep thy heart with all diligence;
For out of it are the issues of life.
Let’s listen to the wisdom of Solomon for his son…
Declaration
Declaration
The heart is the source of our choices in life. Whether we choose to please ourselves or another is determined by our heart. Rebellion is a symptom of a ungrateful and disrespectful heart. What are symptoms of this cardiac illness in a person’s life?
1. Habitual Laziness
1. Habitual Laziness
A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom,
And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
In the book of Proverbs, there are a series of characters that receive special attention. In our passage in Pr 19, we encounter several of them together. Some commentaries spend sections simply analyzing the truths and characteristics of these groups of individuals.
The first character mentioned is the slothful man or the sluggard. He is referred to as a slothful man because that is how he acts. How would God describe you?
He has taken his hand and placed it in his bosom. Instead of raising it to his mouth again, he chooses to leave it there. We see a connected proverb in chapter 26.
The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom;
It grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
The word translated “bosom” here is also translated as a dish for food in the Old Testament. We see that translation once in Kings and once in Chronicles. This gives a clearer picture of what is happening here. We are viewing the slothful man as he sits at his meal. Kings uses the word,
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
But in the second part of the verse, the slothfulness of the man gets worse than just his description suggests. He is unwilling to lift his hand from the plate. Can you image being so lazy that you are unwilling to pick up food an eat it? My answer is yes, I have felt like that before. I have been that tired.
Last Saturday, I was working on our back porch. The boards that are on top of the non-covered section had begun to rot. When we bought the house, there was a little bit of wood stain on it but it was not enough to protect it from the rain. After putting in 23 boards, I was very tired. Deck boards are pressure treated and weigh more than normal boards would. I was ready to sit down and not move after I finished.
Perhaps you also have felt like that at some point in your life. But the problem that the slothful man is that his whole life is like this, not just one day. He is defined and described by his laziness. The slothful man does not value what he has received. He cannot bring it to his mouth. He cannot cook it when it is provided by God.
The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting:
But the substance of a diligent man is precious.
A symptom of a rebellious heart is laziness. Are you lazy? Are you unwilling to put forth the necessary effort to improve things? Are you ok with what you have always done and following your hearts desires? The food was on the plate and the bite was on the fork, but the slothful man did not want it enough to raise it to his mouth. Too many people in the world will never surrender their lives to God and experience His blessings because they are too lazy to seek Him. Too many will never accept the free gift of salvation because they are content with what they are doing now.
2. Willful Ignorance
2. Willful Ignorance
Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware:
And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
We see two further characters enter the picture in verse 25. The scene changes from a dinner table to the public stocks. Here, we see a man, openly dismissive of authority, receiving the justice he scoffed at. Beside the punished man, there is another younger man watching. He is unsure of what his life will be like or how he will act in the days ahead. Perhaps, he will notice the outcome of the scorner and will change his course accordingly. Perhaps he will follow the same path that he has seen in the world around him.
Solomon gives a command to the reader. “Smite a scorner…” A scorner was someone who is constantly jeering at justice or authority. They don’t receive correction and adapt accordingly. Instead, they continue to follow their best judgments without interruption. I remember a sermon in college about relationships. One of the points that was made was to check your relationships for any that are based on commonality in scoffing at people or sin. A friend of mine fit that description. In fact, he was in the room at the same time and we agreed that we would change that characterization. Check yourself, are you a scorner? Job could say of his friends,
My friends scorn me:
But mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
The illustration of Job’s friends give us a powerful picture into this idea of a scorner. They came to find Job after his second set of trials from satan. Together, they spend many chapters attempting to convince Job that he has sinned and brought the judgment of God on his life. Why would God bring such suffering on a person who has not sinned and deserves punishment, they ask?
Job pleads his ignorance and give arguments to show that there must be another explanation than his sin. Though they are unable to accomplish their object, these scorners continue to try for the remainder of the book. Much of the book it taken up by the scorning of Job’s friends who are not willing to give God the free exercise of his judgment and determination in our lives. God allowed Satan to bring the trials. Scorners only see the surface.
There is a conditional statement in the first part of the verse. This is a condition that Solomon is looking to see fulfilled. The writer commands the reader to smite the scorner. Such an action will result in warning those who have not yet decided how to live.
