Series: Summer of Proverbs

Title:  Abiding by a Father’s Instruction  

Recap:

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Today’s Theme verse

Proverbs 3:1-12

In light of Father’s Day we look at a portion of the proverbs which depicts a Father who gives the most valuable thing a father can give to his son, and that is the gift of wisdom.  An interesting thing about wisdom is that it is only valuable if the listener applies the knowledge that he has heard in his/her life. 

A person can gain knowledge without ever becoming wise, if they fail to apply the knowledge.

So, as we traverse through the proverbs, apply the knowledge and gain wisdom.

Just to reiterate what was said in the bible project video we showed last week.  The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, some general guidelines to follow and if these wise sayings are applied to your life then things will more than likely go well for you.  However, we know that sometimes there are exceptions.  The book of Job and Ecclesiastes talk about such exceptions. 

¹ My son, do not forget my teaching,
    but let your heart keep my commandments,
² for length of days and years of life
    and peace they will add to you.

It was important that this son remembers the teaching of his father and keep his commandments.  As fathers we have the unique opportunity to raise up our children and teach them about the things of God and about life. 

He tells his son that he will have a peaceful life and that he will live a long time if he would do so.

So in a practical sense, how does this work? 

Suppose your father teaches you the importance of driver safety.  He teaches you to wear your seatbelt, watch for others and to always look twice before proceeding onto a highway.  He teaches you to put away distractions while driving and to focus on the road, he teaches you to be courteous to other drivers.

If this knowledge is applied, it is more than likely you will succeed as a driver and perhaps live longer and even have peace with other drivers.  However, if you were to disregard this knowledge, then it is more than likely you will not succeed as a driver and you may not live as long or at peace with other drivers.

Here comes the exception, the unexpected drunk driver that crosses the lane of traffic has the potential to collidewith either the wise driver or the unwise driver.  Let’s just say sometimes bad things happen to wise people, and sometimes good things happen to unwise people.  That’s the exception.

I have heard of tragic endings for victims in such accidents, and I have heard of stories in which the drunk driver lived though he/she made an unwise decision.

But just because there are exceptions to the proverb, we should still make a conscious effort to abide by the proverbs.

Let’s look at what the father teaches his son in this passage.

³ Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
    bind them around your neck;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ So you will find favor and good success
    in the sight of God and man.

(KJV) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee

Mercy and truth are depicted as virtues that go with you.  They don’t originate from you, they go with you.  They originate from God, yet you are to make them your own. 

God demonstrates His mercy towards us by not giving us what we deserve.  His truth is absolute truth it can be trusted.  The young son is to put them on as a necklace and he is to write them upon the tablets of his heart. Meaning, he is to keep God’s mercy and his truth so close him that they become the virtues that govern his thoughts and actions.   (Neck brace illustration)

Lesson #1

God’s Mercy and truth should govern our thoughts and actions. 

What does that look like in our everyday lives?  I know you wronged me, but I have God’s mercy bound around my neck, so therefore I will show you undeserved mercy.  Or I know that so and so goes out and gets plastered every night, but I have God’s truth close to me like a necklace and His truth does not allow me to be a part of drunkenness.  I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Or what about this one, in the beginning God created male and female

Genesis 5:1-2

¹ When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. ² Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. 

The truth says we were created by God in His image and in His likeness.  It also says that He created two genders male and female and that is what He blessed.

So, we are to bind truth around our neck despite what culture may try to say.  Because culture just says what the devil says.  The devil is the author of confusion and is always perverting truth and twisting it for his ploys. 

The most likely outcome for binding truth around your neck is finding favor and success in the eyes of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

We are made up of mind, body, and spirit.  With our minds we process thoughts and communicate to the rest of our body.  The brain is the processing center of the entire body. 

But the area this young man is instructed to trust the Lord in is with His heart.  Because it is through your heart that you come to have faith in God.  The Heart is the place where God dwells.  We are not to lean on our own understanding.  We are to depend upon what God says. 

It did not make sense in the natural mind when

            John 9:5-7

…he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

It did not make sense for me when…

So basically, this father is telling his son, don’t trust your intellect or your ability to figure things out.  Trust with your heart, have faith in God.   A heart that has been changed by God is a heart where God dwells.  Otherwise, the scriptures say: 

         Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick;

If I would trust my mind and my own understanding, I would not have pressed on when faced with adversity because it did not make sense in the natural to do so.  But I’m not trusting or leaning on my own understanding, I’m not relying on what I can see, I’m trusting in Him in whom I cannot see.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Lesson #2

Don’t trust your intellect, trust in the Lord.

The outcome of trusting in the Lord with your heart is that He will make straight your paths.  (KJV) Direct your paths.

You may not know what direction to go or what is your next move but if you trust in the Lord with all your heart then He will make it known to you even if it does not make any sense to our finite minds.

I will read the next few verse but will focus on 11-12. 

⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
⁸ It will be healing to your flesh
    and refreshment to your bones.

⁹ Honor the Lord with your wealth
    and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
¹⁰ then your barns will be filled with plenty,
    and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
    or be weary of his reproof,
¹² for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
    as a father the son in whom he delights.

From these two verses we see that discipline is good for us.  Discipline may not always feel good at the time of receiving it but it is meant to steer us away from evil and to keep us on the path of the righteous. But not everyonewelcomes discipline. Some despise it.  Do you know anyone like that?  They refuse to be told what to do or how they should conduct their lives. 

However, if it is the Lord who is bringing the correction through means of a parent, teacher, boss, spouse, a friend, an enemy etc.. then who are we to contend with the Lord.  Can we outrun God?  Is there a place where we can go to hide from Him? 

Furthermore, God is not an abusive father He is a good Father.  He knows your frame and how much you can take, and He knows how much correction you need to bring you back into alignment with His will.

Because it is the chastening of the Lord then we are to embrace it and submit to it.  We must trust that He knows what is best for our lives.  He is a wise Father who knows His children very well.  He disciplines us because He loves us. 

Anyone had a father that told you that? Unfortunately, it is not until we are much older that we understand this truth. The young son is encouraged not to despise discipline, but to accept it as an act of love towards him.

As believers, the Lord is not the man upstairs with a big stick waiting to strike us down the moment we mess up.  Rather, He is a loving Father who will use the necessary means to discipline us with the intent of turning us from our ill ways and back to Him.  As His children we can trust in the fact that His discipline may be firm at times but will also be done so out of His love for us.

God’s Mercy and truth should govern our thoughts and actions. 

Don’t trust your intellect, trust in the Lord.

Lesson #3

Submit to God’s loving Discipline