Proverbs 3:1-18

Proverbs 3 1-8

v.1 Chapter 3 opens with advice for young men. The appeal is that the young man would not forget the teachings of God. The young man has been taught God’s law and he is encouraged not to forget it. It is the nature of man to forget what he has been taught. This results in hypocritical living (James 1:25). Remembering God’s commandments is synonymous with keeping them. We must live what we learn.

v.2 These are benefits to keeping God’s law.

Length of days and years of life have the same meaning. This promise reminds us of the first commandment with promise. If we honor our father and mother we will live long. Living for God may keep us alive longer than if we were not living for him. The young man who lives in rebellion submits himself to more danger than the godly man. We should not interpret this to mean that if you die young you are ungodly, however. The day of our death is up to God (Hebrews 9:27). If the godly die young we know that we will experience eternal life through the gospel.

Peace. The word is “salom”. It describes a peaceful relationship between two or more people. A relationship with God brings peace to the believer (Rom.5:1). Before we are saved, we are battling against God (Rom. 8:7). Salvation brings a calm assurance to the believer best described by the word “peace”. This is a wonderful benefit to keeping God’s law.

v.3 Steadfast love is “chesed”. It means loyal love. It describes God’s love in keeping His covenant with us. It is closely related to the forgiveness of sins. God’s forgiveness of our sin is a result of His mercy toward us. The person who has mercy on another reveals that he/she loves that person. As believers we are to have the inner characteristic of love toward others. We are to care for their welfare and alleviate their suffering when possible.

Faithfulnessmeans “firmness, stability”. It describes a person that is dependable. God is faithful in that we know He will always keep His word. God wants us to be dependable people. He expects us to do what we say we will do.

These two virtues are to be a close part of us. They are to be visible on the outside (around the neck) and present on the inside (written on the heart). God is interested in our motives and our actions. The wise person recognizes this.

v.4 This is the reward of obeying verse three. We will please God and man. When we live our life with wisdom principles people recognize that we have good sense, we are not foolish. Christ is a perfect example of someone who grew in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52).

v.5 verse 5-8 are some of the most well known out of the book of Proverbs. It is a beautiful promise with encouraging benefits.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart. The word “trust” means to attach oneself to. It is used in Psalm 22:9 (hope) to describe a baby on its mothers breast. God wants us to completely depend on Him with everything we have. We are to attach ourselves to Him trusting that He will care for us with the certainty we trusted our own mother with. God cares for us more than our earthly parents could ever care for us. We should therefore trust Him more than we trusted them.

Do not lean on your own understanding. Lean means to support oneself against or to rely upon. If you lean against something you are trusting that it will hold you up, it will keep you from falling. Whether or not you fall depends on the strength of what you lean against. Our own understanding is our personal ideas about morality, responses to others, or decisions. We are leaning on our own intellect when we make our decisions without God. We are sure to fall. God wants us to rely upon Him. He is a strong tower. He will not fall. No matter how weak we may be, if we are leaning on Him, He will keep us up (Romans 14:4).

v.6 In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Acknowledge means to know or to be familiar with. It describes a personal relationship with God. Our God is knowable. We can have a vibrant personal relationship with the God of the universe through Christ. It is through this relationship that God directs our paths. We can walk a straight and narrow path when we have a personal relationship with God. Our trust in God keeps us walking in the right direction.

v.7 “Be not wise in you own eyes” means “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.” Many people without Christ believe they are intellectually superior or wise compared to others. This attitude only flatters those who possess it. It does not impress God. If we want true wisdom, we must fear the Lord and depart from evil. In other words, we must repent and place our faith in Christ.

v.8 “Flesh’ is “navel” in the Hebrew. It is the place the umbilical cord was attached to before birth. Through this we received the nourishment we needed to live. We still need nourishment from outside of ourselves. That nourishment must come from God. Trusting in God is for our entire body. This verse speaks of God’s physical care for those He has a relationship with. We can trust Him with our spiritual life and our physical life.