There is another conditional statement in the second part of the verse. Building on the first statement, a corrective statement will be received by a person who is understanding. We have here in this public area of punishment three different people: a dismissive, angry person; a malleable, young person; and a person who is seeking wisdom. The introduction of understanding and knowledge gives us the picture of wisdom. The book of Proverbs connects this person who has them to the one who seeks the Lord.
For the Lord giveth wisdom:
Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Here in Proverbs 19, knowledge is the result of learning from the external world through your eyes and ears. Experience brings perception. By living your life and seeing the outcomes of people’s choices, knowledge is acquired.
What does the scorner tell us? He is willfully ignorant of the wisdom of God. When he is looking for wisdom, he is unable to locate it.
A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not:
But knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
When we see the results of people’s actions play out in their lives, we should not be surprised. Solomon warns us that the scorner will ultimately receive judgment in verse 29. The fate of the scorner is an opportunity for those who are simple and understanding to grow in their wisdom. One writer said it this way,
The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 15–31 b. A Catalogue of Fools and Their Punishment (19:24–20:1)
For the mocker flogging is penal (i.e., to satisfy the demands of justice) and for the impressionable gullible remedial (i.e., to satisfy the rules of pedagogy).
Are you a scorner? Are you a simple person? Would Solomon describe you as someone who has wisdom and knowledge? Deep searching into our hearts and motives is healthy as we remember our mothers and all that they have done for us.
What is a symptom of a rebellious heart? It is willingly ignorant. The scorner knows the truth but he only arms himself with it to through it back in the face of the understanding. Are you willingly ignorant of the truth of the Bible? Do you avoid church or the Bible because you know that you need to change your life?
3. Ungrateful Mockery
3. Ungrateful Mockery
He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother,
Is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
There is a third symptom of a rebellious heart in this passage. A rebellious heart is ungrateful for what it has been given. When there is opportunity for honor and respect, the son instead shows greed and rebellion.
Solomon gives the example of a man who has taken advantage of his father. The family possessions are now squandered. Some have suggested that this is through the slothfulness above. Others have indicated that this could have been through riotous living as well. The man’s mother is sent away from the possessions or affections. The two parts of this verse give us a new topic and the characterization of that topic.
Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
The topic here is one that we are less familiar with today. In this day, the parents would often live with their children until their death. There was a tradition that the oldest child would receive the greater portion of the inheritance. Today, much of the estate that a person inherits is more monetary than hereditary real estate. However, we do see it pictured for us in the Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare.
The story of King Lear is one about rebellious hearts. The king leaves to two of his three daughters the kingdom. This is effective immediately, despite the king’s current health. As the story unfolds, King Lear begins to see the duplicitous designs of his two eldest daughters. Neither wants to take care of him. Both want to see him removed entirely so that their designs on power can flourish. The result is madness on the part of the king and chaos in the country.
The central theme is found at the beginning of the play. Two of the daughters are willing to lie to their father to receive portions of the kingdom. One is unwilling to flatter and is thus disinherited. The rebellious heart of his two oldest daughters bears out in the rest of the play. What was in the heart may not have come out in the mouth at the beginning, but the actions in their lives, when they felt they were able to act without consequence, bore forth the rebellion.
The beginning of the book of Proverbs is connected to this relationship with one’s parents. Solomon tells his son that there are things that he needs to remember to be a faithful believer in his life. By choosing to obey, he will apply the Word of God to his life.
My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
And forsake not the law of thy mother:
The characterization of the one who does not do so to his parents is found in the second part of verse 26. He is one who brings shame and reproach on the family and himself. We ought to respect and care for our parents. The Bible is clear about our obligations. Solomon warns,
Whoso curseth his father or his mother,
His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
What is your relationship with your parents? Are you faithful to the things that you were taught? Is there a heart to follow God? For the child, the parent represents God in their lives. For the adult, there is instead a responsibility to God alone.
Train up a child in the way he should go:
And when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Commenting on this theme of rebellion and mockery in Proverbs 19, one writer says
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (42) Diverse Teachings (18:22–20:4)
To mistreat parents is the quintessential act of the mocker because it is a rejection of the most basic form of respect for authority
This son is characterized as deserving of shame and reproach because of his rebellious heart. But the good news is that we do not have to live in ungrateful mockery. In the book of Psalms, we find the solution to the rebellious heart.
Give ear, O my people, to my law:
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable:
I will utter dark sayings of old:
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
Shewing to the generation to come
The praises of the Lord, and his strength,
And his wonderful works that he hath done.
