Proverbs - Chapter 3

The principles of long life and peace. A verse-by-verse study of chapter 3 of the Book of Proverbs. Believersbibleschool.com

The Book of Proverbs

Chapter 3

While the Book of Proverbs hold general principles of truth throughout all 31 chapters, there is no guarantee that each principle of truth will apply to all individuals at all times because they are general principles meant for an audience as a whole, not absolute promises to an individual. 

  • As a rule, however, we can take these general principles and apply its truths to our lives, knowing there will be exceptions to the rule. 
  • So then, what the Book of Proverbs is doing is setting out the general rule of reality —principles and most likely outcomes. 

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God's Law - King Solomon's Law

Proverbs 3:1  My son, do not forget my law,  But let your heart keep my commands;  For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.

King Solomon was reminding his son about the law he gave to him as his father, which supported the Mosaic Law in which God gave to Moses some 500 years earlier.  Moses, in turn, gave that Law to God's people, the Israelites.  And now, King Solomon, as an Israelite, coming out of the Tribe of Judah, as well as serving as king over all of the Israelites, was responsible before God and his people to lead the nation of Israel to obey that Law.  Here, King Solomon speaks to his son - "do not forget my law, but let your heart keep these commands." 

We Are a Spirit, We Have a Soul, and Live in a Body

We learned in our last chapter that we are a human spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body.  The heart is the link that joins the human spirit and soul together.  Within our spirit dwells our conscience, intuition, and pathway of our communication with God. 

  • Within our soul resides our mind, will, and emotions where if we have renewed our minds to the Word of God, we will then be able to understand the will of God.  Our soul is the command center of our life where we make our choices. 
  • We can choose to allow our body to run our life, or call upon our spirit, where our conscience lies, and as New Testament believers, having the indwelling Holy Spirit, has been trained in the things of God.   
  • When we make the choice out of our soul, which is the command center of our life, to yield to the Spirit of God dwelling in our Spirit, we give ourselves over to the ways of the Lord, and we grow in our relationship with Him.

The Principle of Long Life and Peace

As a general principle, when God's people yield to the ways of the Lord on a consistent basis, long life, supported by peace, blessings, and tranquility will be added unto them.  This is a blessed combination because length of days could also be a curse and not a blessing if one does not have peace, living in turmoil and misery.  God grants both long life with peace and blessings for those who yield to His ways on a consistent basis.

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart,

Mercy and truth are like twins in that you often see them together.  Both need to be displayed in a believer's life for the world to see.  Both are important and should never be forsaken.  They should be so closely aligned with each other to where it would be as if they were a necklace around our neck at all times, and a tablet upon our heart.  

  • Mercy and truth needs to be visible to others, demonstsrating our responsibility of who we are to the world. 
  • Mercy and truth also need also be written on our hearts, so that inside and out, they become a part of who we are.  They are like constant reminders of who we are in Christ.

God bestows His favor (grace) upon those who choose to live in the principles of His wisdom.  So then, when we live rightly, it affects both our character, from the inside out, and our ability to influence others. 

Finding Favor With God and Man

And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.

God favors those who choose to live in the principles of wisdom. 

  • Let me say that again:  God favors those who choose to live in the principles of wisdom.

God holds those who choose to live in the principles of His wisdom in high esteem both before mankind, and in His sight. 

  • It doesn't mean God love others less, because He loves the whole world - believers and unbelievers alike and wants everyone to walk in His ways. 
  • He does, however, favor those who choose to live by His principles.  God holds them in high esteem both before mankind, and in His sight because they have chosen to follow after His way.  As such, these are the ones who are blessed of the Lord! 

I'm reminded of that same kind of blessing that comes from Psalm 91 where God promises that if we set our love upon Him, we can call upon Him anytime and He will answer us.  He will lift us up and deliver us.  He will honor us, be with us in trouble, He will set us on high because we have a relationship with Him.  We know who He is because we belong to Him.  And with long life we will be satisfied as He shows us His salvation that resides within us in this life through the power of the Holy Spirit, and then eternally with Him forevermore.

  • Truly, that is a blessing from the Lord.

Trust in the Lord

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

King Solomon is advising his son to live a life of trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, reminding him that he is in covenant with Almighty God.

  • In the same way that King Solomon and his son, as well as the Israelite people had a covenant with God, we, as New Covenant believers also have a covenant with this same God as well.   Our covenant is secure through God's Son, Jesus Christ, because of His promises of redemption from our sins by His shed blood.  In that, we too can take this same promises of Proverbs 3:5-6 into our lives as well.

Most believers are familiar with this Scripture passage, but I wonder if everyone truly understands the beauty of this verse in what "trust" really means. 

  • Researching the root meaning of the word "trust" in Hebrew is to be confident or sure of something.  God wants our faith to be built up so strong in Him to where we are confident and sure of the promises He has given His people through His writings throughout Scripture.  

