Proverbs 3:1-10
Wisdom's Rewards
3:1 Like all good parents, Wisdom wants the best for her children. She knows that that can come only through obedience to her teachings, which is another way of saying obedience to the sacred Scriptures. So here she pleads with her son to remember with the mind and obey with the heart.
3:2 In general, those who are subject to their parents live longer and better lives. Those who kick up their heels against parental discipline invite illness, accidents, tragedies and premature death. This verse thus corresponds to the fifth commandment (Exo_20:12) which promises long life to those who honor their parents. Jay Adams writes:
The Bible teaches that a peace of mind which leads to longer, happier living comes from keeping God's commandments. A guilty conscience is a body-breaking load. A good conscience is one significant factor which leads to longevity and physical health. And so, in a measure, one's somatic (bodily) welfare stems from the welfare of his soul. A close psychosomatic connection between one's behavior before God and his physical condition is an established physical principle.
3:3, 4 Mercy and truth should be seen in the outward behavior (bind them around your neck) and should be true of the inward life as well (write them on the tablet of your heart).
This is the way to find favor and high esteem (or success, AV margin) in the sight of God and man. What it boils down to is that the satisfying life is the one that is lived in the center of God's will. But that brings up the question, "How can I know God's will in my life?" A classic answer is given in the next two verses.
3:5 First, there must be a full commitment of ourselves—spirit, soul, and body—to the LORD. We must trust Him not only for the salvation of our souls but also for the direction of our lives. It must be a commitment without reserve.
Next, there must be a healthy distrust of self, an acknowledgment that we do not know what is best for us, that we are not capable of guiding ourselves. Jeremiah expressed it pointedly: "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jer_10:23).
3:6 Finally, there must be an acknowledgment of the Lordship of Christ: "In all your ways acknowledge Him." Every area of our lives must be turned over to His control. We must have no will of our own, only a single pure desire to know His will and to do it.
If these conditions are met, the promise is that God shall direct our paths. He may do it through the Bible, through the advice of godly Christians, through the marvelous converging of circumstances, through the inward peace of the Spirit, or through a combination of these. But if we wait, He will make the guidance so clear that to refuse would be positive disobedience.
3:7, 8 Conceit puts us on "hold" as far as divine guidance is concerned. When we fear the LORD and depart from evil, it means "all systems go." It spells health to the body and strength (lit. drink or refreshment) to the bones. Here again we are brought face to face with the close connection between man's moral and spiritual condition and his physical health.
It has been estimated that fear, sorrow, envy, resentment, hatred, guilt, and other emotional stresses account for over 60% of our illness. Add to that the terrible toll taken by alcohol (cirrhosis of the liver); tobacco (emphysema, cancer, heart disease); immorality (venereal diseases, AIDS). Then we realize that "he shall direct your paths" is more literally "he shall make your paths smooth" or "straight," but guidance is surely included in the promise. Solomon, by divine inspiration, was way ahead of his times in the field of medical science.
3:9 One way in which we can honor the lordship of Christ is in our stewardship of possessions. All we have belongs to Him. We are stewards, responsible for its management. It is our privilege to choose a modest standard of living for ourselves, put everything above that to work for God, and trust God for the future. Like David Livingston, we should determine not to look upon anything we possess except in relation to the Kingdom of God.
3:10 The generous Jew in the OT was promised bulging barns and overflowing vats of wine. Even though our blessings may be of a more spiritual nature, it is still true that we cannot out-give the Lord.
Pro 3:1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,
Wisdom's Rewards
3:1 Like all good parents, Wisdom wants the best for her children. She knows that that can come only through obedience to her teachings, which is another way of saying obedience to the sacred Scriptures. So here she pleads with her son to remember with the mind and obey with the heart.
3:2 In general, those who are subject to their parents live longer and better lives. Those who kick up their heels against parental discipline invite illness, accidents, tragedies and premature death. This verse thus corresponds to the fifth commandment (Exo_20:12) which promises long life to those who honor their parents. Jay Adams writes:
The Bible teaches that a peace of mind which leads to longer, happier living comes from keeping God's commandments. A guilty conscience is a body-breaking load. A good conscience is one significant factor which leads to longevity and physical health. And so, in a measure, one's somatic (bodily) welfare stems from the welfare of his soul. A close psychosomatic connection between one's behavior before God and his physical condition is an established physical principle.
