(Faithful) Servants Rule

(Proverbs 17:2 KJV)  A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.

This verse brings to my mind one of the glorious words in the theology of our salvation.  The word is “adoption.”  It is not used here but it is certainly implied.  Notice that in this verse the “servant” {5650} who is “wise” (acts wisely NASB) (7919a) will not only receive an “inheritance” (5159) but will “rule” (4910) over the “son” (1121) who “causeth shame” (acts shamefully NASB) (954).

The kingdom of God is not based on our human blood lines but on the washing of the blood of Jesus.  It is not who our human father is, but who our Heavenly Father is.  Almighty God stands ready be adopted anyone who comes to Him in faith and make them His child.  Obedience then plays a role in our eternal inheritance.  That is one part of adoption.

The other side of adoption is that I can’t choose who will be my brother.  As I write this I look out the window and see a crew trimming hedges and mowing yards.  If they have been adopted and washed in the blood, they are my brothers.  It does not matter if you earn your bread by literal sweat or mental sweat, you are washed by the same blood.

So?  Treat people with a dignity that they may not seem to deserve but which is bestowed on them by inheritance.  The Biblical way is at the root of the American way.