Proverbs 3:1 Commentary and Bible Study

As we continue to study the book of Proverbs, we keep in mind that we are dealing with rich pictures and illustrations – the Hebrew word ‘proverbs’ meaning a similitude, a parable. The early chapters are all arguments and remonstrations and persuasions to bring us to God in the first place, showing us the delights of the spiritual wisdom that comes from above. Contrasting the person who lives just for this world, and the one who is drawn to a knowledge of God, celebrating and showing and demonstrating the tremendous superiority of a life linked with the living God. We are now looking at the conditions for benefitting from this book, and the first requirement here is that wisdom depends on a consistent walk. ‘Forget not’ presupposes we already know the standards of God. The picture here is of a person who is casual, taken up by things around them. We grow up, we come up into teenage years or into our twenties, and we begin to notice the attractions around us. We begin to be absorbed by things we have not had time or scope to get into before, and because we are naïve, the world just knocks us off balance, and absorbs us fully, and we forget almost casually the things that are far higher, and far more important, the living God, and his way of salvation, and his grace and mercy. So Solomon says to us – and you can hear the tone of his voice – ‘My son, do not forget the most precious and the most important thing in life.’What an amazing situation, that we human beings can be so naïve, we can actually forget the purpose we are here for. It is like somebody going on some kind of a mission or errand, or setting off to the shops, and getting so fascinated by what they see on the way that they completely forget where they were going, what the purpose of the journey was. And yet we can be that fickle as human beings. ‘Young people’, says Solomon, ‘do not allow the sights and sounds around you to cause you to forget the great objective of life, the great destination, where you are going, your God who made you, and who watches you.’ This is serious, because there are so many distractions. Let your heart keep – a strong word keep, guard – my commandments. By the heart he means whole being: your mind, your affections, your will. Let your whole being guard my commandments.