When Solomon advised his son to trust in the Lord with all his heart, meaning his spirit and soul,  it didn't mean half of his trust is in God and the other half in self, someone or something else.  It meant, and still does mean to  purpose to yield our soul, which is the command center of our being, over to the control of the Holy Spirit to rule over our whole being - spirit, soul, and body.   We are then trusting that our mind, will, and emotions are fully in the hands of the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within our spirit.  Then when our body is crying out for attention, which it does a lot, our soul then tells our body to be quiet and that we are now being commanded by the Holy Spirit instead.  The Holy Spirit now has control over our lives.  It will then take a child-like faith in that we are fully trusting in the Lord with our whole heart, meaning our whole spirit and soul being for this to become real in us.

  • Put another way - when we fully trust in God alone with all our whole heart - spirit and soul - it means we decide to put aside our own understanding by "choosing" to trust God as He has declared in His Word.  We believe He knows and does what is best for us. 

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. 

When we acknowledge God in all our ways, that means we have invited Him into our everyday life and conduct.  From the smallest details to the monumental events of our lives, we have invited God to be the center of every activity we are involved in day in and day out. 

I'm reminded of a book I read many decades ago about a monk named Brother Lawrence who purposed to practice the presence of the Lord in everything he did.  One of his mundane tasks was to daily peel potatoes.  Even in that most mundane task, he purposed to practice the presence of Christ with every swipe of the blade peeling each potatoes.  What that did was make him consciously aware of God's presence, which drew him closer to the Lord in a very intimate way in everything he did.

7.  Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil.  8  It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones. 

Keeping in the context of verse 5 and 6 telling us to trust in the Lord with all our heart, leaning not on our own understanding, Solomon is telling his son, as well as God is speaking to us, to not think of ourselves as wise.  In comparison to God, we know nothing.  Instead, we need to stay away from all forms of evil - anything that is contrary to the will of God, and fear God with an awesome reverential fear and respect that puts Him in the place of honor and first-place in our lives. 

  • God is our Creator and He knows every detail of our life - past, present, and future.  Who are we to think that we can lean our own understanding, and think we are wise? 
  • That's comparing our earthly selves to God and His full knowledge of who we are.  To me, that is prideful and mocking God for He is.  

If we can just put ourselves in the right perspective with God, we will acknowledge Him as our Creator and we are His created.  He formed us, breated His life into us, gave us a call and a purpose in life, but we are still His created being - not the Creator.  We are here to serve Him, and God is Lord over all!

When we lean on God for His wisdom, having that awesome fear of Him as Creator and Lord over our lives, it will bring healing, health, and strength to our bodies.  Why would we even want to lean on our own strength when God promises all these wonderful things to those who put their trust in Him, not leaning on our own understanding?

  • God's ways are always best for us - spirit, soul, and body.
  • Chances are, we will live longer, because we are in God's hands, and we trust and know that He is taking care of us. 

9.  Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; 10. So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

  • At the Feast of Pentecost, which was 50 days after Pentecost when the 1st fruits were ready for harvest, the Jews would bring their 1st fruits of their labor to the temple in Jerusalem, whether it was grain or wine.  Often called the Feast of Weeks, we know this feast to be the Feast of Pentecost. 
  • The Jews did this in honor of what God has given them, and offering the 1st fruits meant they would have a bountiful harvest. 
  • This practice was done all through Bible times.

As far as New Covenant believers, I know there are churches today that ask of their congregation to give an offering of monetary value of the 1st fruits.  

  • We must always remember that 1st fruits was a celebration that came from their labor from the land in Israel.  In other words, this is an agricultural term for Jews in Israel who were farmers living off of the land, and they gave as part of the Mosaic Covenant.
  • 1st fruits was never intended to be monetary because 1st fruits can only come off from the land in Israel...all under the Old Covenant.

As New Covenant believers, we do not practice the 1st fruits; however, the principle here is that if we give God the 1st of what He has given us to honor Him, He will in turn bless us.  It should never be a celebration of the 1st fruits like the Jews celebrated during Bible times.

The Chastening of the Lord 

11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Chastening and training go hand in hand.  That is why King Solomon has spent so much time, as we have seen in all the previous verses, training his son in the ways of the Lord.  Training and chastening (or correction) are like twins in that you can't have one without the other and still have a healthy, disciplined child.  A child will only respond to the training he or she has had.  

  • A father who truly loves his child will correct him (or her) in a manner that is best for him as an individual. 
  • For a father to ignore bad behavior, which is sin uncorrected, is not a sign of love, but indifference.  Therefore, if a father has not trained his or her child properly, the child will need to be disciplined all of his life.  Rebellion will dominate the child's life because he or she was never trained properly to listen and obey his or her parents. 

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ESV

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. KJV

Part of the training of a child is the disciplining that is needed to help the child become obedient to the training that the father (or mother) has put upon the child.  Sometimes the severity of the discipline or correction may bring some discomfort or affliction, but a good, loving father will always consider discipline as a school of learning instead of a prison of punishment.   

