Luke 15:11-15
Luke 15:11 (KJB)
And he said, A certain man had two sons:
Then Jesus begins, probably His most famous parable. The Parable of the Prodigal
Son. The word “prodigal” means “recklessly extravagant, wasteful, not frugal.”
This is probably one of the finest teachings in Scripture because we can all
identify with it in some fashion. Over the years, there have been many
applications made along with many good understandings. Jesus begins by stating
that a certain man had two sons.
Luke 15:12 (KJB)
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.
The younger son would only receive on third of the inheritance because the
oldest son would receive two thirds. This boy wanted his inheritance now because
he could not wait for his father to die plus he had the spirit of the age which
we see today. I want it now! This is why credit cards were invented to give
people who suffer from impulse buying the ability to instantly satisfy that
lust. The father did not put up an argument so he doled out the inheritance to
the young man. This is what sinners have done throughout history, they will
enjoy the bounty of God’s blessings of the earth but will deny Him or turn their
backs on Him. It is also interesting to note that this young man did not ask his
father for the inheritance but commanded him to give it. The words “give me” are
in the Imperative Mood making it a command. At this point, this boy did not have
any respect for his father and only saw him as his bank.
Luke 15:13 (KJB)
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his
journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
As soon as the young man received his inheritance, it did not take long for him
to gather his belongings together. I remember the first credit card I received
in 1972, Bank Americard. As soon as I received it and it was valid, I went to
the department store and purchased four albums at $32 and that began my slide
into fiscal irresponsibility for 9 years until I became saved. For those 9
years, I worked for my creditors because I had no respect for the principle of
compounded interest. It was not until I became saved that the Lord cleared up my
thinking in the area of finances. I tell you, salvation not only brings one into
eternal life but while we are here on earth, it grants us extremely clear
thinking and when we act on those things the Lord shows us, it will save us much
heartache.
As soon as this young man gathered his belongings, he no doubt thought that life
was now going to be nothing but fun and work was a thing of the past. So he took
all that he had and went into a far country. It does not say what country but we
can easily say that he threw himself on the mercy of this world but the problem
is that the world does not know what mercy is. So he entered the dark side of
the world system. He then began to waste all his inheritance on riotous living.
The Greek word behind “riotous” is used only once in the New Testament and it
means a debauched lifestyle. His new life was devoid of any morals because he
thought that since he was away from home and the rules that came with living
there, he figured that he would just let loose and live any way he pleased. The
word behind “wasted” also carries with it the meaning of “scattered, dispersed,
or winnowed.” It is interesting that this word can also be understood as
winnowed since winnowing is throwing the wheat up in the air and the chaff would
be taken by the wind. Living for the world is like taking your life and
winnowing it, except the good part of your life is taken by the wind and all you
garner is the chaff until you finally come to your senses, if it is not too
late.
Luke 15:14 (KJB)
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he
began to be in want.
Now reality has set in. He had squandered his entire inheritance and was now
broke. Now the fact that he was broke was now coupled with a major situation.
There was now a big famine in the land and since he did not have any money to
even buy a meal, he would now starve because the verse tells us that he was now
in want. I remember seeing this principle at work in my life when I was younger.
I would work up big credit card bills and then when I lost a job, the income had
dried up, there was a famine for funds but those bills continued to come in. In
the 1970’s, interest rates for credit cards were in the range of 18-22%. Once
those bills came in and you had no job, you were definitely in want.
Luke 15:15 (KJB)
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him
into his fields to feed swine.
So here was a young man who had a tremendous future in his father’s business but
threw it all away for a season of riotous living. Now he was far from home and
was able to find some kind of employment. It was not the type of employment
which was commensurate with someone who manages a large estate. He was now
reduced to feeding swine. He had no choice in the matter since he was broke. He
had to take what was available and his past skills did not matter to his new
employer. Isn’t it something, this man leaves his home and goes out into the
world, no doubt believing the lies of Satan that all was going to be great and
here was the latest chapter. Since he chose to walk with the world, Satan became
his employer and threw him out into the fields to feed pigs. This is what Satan
does, he gets people to believe that all will be well but there end is to feed
pigs.