Proverbs 3:1-4

In proverbs two we are introduced to folly and shame as contrasted to wisdom.

Proverbs two is wisdom’s offer to deliver us from evil

Proverbs three whats to offer is a life of peace

One of the key words in the beginning is “peace” or “shalom”

God wants His chosen people, Israel or NT believers, to live a life of peace…that peace comes through the wisdom of His commandments

That is a reason John says that the commands are not grievous…they bring about wisdom and peace.

What is the promise?

verse 2…verse 4…verse 10....verse 16

What is Solomon implying?

Prosperity Gospel

No

The rewards God offers us here in Proverbs 3 are good.

He will give them out to his wise children, as he sees fit.

But every believer’s life is complicated.

God sends us pain too.

Verses 11, 12 are clear that God disciplines us.

God sends both earthly blessings and earthly sorrows.

Think of Jesus.

He both suffered at the cross and prospered in the resurrection.

The passage is organized around two themes: the shalom God gives (vv. 1–4) and the trust God demands (vv. 5–8)

The wise Father links his counsel with incentives

Counsel: My son, do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commandments,

Incentive: for length of days and years of life

and peace they will add to you.

Step by step, the father gives his counsel and then adds an incentive.

He is not saying, “Do this because I say so.”

He is saying, “Do this because it will help you.”

This is the gospel for sinners whom God treats as his own dear children, guiding us, counseling us, urging us on, blessing us. How does he want to help us?

By giving us peace

He is saying “Pay attention to me”

You’re going to pay attention to something.

But only my teaching will lead you into shalom, wholeness, peace.”

God is not saying we have to be smart.

In fact, if we are wise in our own eyes, that is a problem (v. 7).

It is okay to be incompetent.

But we do have to pay attention to his gospel and its implications—his teaching and his commandments.

In all the noise of our culture, what are you listening to? And is it working for you?

Or is it a mirage, leading you on with false promises, always just out of reach?

In the second line of verse 1, the word “keep” means more than “obey”; it means “guard, maintain vigilance.”

“Let your heart guard my commandments.”

Your heart is your security system.

And every day thieves are trying to rob you of length of days and years of life and peace.

Elsewhere the Bible calls them “idols.”

What are they?

They are ideas that cannot help because they are made up.

Our own hearts produce them.

For example, ask yourself, “What life scenario will make me say, ‘I have finally arrived’?

What does ‘arrival’ look like to me?”

Whatever that scenario is, if Christ is not the life-giving center, your heart has already been penetrated by a life-robbing idol.

There is a reason why Solomon is telling us to stay alert.

When we forget Christ, we are not released into freedom; we submit to false teachings that fill our lives with regret.

For example, if you feel that you will finally “arrive” through your career, then you can never relax, because you are literally working for your salvation.

If you believe your family will “make” your existence, your “arrival” is insecure, because your kids will break your heart.

However you define your shalom, if it is not Christ, then it is an idol.

Idols demand your all but giving nothing.

If you obey it, it will break its promises.

If you fail to obey it, it will punish you.

Here is the point.

Our problem is not just our wandering wills; our problem is our false beliefs.

Our minds give credit to lies.

That is why Solomon is saying, “Stay alert to what you’re believing moment by moment.

God’s wisdom alone can make you lie down in green pastures and beside still waters.

Church age believers...Pay attention to the gospel of the finished work of Christ for sinners.

If you’ll guard God’s teaching with your heart, you will experience true shalom