View Full Version : Sandals for the prodigal ?
Why did the father of the prodigal son order servants to put sandals on his feet ?
Blackwater
08-24-2016, 01:36 PM
Not having done any research at all, I'm gonna' guess that the journey back home had been a rather hard one, and he'd probably sold his sandals for sustenance along the way. And his feet in that part of the world would probably have been pretty well blistered and raw from walking the sands of the area. Not like walking on a nice lawn and wiggling our toes in deep shaggy well cut and soft grass!
How far off am I?
Blackwater
08-24-2016, 02:54 PM
Well, now I'm really stumped! I read it, and it doesn't explicitly say why he put shoes on his feet. What am I missing? I can miss the obvious sometimes!
Pine Baron
08-24-2016, 03:21 PM
But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.
But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.
We will go with that . You are correct !
But shoes/sandals were a luxury , servants , the poor or those of low station went barefooted . Fine clothes were given and a ring . A ring was considered a gift of great affection as it served no real purpose and was a symbol .
The lost son was elevated immediately back to a position of favor and loved just because he had learned the error of his ways . Nothing was held against him for his misdeeds . Grace was given with rejoicing of his return as our father in heaven does .
Ahh but what of the anger of the steadfast and faithful son .
Blackwater
08-25-2016, 12:17 AM
OK. At last one I can answer. The father told him that yes, he'd been ever faithful, and all that he had was his to use when he wanted, but his son that "was dead" was now returned alive, and that was the cause of the celebration, and the source of the acts. It was an act of kindness for the son's redemption, not a put-down of the ever faithful son.
Whew! I love these quizzes. I can be dumb as a rock in them at times, but that's when I know I'm learning something, and seeing things from a new and probably better viewpoint! Thanks, Boaz. Any man who makes me think and reason is my friend, always.
OK. At last one I can answer. The father told him that yes, he'd been ever faithful, and all that he had was his to use when he wanted, but his son that "was dead" was now returned alive, and that was the cause of the celebration, and the source of the acts. It was an act of kindness for the son's redemption, not a put-down of the ever faithful son.
Whew! I love these quizzes. I can be dumb as a rock in them at times, but that's when I know I'm learning something, and seeing things from a new and probably better viewpoint! Thanks, Boaz. Any man who makes me think and reason is my friend, always.
Your right but take it a bit farther .The faithful son represents the Christians that have been faithful all along to our heavenly father . Our base nature would be to think we deserve more from the father for our steadfast devotion than a newly arrived sinner that has seen the fathers light . The father loves all equally regardless of time served or work done . We are told to rejoice at the coming back of those that have strayed or those that just found GOD and accept them into our hearts without question .. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ that have found or returned to him and us .
Who are we believers in this parable ?
Blackwater
08-25-2016, 12:46 PM
Great expansion, Boaz. If I understand your question right, it's all of us who call ourselves by His name?
Not quite . We would be the servants of the father joyfully welcoming the son back also.
Pine Baron
08-26-2016, 08:40 AM
As usual, Boaz, this parable applies differently, depending on where we are in life. At one time I related to the prodigal son, at another time, the eldest, yet again, later in life, the father. At this point, the servants. This is why reading the Bible is always fresh and renewing.
Omega
08-26-2016, 09:10 AM
Hmmm, sounds like welfare started much sooner than I realized. To me it seems the other brother was duly disrespected by the father, and the wayward son rewarded for his misdeeds.
Blackwater
08-26-2016, 10:51 AM
That's the earthly/human gist of it, Omega. And that's why so many miss the message contained in stories like this. It's all about judgment, and who has the right to make the judgments. With us believers, it's God who makes the judgments, and we who serve His will. Most, though, believe God is supposed to serve OUR wills. That's a critical difference, and one that took me a long time and a lot of experience and observation to learn.
We're just the pawns in the game between God and Satan, and every decision we make, and every thought we have, and every time we make any sort of assessment, we do it toward one side or the other. It's been hard for me, and VERY hard at times, for me to learn it's not up to me to judge others and even their actions, unless it's given to me in a jury box. And I've only been called once to serve on a jury, and when told to stand for questions, the defense atty. immediately told me I was excused.
I can still defend myself if it appears my life is in danger, but short of that, I now try to leave it up to God to judge others. I have some experience with troubled folks, and there's always more to them than we know, and often a boiling pain of some sort deep inside them that makes them the way they sometimes are. What good and loving God would not take that into consideration? That question has helped me become less judgmental in the Christian sense. When folks or kids are under your supervision, we have to exercise good judgment in disciplining them, but it should always be with an eye toward helping them see the light so they can hopefully, correct themselves in time. We cast our bread upon the waters, and then, it's between the person and God what they choose to do with it and about it.
It's a tough lesson here in this realm where we're constantly inundated by more worldly philosophies that sound more "correct" to us, but that's the whole point of God's having given us a Bible full of great advice and instruction, and our being created with a big ol' brain with which to explore it, and learn. It's just not easy, and some of the things we need to learn don't come "naturally," but quite the reverse, fly in the face of our more conventional, earthly understanding. It's probably one of, if not THE hardest lesson we learn as Christians. Forgiveness, I believe, ends at my nose, and when someone is a genuine threat, God seems to release us to defend ourselves as best we can. That's my take on it, but there are variations on it, surely. But in the coarse sense, this is what I've come to believe and see evidence of. FWIW?
As usual, Boaz, this parable applies differently, depending on where we are in life. At one time I related to the prodigal son, at another time, the eldest, yet again, later in life, the father. At this point, the servants. This is why reading the Bible is always fresh and renewing.
I agree Pine Baron ! One verse or verses can be applied at times in many different situations . It is not by accident .
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