Thoughts To Consider

1. We have forgotten God’s word if we are not keeping God’s word.

2. God wants us to have the same character qualities as He does.

3. It is foolish to try and lean upon yourself, you’ll soon find yourself on the floor.

4. God wants to walk us through life step by step.

Proverbs 3 9-18

v.9-10 These verses, like many others in Proverbs, give a command and a promise. We are commanded to “Honor the Lord with our wealth and the first fruits”. Wealth refers to any type of material possessions that the Lord enables us to acquire. The first fruits are the first of the ripened crop. According to Deut. 26:1-9, they belonged to the Lord. They were brought as an act of worship to the Temple. This required an act of faith on the worshippers’ behalf. They trusted that God would protect the rest of the crop so they could eat and make a living. They did not wait until the crops were all harvested, and the bills all paid. Their first action was to show their gratitude to God by offering Him the first fruits.

The promise following the command is that the giver will not suffer want. His barns will be filled with plenty! “Vats” are wine vats used to crush grapes and gather the juice from them. “Bursting” refers to the wine overflowing. God will richly bless those who honor Him first in their lives. The way to become prosperous is not to be selfish. It is to honor God with all we have.

As believers these verses remind us to tithe. We are to give the first 10% of what God prospers us with back to Him. In doing so we show that we trust Him to bless the other 90%. He promises to provide for those who honor Him with their tithe (Malachi 3:10).

v.11-12 These verse are mentioned in the New Testament in Hebrews 12:5-6. They are a warning on how to react to God’s disciplining. “Discipline” is correction which results in education. When God disciplines us, He does so to teach us something. He is not simply punishing us. He is teaching us. Sometimes He must get our attention in extreme ways when we refuse to learn the easy way.

We are not to “despise” His discipline. This means that we are not to reject His discipline. We reject His discipline by refusing to learn from it. This is both silly and dangerous. It is silly because the only way to alleviate His discipline is to learn the lesson He is trying to teach. It is dangerous because we are tempting God to increase our discipline to get our attention.

We are not to “be weary of His reproof”. His “reproof” is His rebukes. To “be weary of” means to loathe or hate. Taken together it means that we are not to hate God’s rebukes. Some people grow angry with God when He disciplines them. We must remember that God wants what is best for us. He loves us too much to allow us to live in sin. He will do what it takes to bring us back to Himself. The proper way to respond to the Lord’s discipline is to receive it and appreciate it. Then we will learn what God wants to teach us.

v.13 Verses 13-18 are a type of hymn hidden in the book. It begins and ends with “Blessed”. It is a beauty of sorts. Blessed means happy. We are happiest when we are experiencing the blessings of God in our life. We have these blessings when we have found the wisdom of God and experience the understanding that it brings.

v.14-15 Wisdom is more valuable than silver, gold, or precious jewels. All of these were precious treasures in Solomon’s day. Any physical treasure that we could desire cannot even be compared to the worth of having God’s wisdom. Earthly treasures cannot buy us the peace of God, nor can they lead us into a saving relationship with Him. Therefore, God’s wisdom is far more valuable than anything else.

v.16 Wisdom is pictured here as a woman who is presenting gifts. In her right hand she is holding “long life” in her left hand she has “riches and honor”. The wisdom of God brings us long life and a position of prominence. Believers live eternal lives as the sons and daughters of the most high God in a city with streets paved of gold! God’s wisdom leads us to this position and place.

v.17 Wisdom leads us down a path of pleasantness and peace. True peace and happiness come from wisdom. Two things that most people are looking for in life are peace and happiness. Wisdom offers both.

v.18 The “tree of life” is mentioned in Genesis 2:9 and Revelation 22:1-2. It is the source of life and continual healing. Those who lay hold on wisdom will experience eternal life. It’s important to note that receiving God’s wisdom is the same thing as receiving salvation. Retaining her means “taking hold of her”. Happiness comes to the one who possesses wisdom as God’s blessings are experienced in his/her life.

Thoughts To consider

1. Giving to God financially reveals that we both honor and trust Him.

2. God’s discipline is an act of His love and determination to keep us in His grace.

3. If we possess eternal life we already have more than we will ever need to be happy.

4. The foolish unbelievers of this world have no idea how great a gift they are rejecting from God.