An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end. – Proverbs 20:21

Today's Scripture Reading (November 17, 2022): Proverbs 20

In his "Stories of the Lost," Jesus includes the story of "The Lost Son," maybe more commonly known as the story of "The Prodigal Son." And part of the plot of the story is that a man's youngest son comes to him and asks for his inheritance early. The request itself is significant. By requesting his inheritance early, the younger son was saying that he wished his father was dead. After all, if dad had died, the son wouldn't have had to make his request. All that dad was to his son now was a paycheck, and the son makes it clear that he wanted the money now.

The story is filled with amazing things, but one of the most amazing aspects of the story is the various reactions of the father. The younger son simply demands his inheritance early, and his father decides to give in to the request. I am not sure that if our children demanded their inheritance in this manner, we would honor the request. We might lend them money to help through an emergency or even to help fund a business endeavor, but that isn't what is happening here.

Then the younger son goes off to the big city and squanders the money that he has obtained from his father. Proverbs teaches us that "the poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends" (Proverbs 14:20), which becomes the reality of the younger son. As long as he has his father's money, the boy finds that he has many friends. But as is often true, the boy spends all of his money and then finds himself in a worse position than before he asked his dad for his inheritance. And just as Proverbs 14:20 is reflected in the story of "The Lost Son," it seems that Proverbs 20:21 is also reflected in this verse. The younger son had claimed his inheritance early, and, in the end, he was not blessed.

But this is not the end of the story. Prodigal means wasteful, and in the next plot turn, Jesus will show his listeners that the father was just as wasteful as his son. His son was starving; the only work he could find was feeding pigs, and he became so hungry that he was jealous of the food the pigs were eating. So, the son hatches a plan to return to his father and ask for a job at the farm. He plans to plead for a job, hoping that his father will be lenient with him and give him one of the lowest positions on the farm.

However, the Prodigal Father decides to reverse this Proverb. Dad decides that the young son's actions could never disqualify him from his position of sonship in the family. So, dad throws a party because his son has come home, and he blesses his son as only a father can.

The message that Jesus wants to drive home to his audience is not that Proverbs 20:21 is in error but that God's love pursues us through all the circumstances of our lives. Despite our actions, God still has the power to bless his children even in the most disastrous moments and even if the cause of that disaster is our own doing.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Proverbs 21