3:3, 4 Mercy and truth should be seen in the outward behavior (bind them around your neck) and should be true of the inward life as well (write them on the tablet of your heart).
This is the way to find favor and high esteem (or success, AV margin) in the sight of God and man. What it boils down to is that the satisfying life is the one that is lived in the center of God's will. But that brings up the question, "How can I know God's will in my life?" A classic answer is given in the next two verses.
3:5 First, there must be a full commitment of ourselves—spirit, soul, and body—to the LORD. We must trust Him not only for the salvation of our souls but also for the direction of our lives. It must be a commitment without reserve.
Next, there must be a healthy distrust of self, an acknowledgment that we do not know what is best for us, that we are not capable of guiding ourselves. Jeremiah expressed it pointedly: "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jer_10:23).
3:6 Finally, there must be an acknowledgment of the Lordship of Christ: "In all your ways acknowledge Him." Every area of our lives must be turned over to His control. We must have no will of our own, only a single pure desire to know His will and to do it.
If these conditions are met, the promise is that God shall direct our paths. He may do it through the Bible, through the advice of godly Christians, through the marvelous converging of circumstances, through the inward peace of the Spirit, or through a combination of these. But if we wait, He will make the guidance so clear that to refuse would be positive disobedience.
3:7, 8 Conceit puts us on "hold" as far as divine guidance is concerned. When we fear the LORD and depart from evil, it means "all systems go." It spells health to the body and strength (lit. drink or refreshment) to the bones. Here again we are brought face to face with the close connection between man's moral and spiritual condition and his physical health.
It has been estimated that fear, sorrow, envy, resentment, hatred, guilt, and other emotional stresses account for over 60% of our illness. Add to that the terrible toll taken by alcohol (cirrhosis of the liver); tobacco (emphysema, cancer, heart disease); immorality (venereal diseases, AIDS). Then we realize that "he shall direct your paths" is more literally "he shall make your paths smooth" or "straight," but guidance is surely included in the promise. Solomon, by divine inspiration, was way ahead of his times in the field of medical science.
3:9 One way in which we can honor the lordship of Christ is in our stewardship of possessions. All we have belongs to Him. We are stewards, responsible for its management. It is our privilege to choose a modest standard of living for ourselves, put everything above that to work for God, and trust God for the future. Like David Livingston, we should determine not to look upon anything we possess except in relation to the Kingdom of God.
3:10 The generous Jew in the OT was promised bulging barns and overflowing vats of wine. Even though our blessings may be of a more spiritual nature, it is still true that we cannot out-give the Lord.
Pro 3:2 for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
Pro 3:3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Pro 3:4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
Pro 3:8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Pro 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first-fruits of all your produce;
Pro 3:10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
Proverbs 3:1-10
HONOUR THE LORD ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN ALL YOUR WAYS & DO NOT BE WISE IN YOUR OWN EYES
The first ten verses of this passage form a series of five couplets, which enforce on the young various phases of goodness by their tendency to secure happiness or blessedness of various sorts. The underlying axiom is that, in a world ruled by a good Being, obedience must lead to well-being; but while that is in the general true, exceptions do occur, and good men do encounter evil times. Therefore the glowing promises of these verses are followed by two verses which deal with the explanation of good men’s afflictions, as being results and tokens of God’s fatherly love.
The first couplet is general in character. It inculcates obedience to the precepts of the teacher, and gives as reason the assurance that thereby long life and peace will be secured. True to the Old Testament conception of revelation as a law, the teacher sets obedience in the forefront. He is sure that his teaching contains the sufficient guide for conduct, and coincides with the divine will. He calls, in the first instance, for inward willing acceptance of His commandments; for it is the heart, not primarily the hands, which he desires should ‘keep’ them. The mother of all graces of conduct is the bowing of the will to divine authority. The will is the man, and where it ceases to lift itself up in self-sacrificing and self-determining rebellion, and dissolves into running waters of submission, these will flow through the life and make it pure. To obey self is sin, to obey God is righteousness. The issues of such obedience are ‘length of days . . . and peace.’
Even if we allow for the difference between the Old and the New Testaments, it remains true that a life conformed to God’s will tends to longevity, and that many forms of sin do shorten men’s days. Passion and indulged appetites eat away the very flesh, and many a man’s ‘bones are full of the sin of his youth.’ The profligate has usually ‘a short life,’ whether he succeeds in making it ‘merry’ or not.
