CHAPTER 3

(1000 B.C.)

AN EXHORTATION TO OBEDIENCE

¹My son, forget not My Law; but let your heart keep My Commandments:

²For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to you. (In Chapter 1 we have the foundation laid for true prosperity and life, which is Wisdom. This Wisdom is the Word of God.

Chapter 2 tells us how to receive such.

Chapter 3 now tells us that when prosperity comes, we must not forget from whence it came forget not My Law.)

³Let not mercy and truth forsake you: bind them about your neck; write them upon the table of your heart:

⁴So shall you find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. (The Holy Spirit is informing us here that finding favor with God must come first. If such is done with God, it will automatically come about with man. Too often, religious man seeks to find favor with other religious men. The end result is that favor is ultimately found with neither God nor man.)

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Mans problem has always been mans will, whether Christian or otherwise. In these Passages, we are told here that we do not have the self-sufficiency to run this race alone.)

⁷Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

⁸It shall be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones. (The phrase, Be not wise in your own eyes, is, as we have mentioned in the previous Passage, the bane, blight, and terminal flaw of man.)

⁹Honour the LORD with your substance, and with the firstfruits of all your increase:

¹⁰So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your presses shall burst out with new wine. (The word firstfruits speaks of the tenth, and, therefore, tithing. Tithing is carried over into the New Testament, as well. The Melchizedek Priesthood is eternal and must be supported by the children of Abraham, which include every Believer [Heb. 6:20; 7:1-11].)

¹¹My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of His correction:

¹²For whom the LORD loves He corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights. (We find from this Text that Wisdom shows her love as much in rebuking as in enriching.)

¹³Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding. (Happiness and joy are two different things. The first pertains to externals and can, therefore, be enjoyed even by the ungodly. The latter pertains to that which is within, and can only be enjoyed by those who know the Lord and, thereby, have this precious Fruit of the Spirit [Gal. 5:22-23].)

¹⁴For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. (Precious few, even Christians, understand that knowledge of the Word of God is of more value than even silver and gold.)

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire are not to be compared unto her. (Most, if not all, Christians would agree with this statement, but yet they little believe it in their hearts. If they did, they would devote more attention to this all-important aspect of life the study of the Word.)

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. (The Holy Spirit is telling us here that the very thing we think we must spend all of our time and attention to acquire, namely silver and gold, will, in fact, come to us if we will place the Word of God first!)

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. (Most everything that one does in life has its negatives; however, the Holy Spirit tells us here that the study and pursuit of the Word of God has no negatives whatsoever.)

¹⁸She is a tree of life to them who lay hold upon her: and happy is everyone who retains her. (The phrase, tree of life, is interesting. It is spoken of in Gen. 2:9, and portrays mans losing access to it. It is spoken of again in the Book of Revelation [Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14]; it is there regained. Therefore, between the loss and the restoration, we are given this Promise of access. The key is the Bible.)

¹⁹The LORD by wisdom has founded the Earth; by understanding has He established the heavens.

²⁰By His knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. (This Wisdom delights to order and prosper the smallest details of a mans private and public life.)

²¹My son, let not them depart from your eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

²²So shall they be life unto your soul, and grace to your neck. (In effect, this tells us that what the soul is truly looking for, and that alone which will satisfy, is the Bible. For in the Bible, and in the Bible alone, are found all of these attributes.)

²³Then shall you walk in your way safely, and your foot shall not stumble. (Billions of dollars are spent each year on seminars, convocations, and motivational clinics that try to do what this Passage promises. All fail, because God and His Word Alone give the security that the heart craves.)

²⁴When you lie down, you shall not be afraid: yes, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet. (The safety, security, and well-being that one craves can only be derived by going Gods Way. His Way is His Word.)

²⁵Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes.

²⁶For the LORD shall be your confidence, and shall keep your foot from being taken. (The Word of God not only guards from stumbling, but delivers from fear by keeping the soul in fellowship with God.)

TREATMENT OF NEIGHBORS

²⁷Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it. (This is the kindness that all Christians should show to other Christians, and even to the wicked, for that matter. It is the Spirit of Christ that should characterize all of the Godly.)

²⁸Say not unto your neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when you have it by you. (This Passage is very much akin to the Sermon on the Mount [Mat. 5:42].)

²⁹Devise not evil against your neighbour, seeing he dwells securely by you. (In essence, the Lord addressed this Text [Mat. 5:44].)

³⁰Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done you no harm. (The idea here is without cause.)

³¹Envy you not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. (The spirit of oppression characterizes the human family. Too often Christians choose the ways of the oppressor, thinking to get gain. Wrong choice!)

³²For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but His secret is with the righteous. (The word froward means perverse or one who turns aside. This refers to one who follows his own ways, instead of Gods Ways.)

³³The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but He blesses the habitation of the just. (The sense of this Passage is that the curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked the world over, and for all time. As well, a Christian can bring such a curse upon himself by forsaking the True Word of God, and embracing false doctrine [Gal. 1:8-9].)

³⁴Surely He scorns the scorners: but He gives grace unto the lowly. (This is another one of the many Passages in the Bible that tell us that God greatly opposes pride, while giving Grace to the humble. He will not give Grace to the proud. Therefore, Paul was numbered, as would be obvious, with the lowly [II Cor. 12:9].)

³⁵The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools. (The wise shall inherit, not merit, glory. Fools, clothed with shame, shall merit judgment and go into everlasting contempt [Dan. 12:2].)