Book of Proverbs Commentary
Taken from Jimmy Swaggart Expositers Study Bible **Applies to sons and daughters!**
Chapter 3
An Exhortation to Obedience
1 My son,forget not my Law;but let your heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days and long life and peace shall they add to you.
Chapter 1 is 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”
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you:bind them about your neck;write them upon the table of your heart: 4 So shall you find favor 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 in turn come about with man. Too often religious man seeks to find favor with other religious men. That be the motive, the end result will not find favor with God or man.
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 will direct your paths.
Mans problem has always been mans will,wether Christian or otherwise. In these passages,we are told here that we do not have the self sufficiency to run this race alone.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the LORD and depart from all evil.
8 It 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.
9 Honor the LORD with your substance,and with the first fruits of all your increase:
10 So shall your barns be filled with plenty,and your presses shall burst out with new wine.
The first fruits 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. (Hebrews 6:20,7:1-11)
11 My son,despise not the chastening of the LORD;neither be weary of His correction:
12 For whom the LORD loves,He corrects;even as a father the son(daughter)in whom he delights.
We find from this text that Wisdom shows her love as much in rebuking as in enriching.
13 Happy 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 personally know the LORD and thereby have this Precious fruit of the spirit(Gal 5:22-23)
14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Prescious few even Christians understand that knowledge of the Word of God is of more value than even silver or gold.
AMEN ! :)
15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire are not to be compared to unto her.
Most,if not all Christians would agree with this statement,but yet they little believe in their hearts. If they did,they would devote more attention to this all -important aspect of life-the study of the Word.
16 Length of days is in her right hand;and in her left hand riches and honor.
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!
17 Her 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.
TRUTH! :) AMEN
18 She 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 Genesis 2:9 and portrays man’s losing access to it. It is spoken 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!❤
19 The LORD by WISDOM has founded the earth;by understanding He has established the heavens.
20 By His knowledge and depths are broken up,and the clouds drop the dew.
(this speaks to me,Rosemary speaking)I need to pray upon this verse :)
This Wisdom delights to order and prosper the smallest details of mans private and public life.
21 My son,let not them depart from your eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22 So 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(which is LORD JESUS)For in the BIBLE and in the BIBLE alone are found all these attributes.
23 Then shall you walk in your way safely,and your foot shall not stumble.
Billions of dollars are spent each year on seminars,convocations,motivation clinics that try to do what this passage promises.All fail eventually because God and His word alone give the security 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 and security and well being that one craves can only be derived by going Gods way. His way is His word. (Jesus Christ is the word)
25 Be not afraid of sudden fear,neither of the desolation of the wicked,when it comes. For 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. ❤****Our Tree of Life***(Rosemary speaking)
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.
27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
This is the kindness that all Christians show 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.
28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
This passage is very much akin to Sermon on the Mount(Mat 5:42)
29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
In essence the Lord addressed this text(Matt 5:44)
30Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
The idea here is ‘without cause”.
31 Envy thou 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. this is the wrong choice.
32 For 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.
33 The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth 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 oneself by forsaking the true word of God and embracing false doctrine(Gal1:8-9)
34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth 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 obvious,with the lowly(2Corinth 12:2)
35 The 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”judgement and go to everlasting contempt(Dan 12:2)
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