What happened to the prodigal son in a faraway country was not just a loss of his fortunes. He was afflicted with hunger, humiliation, and loneliness. Not a single soul showed any care or concern for him. We can also see that there was an inward change in him. He was able to realise where he was, which was not his home, and to observe other people who seemed to be better off than he. Possibly until now, he was not aware of what others were doing. He began to be in want (Luke 15:14b). There are two words attracting our attention – “began” and “want [lack].” The life of the prodigal son at home was easy and comfortable. There were many hired servants at his father’s house. They were all ready to serve him, too. If they were well paid and given enough food, he must have enjoyed good quality food and comforts. Since he left the father’s home, he had enough money to keep him going with the same level of comforts until his money was all drained and a great famine came upon the land. It was only then he began to experience something that he had not experienced before. This new experience was “want” or “lack.” Lack of what? By judging the subsequent events, I would say “financial security,” which could give him “food” and “shelter,” and “being neglected,” which made him lonely and continued to be in hunger. He had fallen into such a low state. So low that he only craved for food, even pig’s food, “husks” in 15:16. 

“Husks” probably refer to the “pods of the carob tree” according to the Thayer’s Greek lexicon. The carob tree grows up to 15 metres. The fruit is a legume (also known commonly, but less accurately, as a pod), that is elongated, compressed, straight, or curved, and thickened at the sutures. The pods take a full year to develop and ripen. When the sweet, ripe pods eventually fall to the ground, they are eaten by various mammals, such as swine, thereby dispersing the hard inner seed in the excrement. Luke 15:16 says, “And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.” I can see lots of changes in him. He was totally overtaken by the pang of hunger. All he could think of was “food.” He fainted (15:16), which means he lusted after, he desired, or he longed for. He desired to be filled with the pods the pigs ate. When he was in his father’s house, he probably did not have any idea of where the food was coming from. The servants must have known his favourite food and recipes, and no food was in “want.” He was caught now in this tangled of needs and wants in a strange land. 

I must not forget that he was not forced to take a job to look after pigs. 15:15 says, “And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.” Thayer’s Greek lexicon quotes this verse and defines the word for “join” as “to attach one’s self to, unite with, associate with.” Taking a local family’s job with pig farming was a great contrast with his former lifestyle. I could find a hint of his former lifestyle from his elder brother’s criticism in his protest to their father in 15:30, “But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.”  When the prodigal son was at the bottom of any living condition, he was totally disillusioned and began to see the harsh reality. He did not respect his father or his brother before. He took them for granted. He became aware of how lost he was. Anyone who has been interested in him, was only interested in what profit they could make from him. No man gave him even the husks. Besides severe hunger, he was lonely. I would say that he was probably deeply depressed. He might have thought that he was less than a human being when no one was even willing to give him the food he was giving to the pigs. I may not fully describe his mind, even if I call it “low self-esteem,” or “low self-respect.” He must be very miserable not only because of the current low condition but also because of the good memories of his former life at home. 

I am once again reminded that he was in a strange, foreign land, far away from home. When we have friends or people around us, we may not appreciate what is behind our relationships with them. How we are linked to each other is not seriously thought about. We have relationships with others or are linked with others because we have some common things with them. This could be common birth country, professions, education, or age. When we meet someone whom we have not met before and find out that he is a Christian, we have an immediate bond and want to know more about him. If we graduated from the same school, we easily become friends. When they meet strangers with the same interests, they can talk continuously as if they have been friends for a long time. When we cannot find any common interest, we feel it harder to be together. I go back to the prodigal son. No one wanted to be his friend, which was a great cause of his loneliness. He was a foreigner in that land. His social and financial status made him alienated from the rest of the community. He was lonely. He was lost in the world. If I think of his wanton lifestyle, I cannot but conclude that his loneliness must be quite deep. He was a party boy and had pleasure nights with harlots. He had been surrounded by people before, now he was disconnected from everyone. He said to himself in 15:17b, “I perish with hunger”(“I am dying” by NASB; “I am starving to death” by NIV). His next thought was of “the coming of his own death.” It is a natural progress in the heart of a depressed person. He was thinking of his final moment.

I’d like to read unwritten inner changes in the prodigal son’s mind between the lines (15:17-18). Gathering my thoughts of the whole context, I would say that he began to see the end of his life journey. He had tried everything he wanted from leaving home, enjoying an independent life with all kinds of pleasures of the world, and spending money that other young could not even dream of. He had met many people in a strange land. They must have praised him about his great fortune and even admired him that he was able to be so rich at such a young age. He had built his own life and reputation amongst strangers and unknown people before. Then, everything changed. He was left with nothing. He made his own decision and choices as he thought of best. He was able to look back and to see the path he had trodden. That is not all. He was also able to see where his choices had led him. There was nothing, nothing for him but death. All he had done was only an “unexpected and unplanned” death. He saw how he had destroyed himself. It is possible that he blamed natural disasters like “famine,” and tried to comfort himself that he could not fight against such a natural disaster. If he had been more fortunate, if the circumstances were favourable to him, he could have reasons, but nothing change realities. 

This story has been relived in many lives. A man came to Jesus and asked him to mediate between him and his brother over money. Jesus also said of a foolish man who stored a lot and ready to enjoy it without knowing that he was going to die soon…. I’ll continue….

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