Sweet Sisters,
One of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of Proverbs. In Proverbs 1:1, we learn that Proverbs was written by Solomon the son on David, King of Israel. Agur and Lemuel’s names are mentioned in chapters 30 and 31. According to scholars it is one of the oldest documents of Hebrew wisdom, written about 700 BC.
A Proverb is a short saying, teaching a general truth. Sometimes in the book of Proverbs they may be made up of several verses and sometimes just one. Our study today takes us to chapter 3 of Proverbs. There are three proverbs that I want us to look at in this chapter:
The first is in verses 3 & 4
The second is in verses 5 & 6
The third is in verses 27-28
I want to look at each proverb on its own and then I want to show you how I think they fit together.
Proverbs 3:3-4
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
These verses may sound familiar to you. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, God has just given Moses the 10 Commandments. He tells Moses to tell the Israelites that if they want to please God then they must make the commandments an integral part of their lives.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
You will notice that in Deuteronomy and in Proverbs 3, our hearts have to be involved when we follow God’s commandments. We can’t just “talk the talk”, we have to “walk the walk.”
What does it mean when it says, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you”?
Love is most often defined in the Bible as treating others with kindness and respect regardless of how they behave or what we may feel. We often think of faith as belief in God. This is true, but faith is actually much more. Faithfulness is defined as: constant, loyal, resolute, steadfast, devoted and, my favorite, hard core.
The proverb is saying that when we treat people with kindness and respect in a “hard core” kind of way that we will win their approval and also the approval of God.
Proverbs 3:5 – 6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
This is my #1 favorite proverb. I have it on a plaque on the night stand by my bed. I have it written on a sheet of paper on the wall by my chair where I spend a great deal of time. Whenever I face a challenge, I’m not sure how to handle, this proverb comes to mind.
My first reaction to everything should be to trust God, not just a little, but with all my heart. I have learned that it never works out well if I “lean on my own understanding.” God promises over and over through His Word that when we trust Him and submit to Him, He will go before us and make our paths straight. Notice he does not say easy.
The last proverb in Chapter 3 that I want to share with you is in verses 27 – 28.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you.
When I was reading chapter 3 and came across these verses my first reaction was, “Whoa! That is really heavy stuff!!” God through Solomon is saying, “Do it now!” How many times have we felt “a voice” deep inside tell us to perform some “good deed” and we chose to ignore it or rationalize it instead of just making it happen?
In Matthew 25:31-45, Jesus teaches this same concept in the parable of the sheep and the goats. He indicates that where we spend eternity is linked to how well we do good to others.
I want to take you (remember I am a tour guide) to Mark 12:28-34 to show you how I think these 3 proverbs can be linked together.
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
There are three accounts of this interaction between the teachers of the Law and Jesus in the Gospel. This is my favorite because of Jesus’ response to the one who asks the question. The question is asked of Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?“
Notice the first thing Jesus says is to acknowledge who God is. “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” He then tells how we are to respond to God and then He tells us how we are to respond to others.
I love the fact that the teacher who asked the question understood that God wants more from us than just the outward signs of our obedience to Him, “burnt offerings and sacrifices”. That what He really wants from us is a response that comes from deep with our heart.
Sweet Sisters, God is calling us to:
Trust Him with all our hearts.
To love others and be “hard core” in expressing that love.
To do it now! Don’t wait!
Debbie❤