Daily Devotional for Thursday, March 26
The Rebellion of the Younger Son
“A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living,” Luke 15:11, 12.
With this parable, Jesus hit closer to home. The Pharisees’ disdain for a shepherd and apathy for a woman kept Jesus’ previous examples at arms’ length. But a father and sons? No matter which character they associated with—the father, the older son or the younger son—Jesus had a lesson for them.
In Jewish society, children cared for parents even beyond their death. Children were the retirement plan! Honoring mother and father meant caring for them, their land, and their possessions so the family heritage continued. A child’s responsibilities grew with every year. Each father made sure the ancestral lands and goods passed down to his children to keep the family name alive. We see an example of this in Ruth. Ruth’s pledge to Naomi goes deeper than we may think. Ruth was committing to be by Naomi’s side at her death and see to her burial, something her husband, as Naomi’s son, would have done. This was God’s design for Israel.
The younger son demanded his inheritance early. That was unheard of and very disrespectful. In essence, he said, “Dad, I wish you were dead already so I could get your goods.” The Jewish audience would have gasped and clicked their tongues at that. But what did the father do? He complied and probably at great costs financially, emotionally, mentally and socially. Land deeds would have been drawn up and assets liquidated for cash. The community wondered why he was selling off his ancestral inheritance. Was he in great debt or need? Then to find out it was for his son who was not in need but simply requested it early—that was crazy! The son’s rebellion itself would cause tongues to wag. Jesus really stirred the heart (and pot!) with this parable.
THOUGHT
“A foolish son is a grief to his father” (Proverbs 17:25).
Kelli Reynolds