‘Peace’ is a wide word, including all well-being. Ease-loving Orientals, especially when living in warlike times, naturally used the phrase as a shorthand expression for all good. Busy Westerns, torn by the distractions and rapid movement of modern life, echo the sigh for repose which breathes in the word. ‘There is no joy but calm,’ and the sure way to deepest peace is to give up self-will and live in obedience.
The second couplet deals with our relations to one another, and puts forward the two virtues of ‘loving-kindness and truth’-that is truth, or faithfulness-as all-inclusive. They are the two which are often jointly ascribed to God, especially in the Psalms. Our attitude to one another should be moulded in God’s to us all. The tiniest crystal has the same facets and angles as the largest. The giant hexagonal pillars of basalt, like our Scottish Staffa, are identical in form with the microscopic crystals of the same substance. God is our Pattern; goodness is likeness to Him.
These graces are to be bound about the neck, perhaps as an ornament, but more probably as a yoke by which the harnessed ox draws its burden. If we have them, they will fit us to bear one another’s burdens, and will lead to all human duties to our fellows.
These graces are also to be written on the ‘table of the heart’; that is, are to be objects of habitual meditation with aspiration. If so, they will come to sight in life. He who practices them will ‘find favour with God and man,’ for God looks with complacency on those who display the right attitude to men; and men for the most part treat us as we treat them. There are surly natures which are not won by kindness, like black tarns among the hills, that are gloomy even in sunshine, and requite evil for good; but the most of men reflect our feelings to them.
‘Good understanding’ is another result. It is ‘found’ when it is attributed to us, so that the expression substantially means that the possessors of these graces will win the reputation of being really wise, not only in the fallible judgment of men, but before the pure eyes of the all-seeing God. Really wise policy coincides with loving-kindness and truth.
The remaining couplets refer to our relations to God. The New Testament is significantly anticipated in the pre-eminence given to trust; that is, faith. Nor less significant and profound is the association of self-distrust with trust in the Lord. The two things are inseparable. They are but the under and upper sides of one thing, or like the two growths that come from a seed-one striking downwards becomes the root; one piercing upwards becomes the stalk. The double attitude of trust and distrust finds expression in acknowledging Him in all our ways; that is, ordering our conduct under a constant consciousness of His presence, in accordance with His will, and in dependence on His help.
Such a relation to God will certainly, and with no exceptions, issue in His ‘directing our paths,’ by which is meant that He will be not only our Guide, but also our Road-maker, showing us the way and clearing obstacles from it. Calm certitude follows on willingness to accept God’s will, and whoever seeks only to go where God sends him will neither be left doubtful whither he should go, nor find his road blocked.
The fourth couplet is, in its first part, in inverted parallelism with the third; for it begins with self-distrust, and proceeds thence to ‘fear of the Lord,’ which corresponds to, and is, in fact, but one phase of, trust in Him. It is the reverent awe which has no torment, and is then purest when faith is strongest. It necessarily leads to departing from evil. Morality has its roots in religion. There is no such magnet to draw men from sin as the happy fear of God, which is likewise faith. Whoever separates devoutness from purity of life, this teacher does not. He knows nothing of religion which permits association with iniquity. Such conduct will tend to physical well-being, and in a deeper sense will secure soundness of life. Godlessness is the true sickness. He only is healthy who has a healthy, because healed, soul.
The fifth couplet appears at first as being a drop to a lower region. A regulation of the Mosaic law may strike some as out of place here. But it is to be remembered that our modern distinction of ceremonial and moral law was non-existent for Israel, and that the command has a wider application than to Jewish tithes. To ‘honour God with our substance’ is not necessarily to give it away for religious purposes, but to use it devoutly and as He approves.
Christianity has more to say about the distribution, as well as the acquisition, of wealth, than professing Christians, especially in commercial communities, practically recognize. This precept grips us tight, and is much more than a ceremonial regulation. Many causes besides the devout use of property tend to wealth in our highly artificial state of society. The world tries to get it by shrewdness, unscrupulousness, and by many other vices which are elevated to the rank of virtues; but he who honours the Lord in getting and spending will generally have as much as his true needs and regulated desires require.
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