Two Sons, Two Destinies Text: Proverbs 28:7
Introduction: The Great Sorting
The book of Proverbs is not a collection of quaint, inspirational quotes for your grandmother's needlepoint. It is a book of hard-nosed, practical divinity. It is a training manual for ruling and being ruled in the kingdom of God. And like any good training manual, it draws sharp, clear lines. It does not deal in shades of gray. There is the way of wisdom and the way of folly. There is the righteous man and the wicked man. There is the wise son and the foolish son. There are no third ways.
Our modern sensibilities recoil from this. We are the generation of the "but." We want to blur every distinction God has made. We want to say that a man can be a little bit wise and a little bit foolish, a little bit obedient and a little bit rebellious. But God does not grade on a curve. The book of Proverbs, and this verse in particular, is a great sorting mechanism. It presents us with a stark choice, a fork in the road. And the path a young man chooses is not a private affair. It does not simply affect his own soul. It echoes outward, bringing either honor or shame upon his household, his name, and his father.
This verse sets before us two sons. They live under the same roof, they have the same father, but they inhabit two entirely different moral universes. One is a son of understanding, and the other is a companion of gluttons. One builds up his father's house, and the other tears it down with both hands. We must pay close attention, because every man in this room is one of these two sons. And every father is raising one of these two sons. There is no middle ground.
The Text
He who observes the law is a son who understands,
But he who befriends gluttons humiliates his father.
(Proverbs 28:7 LSB)
The Son of Understanding (v. 7a)
The first half of the verse gives us the portrait of a wise son.
"He who observes the law is a son who understands..." (Proverbs 28:7a)
The word for "observes" here is about more than mere external compliance. It means to keep, to guard, to treasure. This is not the sullen obedience of a slave who fears the whip. This is the glad obedience of a son who loves his father's commands because he knows they lead to life. This son understands something. What does he understand? He understands the grammar of reality. He understands that God's law is not an arbitrary set of rules designed to make life miserable. It is the manufacturer's instructions for the human soul. To disregard the law is like disregarding the law of gravity. You can do it, but you will not have a good landing.
The law, in Proverbs, refers to the whole counsel of God. It is the Torah, yes, but it is also the wisdom passed down from a godly father. This son has been taught, and he has received the instruction. He has an appetite for truth, for order, for righteousness. He sees the world as it is and understands his place in it. This is what the Bible calls understanding, or discernment. It is the ability to see the hidden connections between cause and effect, between obedience and blessing, between sin and ruin.
Notice the tight connection: observing the law produces a son who understands. It does not say a son who understands will then observe the law. The obedience is the curriculum. The path of obedience is where wisdom is found. You do not learn to swim by reading books about buoyancy; you get in the water. Likewise, you do not gain biblical understanding by holding the law at arm's length to critique it. You gain understanding in the middle of the fight, by submitting to it and putting it into practice. This son is a blessing to his father because he is living in alignment with reality. He is building his life on the rock, and the whole household is more secure because of it.
The Son of Shame (v. 7b)
The second half of the verse gives us the contrasting portrait. It shows us the fool, not by describing his internal state, but by describing his friends.
"But he who befriends gluttons humiliates his father." (Proverbs 28:7b LSB)
The first son had an appetite for God's law. This second son has an appetite for... well, for appetite. He is a "companion of gluttons." The Hebrew word here is for riotous men, those who live for excess. Gluttony is the key because it is the most basic and carnal of the appetites. A man who cannot control his stomach will not be able to control any of his other passions either. Gluttony is not just about eating too many cheeseburgers. It is a worldview. It is the belief that the purpose of life is to consume, to indulge, to satisfy the self. The glutton's god is his belly, as Paul says in Philippians. His life is oriented around the trough.
And notice, the text says he is a "companion" of such men. You become like the company you keep. If you run with fools, you will learn their ways. If you hang around the pigsty, you will begin to smell like the pigs. This son has chosen his friends, and in so doing, he has chosen his destiny. His choice of companions is a public declaration of his loyalties. He has rejected the wisdom of his father's house for the riotous living of the far country.
And the result is predictable and public: he "humiliates his father." The word is one of shame, disgrace, and public dishonor. In the covenant community, a man's name and his honor were everything. A son's behavior was a direct reflection on his father. This is not some outdated patriarchal concept; it is a covenantal reality. A father invests his life, his resources, his instruction, and his name in his son. When that son throws it all away on wasteful living, he is not just ruining himself. He is publicly repudiating his father. He is spitting on his heritage. He is bringing shame on the family name, and by extension, on the God whom that family is supposed to represent.
Application: Law, Appetite, and the Father's Honor
So what does this mean for us, who live under the new covenant? The principles here are timeless, because they are rooted in the character of God and the nature of man.
First, we must see that the law is still our delight. The wise son observes the law. For the Christian, this law is fulfilled and embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. To observe the law is to follow Christ. It is to submit every area of our lives, our thoughts, our desires, our relationships, to His lordship. The Christian life is one of disciplined, joyful obedience. Grace does not abolish the law; it empowers us to keep it for the first time, from the heart.
Second, we must diagnose our appetites. The foolish son was defined by his companionship with gluttons. We live in the most gluttonous society in human history. We are drowning in a sea of manufactured desire. We are constantly told to indulge, to consume, to satisfy every whim. This is not just about food. It is about entertainment, information, sex, comfort. We must ask ourselves: what are we feeding on? Are we cultivating an appetite for the Word of God, for righteousness, for fellowship with the saints? Or are we cultivating an appetite for the slop of the world? Look at your friends. Look at your browser history. Look at your bank statement. Your appetites will show you who you are.
Finally, we must remember the Father's honor. The son's behavior brought either understanding or humiliation. Our lives are not our own. We have been bought with a price. We bear the name of our Father in heaven, and the name of our elder brother, Jesus Christ. When we walk in wisdom and obedience, we bring honor to that name. The world sees our good works and glorifies our Father who is in heaven. But when we choose the companionship of the gluttonous, when we live for our own appetites, we drag that holy name through the mud. We become a stumbling block. We humiliate our Father before a watching world.
The choice is stark. Will you be a son who understands, who treasures the law of liberty and brings honor to the Father's house? Or will you be a companion of fools, a slave to your appetites, who brings public shame upon the name you claim to bear? Every day, in a thousand small choices, you are answering that question. May God give us grace to be sons of understanding, for His glory and for our good.