For he established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which he commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children:
That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born;
Who should arise and declare them to their children:
That they might set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep his commandments:
What is a symptom of a rebellious heart? It is exhibits ungrateful mockery. The unthankful son is quick to take what he feels like he deserves. In contrast, we are shown in Psalms 78 that we ought to seek the commands of God and our fathers as we obey God. Do you ungratefully mock your parents?
4. Punished Foolishness
4. Punished Foolishness
Cease, my son, to hear the instruction
That causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
An ungodly witness scorneth judgment:
And the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
Judgments are prepared for scorners,
And stripes for the back of fools.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:
And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
As we come to the final symptom of a rebellious heart, we see that there is a sure punishment for the one who exhibits it. Rebellion is connected in this passage to the idea of mockery. Instead of being obedient or submissive to the authority, the rebellious person chooses folly. He chooses to live in vanity not wisdom. The remaining verses show us the coming punishment for those who live in such a way.
If you turn away the instruction that God is giving through His Word, you will go into error. The instruction was the result of specific teaching through correcting wrongs and giving punishments. Some scholars see a form of sarcasm in verse 27. The path is designed by God and protected by His Word when we pursue after its teachings.
A fool despiseth his father’s instruction:
But he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
There is the picture here of a ungodly witness who begins believing his own lies. There is another picture of punishments inflicted on the scorner and the fools. We see Solomon swiftly moving toward the endgame of the choices that these rebellious hearts have made.
The final verse in the section connects this idea of mockery with an ultimate illustration. The illustration is alcohol. In verse 1 of chapter 20, we see mentioned wine and strong drink. The wine was made from grapes. This is referring here to fermented wine. The strong drink was likely barley beer or mead. It was popular with the Gentiles who lived around Israel. God had told the priests,
Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
Later in Proverbs, we read an principle of wisdom about alcohol as well.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;
Nor for princes strong drink:
But why include alcohol here in this discussion of rebellious hearts? What connection does this have with Mother’s Day? The answer is found in the adjectives that Solomon uses to describe these two drinks.
Wine is described as a scorner. The same word that is found in verse 25 and 29 is found here to describe the actions of the alcohol. It is something that results in jeering at others. Strong drink is raging and angry.
Hear the anger and the boisterousness of the inebriated person. He is a mocker and he is raging at others. Surely this is the description of the heart of the rebellious person. The pronouncement of Solomon is that this man is not wise. Another way to say this is foolish. The pronouncement of God for the fool is justice.
As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard,
So is a parable in the mouth of fools.
The great God that formed all things
Both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
Proverbs Notes on the Text
Persons who let themselves fall under the heady influence of a scoffer or the self-righteous influence of a growler will, like the inebriated, discover themselves travelling a path they did not consciously choose.
What is a symptom of a rebellious heart? There will be punishment for its foolishness. Solomon is clear that there will be an eventual reckoning for those who continue in their own path. God is the one who seeks to bring justice to the sinner.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The heart is the source of our choices in life. Whether we choose to please ourselves or another is determined by our heart. Rebellion is a symptom of a ungrateful and disrespectful heart. We have seen these four symptoms of a cardiac ailment. A rebellious heart is habitually lazy about the necessaries of life. A rebellious heart is willfully ignorant of the truths that he has been taught. A rebellious heart is ungrateful in her mockery of the truth. A rebellious heart will face punishment for his foolishness.
The ultimate illustration of this rebellious heart is found in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Turn to Luke 15:11 in your Bibles.
In verses 18-19, we find the Gospel. The son who had taken all that he felt he was owed, now sees that he is a sinner.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We see the reception of the Father at the arrival of the son in verses 20-23. He does not allow his son to finish his humble petition to servitude. Instead, he accepts him for who he is, a son of the king. Such is the reception that God gives to those who come to Him for salvation.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In verse 24, there is an explanation for this grace of God. That grace is because Someone gave this son life again. Someone found him when he was lost. That Someone is Jesus.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Will you believe today? The foundation reason for a rebellious heart is that a person has never truly accepted Jesus as their payment for sin. A saved person can be rebellious but they will push against the conviction of the Holy Spirit and their conscience. Are you rebellious today? How is your heart? I have things that I need to be sure to keep right with the Lord that my parents taught me. You have things as well. What better way to celebrate Mother’s Day that getting ourselves right with God and getting rid of our rebellious hearts.
Will you respond today?
