Proverbs 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Again we are reminded of God’s patriarchal design for humanity. The son needs to take heed to God’s law. This is not talking of law keeping as a means of salvation. It is talking of remembering God’s law for a successful life.
Of course that begins with salvation. The law of God says “ye must be born again”. We notice as well that God is not going to force His way upon the son. He is telling the son to let his heart keep my commandments. Again, we know that God has given every person a conscience. Even as a fallen individual, that conscience is there to remind each person of the basics of right and wrong. Many people pursue false religion because it suits their flesh better. If they would let God lead them, they would know false religion has no value.
Those who will let their heart keep God’s commandments will find their days prolonged. They will have long life and peace. These precious gifts will be added unto the person. We know that the person that is born again has eternal life. You cannot get a longer life than that. We know that those who reject God’s Word have a limited time on this earth and then eternal torment.
In verse 3 we see further choosing the wise son needs to make. He needs to be careful not to let mercy and truth forsake him. Yesterday was the Lord’s day. It was a day that God established as an important day for all people to shut down the busyness of life and go to a good, local church to learn of God. It was an opportunity to hear what God says is good and right. Yet the majority of people refuse to seek out a good church. They prejudge and decide that feeding the flesh is of much greater importance. However, the day is coming when mercy and truth will not be there to help the majority of people. God tells us that the minds of those in hell will be very active, but they will not have the opportunity to change the course they are on. It will be too late for that.
Again we see that God’s mercy and truth is of far greater value than a necklace. It does not matter the quality of gold in the necklace, it is nothing in comparison to God’s mercy and truth. We see as well that it is our choice to write God’s mercy and truth upon the table of your heart. It is not enough to just be able to quote a verse here or there. Those verses need to be scribed upon the heart so they cannot be removed. They need to be so permanent there that they govern every decision that the person makes.
If the son would listen to these first three verses, then he will find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Many people can find favour with man, but that is because the men they find favour with are lost. It is important to find favour with God first of all.
We have used many examples of what that looks like. The Bible has many examples of what that looks like. Job was a man who had God’s mercy and truth written upon the tables of his heart. His wife wanted him to curse God and die. He refused to do that.
I read of a 49 year old woman who took her own life with the assistance of the Canadian MAID system. That is a form of murder. That woman was apparently facing early stage alzheimer’s. She did not want to face that at her age and the government agreed that it would be better for her to die. That death did not help her at all. Now she has the rest of eternity to suffer in torment because she decided that God had nothing good for her. Of course the government does not believe God has anything good for man either. I do not know if any godly person had opportunity to talk to her, but she certainly did not avail herself of true help. Doctors can be wrong in their diagnosis. Even if she did have early stage alzheimer’s, the route she took did not help her nor anyone close to her.
In verse 5 we read the importance of trusting the LORD. Why anyone would put their trust in a system that wants to kill them with no assurance of relief, is hard to fathom. The Bible has many examples of the fact that the LORD is trustworthy. God has never lied. He has never deceived anyone. When Adam sinned, it was the LORD Who reached out to him. When Cain defied God in Genesis 4, it was God Who reached out to him. God did so more than once. Throughout history God has always been there to provide the correct answer to man’s needs.
We need to guard against leaning on our own understanding. Our understanding is quite short sighted and quite deficient. God’s understanding gives life.
In verse 6 we are commanded to acknowledge God. When we realize the importance of trusting in the LORD, He will direct our paths. He knows what is right and good. He will direct the path of the son who seeks His counsel. That requires a submissive heart that acknowledges God’s wisdom and authority.
Pastor Bartel