Proverbs 3

Guidance for the Young

3 My son, do not forget my law,
But let your heart keep my commands;
² For length of days and long life
And peace they will add to you.

 

(The more we seek to do God's will and what is right, we will have peace.  Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy.  Satan tries to take our peace away from us by enticing us with sin.  But living a righteous life brings peace. 

 

There is no greater peace than knowing that God is pleased with you. :)  We are not to forget God's law.  This is why we always need to be in his word.  We can read it once and forget it.  So we constantly need to refresh our memory on what God expects of us.  What are his requirement of us?  We need to keep his commands in our hearts, not just in our heads.  We need to actually care about what God's will is for us, not just act like we care.  If his commands are in our hearts, we care with all that we are what his will and wishes for us are.)

 

³ Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
⁴ And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.

 

(One characteristic that great leaders have in common is the ability to speak truth.  Great leaders that all respect also have a great deal of grace.  They are not harsh with people.  Mercy and truth are what will gain us favor and high esteem with God and man, as opposed to being judgmental and fake.  We need to have mercy and truth written on our hearts, as in they need to be our core virtues, what our character is made of."  

 

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct^[a] your paths.

 

(Trust in the Lord, versus trust in yourself.  We need to trust that what God says is supreme and the highest knowledge and good.  We have to trust him with all our heart, not half heartedly, not just in our minds, but with our whole hearts, with all that we are.  Don't lean on what you think is best, because you are generally not correct, due to our fallen nature and the flesh.  "A humble man is somewhat distrustful of himself."  We need to be doubtful or ourselves, but fully trusting in God.  If we do this, God will direct our paths.  We always need to acknowledge God.  We can't forget about God and expect to be blessed.  We need to always be giving thanks to God and recognizing that every good thing we have comes from him and him alone.)

 

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;

(Many are wise in their own eyes.  If we just compare ourselves to other human beings, we might start to think that we are pretty wise.  But we need to compare ourselves to God.  "We all fall short of the glory of God."  If we keep this perspective we will never be "wise in our own eyes."  We will see that compared to God, we are very lost and deceived.)

Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
⁸ It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.

 

(Contrary to what Satan wants us to think, sin will destroy us, mind, body and soul.  Sin will take away our health and make our bones weak.  Look at the effects of drinking or drugs, they slowly kill the body.  But if we depart from evil and fear God and do what he says, we will have good health.)

 

⁹ Honor the Lord with your possessions,
And with the first fruits of all your increase;
¹⁰ So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine.

 

(In defense of tithing, here it is.  Give God the first 10% of your paycheck and he will bless you.  Contrary to what seems logical, when we give we will get more from God.  When we willing to have less, we will have more.  "It is in giving that you receive." 

 

¹¹ My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction;
¹² For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

 

(Many like to think of God as all loving, but the fact is, he is both just and loving.  He does discipline us at times.  He does cause us pain in order to correct us, just as a parents might spank their child, for their own good.  He does this because he loves us.  He knows if we are left to ourselves we will only stray further from the path.  Sometimes his rod of correction is necessary.  Sometimes it will do us a lot of good.  "Bend the knee or have it broken."  We can learn the easy way or the hard way to follow God.  We can do what he requires of us of our own will, or he will chastise us until we learn.  It seems harsh but it is how God works.  We can fear him on our own, or he will cause us to fear him.  The choice is ours.  "God opposes the proud."  Sometimes he has to beat our pride, ego, and selfishness out of us.  That is just him pruning us so that we will bear more fruit and be a better person.)

 

^13 "Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding;
¹⁴ For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
And her gain than fine gold.
¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies,
And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her."

("What good will it do to gain the whole world but forfeit your soul?"  If you gain riches but do not have wisdom, your riches are futile.  Nothing compares with wisdom.  Nothing in all the world. :)

^16 "Length of days is in her right hand,
In her left hand riches and honor.
¹⁷ Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who retain her."

 

(Wisdom brings peace to your life, ultimate peace.  It gives you a long life.  Wisdom can give you riches.  Wisdom brings you honor from others.  Wisdom gives happiness and a tree of life....  :)

 

¹⁹ The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
By understanding He established the heavens;
²⁰ By His knowledge the depths were broken up,
And clouds drop down the dew.

²¹ My son, let them not depart from your eyes—
Keep sound wisdom and discretion;
²² So they will be life to your soul
And grace to your neck.
²³ Then you will walk safely in your way,
And your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵ Do not be afraid of sudden terror,
Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;
²⁶ For the Lord will be your confidence,
And will keep your foot from being caught.
²⁷ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
When it is in the power of your hand to do so.
²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor,
“Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.
²⁹ Do not devise evil against your neighbor,
For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.
³⁰ Do not strive with a man without cause,
If he has done you no harm.

³¹ Do not envy the oppressor,
And choose none of his ways;
³² For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord,
But His secret counsel is with the upright.
³³ The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the home of the just.
³⁴ Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.
³⁵ The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools.