God gives all of us a certain freedom. We are free to choose our actions. We can live our life for God or not. God has given us a free will. That is why Adam and Eve were able to choose to obey God or sin. Adam was given only one commandment and he was given a choice to obey or disobey. There is a freedom that we do not have. We do not have the freedom to choose the consequences of our actions. See Galatians 6:7. You are not tricking God. You will sow what you reap! See Job 4:8 & Hosea 8:9. We can choose our actions but you cannot determine the consequences of our actions. What happens to this boy?

1 – His personal destitution (vs. 14)

The good life is not there anymore. He has had parties, friends, and music. It is the playboy’s payday. All of Daddy’s money is gone. See Proverbs 21:7 “He that loves pleasure will be a poor man”. He wasted it. He “blew” it all away. It is irretrievably lost. His goods have been repossessed by his creditors. The bills are overdue. He has nothing left. He has spent it all! He was doing things his own way. Look at where it got him. Everything is going up in smoke. All his possessions have been pawned to pay for food to survive. Have you tried to live your life your own way? Disaster will come rolling in!

There is famine also in this verse. Famines were more common in these days. Most people would be prepared but this boy does not think that far ahead! This famine could not happen at a worst time. He had spent it all. The famine did not happen until he had spent it all! The famine will come sooner or later if you rebel against God. The famine was “in that land”. He thought the grass was greener on the other side. He was wrong! God knows where you are! If man can devise precision guided missiles, how about our heavenly Father? It is called chastisement! You can’t run or hide from God. Jonah tried it also and God caught up with him.

It is a “mighty” famine. Any famine is bad enough. This is a serious famine and he is in big trouble. He is in danger of starving to death. This famine can be self-induced. This boy should not be here in the first place.

The purpose of the famine is to bring this boy back to God. The boy is stubborn and is reluctant to pack up and go back home. Is God trying to get your attention through a disaster in your life? We need to get back home to God. Trouble is this boy’s friend. If you have a pain in your chest it indicates something is wrong and you need to go to the doctor. Pain means something is wrong. This boy stubbornly refuses to go home. See Psalm 119:67-71. It is good that we are afflicted if it drives us to do the right thing.

He is fretting. He began to be in want. Where are his friends now? His “credit card” is no good anymore. The bank can’t give him anymore loans! There were blessings galore at his Father’s table and now there is nothing. You discover sooner or later that the far country has nothing for you except pain and suffering. Are you starving for satisfaction? Money does not satisfy.

2 – His pitiful degradation (vs. 15)

He is stubborn and gets a job looking after pigs. This was the worst possible occupation for a Jew. It was the lowest of the lows. The pig was unclean under the Mosaic Law. Sin will always put you in a pig pen. Sooner or later sin will make you a slave. It WILL bring you down.

• It will destroy the joy of the Lord. That is why so many Christians do not have joy. Sin will take your joy and rip it out of your heart. Sin will degrade you. Joy is deeper than happiness.
• It will enslave your soul. Some are slaves to gossip to sex, some to money and others to alcohol.
• It will generate misery in your life. Sin replaces joy with misery. We can find all kinds of superficial ways of replacing your joy. A new haircut won’t help.
• It will retard your spiritual growth. Sin will make you a spiritual retard. You cannot hold onto sin and God at the same time. We will be alienated from God. Your understanding will become darkened over time. Sin will darken the understanding. You can’t see the problem you are in. The last person you look at is yourself. We will blame others – like Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the Serpent. You need to get away from the far country.
• It elevates the self. All you think about is yourself.
• It satisfies Satan. The Devil loves to break up the people of God.

3 – His painful desperation (vs. 16)

There is a downside to “high” living.

• He was an empty man. He was jealous of the pigs. They were eating better than him! He wants what the pigs have. It was not fit for human consumption. He can’t believe how low he has come. See Numbers 22:33 & Psalm 139:11. You can’t run from the Lord!
• He was an excluded man – “no man gave unto him”. He is crawling on his hands and knees and there is no one to feed him even the slops of the pigs. He was so alone. Meanwhile back home there is a Father who is preparing supper with the best of everything. (Steak, potatoes, vegetables and apple pie! Imagine the food that you enjoy). The Father wants his boy to come home and prays for him every day. If you are in a far country and in a pig pen. Come home and feast. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Fortunately this boy made it home and found forgiveness awaiting him.

Categories: Luke