We, as God's children, also need to be trained and disciplined to live godly lives.  When we do, we can appreciate that God loves us and wants His best for us.  God teaches us His ways through His Word, and He expects us to follow His teachings.  He knows us, He foresees our future, and He also knows the traps that Satan continuously puts in our path.  Our heavenly Father may discipline us to keep us away from those traps and sometime it stings.

  • But if we keep refusing His discipline, becoming rebellious toward the things of God, wanting to do life by our own rules, God, as a loving heavenly Father will take His hand of protection off of us and simply allow us to go our way to experience the full consequences of our own actions.
  • We must realize, however, that by God letting go of us to do our own thing is not God's discipline toward us, but simply God releasing His protection upon us.  Not the same thing.
  • It is our rebellion toward our heavenly Father which brought on the consequences of our actions; therefore, we are responsible for what happens because of it.
  • Often it is then when God's children will cry out to the Lord for mercy, when in turn they should have been obedient to His ways when he or she was first disciplined by the Lord.

If you recall from our study earlier on the life of King Solomon, that is exactly what happened to him.  God warned him that he should not take on any foreign wives because they would pull him away from God and into idol worship.  Solomon was obedient to the ways of the Lord for a time, but as time continued, he refused to obey God by marrying foreign women but thought he could still have the favor and wisdom of God - which he did for  time.  But, every treaty he made with foreign pagan kings, he took on another foreign wife to where, after 40 years, he ended up having 700 wives and 300 concubines. He ended his life as a bitter old man, full of remorse for not following God all along.

 According to Adam Clarke, a Bible scholar from a century ago stated:  Teaching is essentially necessary to show the man the way in which he is to go; discipline is necessary to render that teaching effectual; and, often, correction is requisite in order to bring the mind into submission, without which it cannot acquire knowledge.” 

For whom the LORD loves He corrects.  How we must never forget that.  In the midst to ease our pain, while being corrected, can we remember that God's discipline is a wonderful sign of His love toward us?   In doing so, God is dealing with our sins and even our weaknesses and failings, some of which we may not have even been aware of.  God wants us to be the best "us" that He created us to be, and for most of us, that means changes in our life.

When or if we find ourselves under the discipline of the Lord, can we take our attention off of the "why, why, why Lord," having our attention only on our pain, and turn it around to see it as a positive loving action of a Father Who loves us, knows everything about us, and is working things out for our good and His glory?  For then, we can freely ask God to search our heart, show us where we did wrong, and as He reveals our actions, we can then simply repent.  Those words - "I'm sorry Lord, please forgive me!  Now help me change."  How the Lord loves to hear those words.

Benefits of Wisdom

13  Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding;  14  For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold.  15 She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.  16 Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor.  

King Solomon, as a wise father (at this time) reminds his son, taking him right back to the benefits of finding wisdom, how it is far more precious that gold and silver, rubies and all of the precious jewels that man could acquire.  He does not labor on the chastening, but spends far more time showing his son the benefits of following the teachings of his father and of the Lord.  In other words, King Solomon, as the wisest man on earth, purposed to spend more time showing his son that God is a God of love instead of Him simply being a God of punishment.

If we, as God's children, centering our minds on Scripture, we see that God spends more time telling us in His Word about His love and the benefits we have in Him instead of showing us over and over and over again that He is a God of wrath, warning that punishment will come to us if we do not obey.

  • Sadly, there are Christian denominations out there that center more on God's wrath instead of His love, so furthermore, many Christians grow up being taught God is out to get them, instead of learning that God is a God of love, and Who loves His children so much - to where He wants only the best for them. 
  • I was one of the fortunate ones who grew up knowing that I had a loving earthly father, as well as I have a loving heavenly father who only want the best for me.  I have never questioned the love from my earthly father and I never questioned God's love for me.  Never, even once.  I've always known their love. 

Sadly, I'm so sorry to say that that is not true of everyone.  Can I say this:  If you grew up questioning your earthly father's love, and especially if you were taught under punishment instead of loving discipline, it definitely makes it harder to trust your heavenly Father because your earthly father was your representation of your heavenly father all along.  Then if you have been indoctrinated by a church that has taught that God is a God of wrath, that puts a distrust in God's true love for you on top of that.

  • If you grew up under any of that, please, please, please, I would like to encourage you to go to your Bible, especially in the Book of Ephesians to examine who you are in Christ, centering on God's love and the benefits of belonging to Him. 
  • You need to be re-trained by renewing your mind to the Word of God to see that God is such a wonderful loving heavenly Father Who loves you very much to where He sent His only Son to die for your sins, so you can have eternal life with Him. 
  • God truly wants the very best for you. 

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.

Having wisdom, being a "she" is part of living the good life in God.  Let me say this, God created you as someone very special and He has a plan and a purpose for your life, and that plan and purpose will bring you fulfillment in your life as you experience great joy and peace, just as we see here in verse 17.

Walking in the ways of God is like a tree of life - but you need to grab hold of it.  God offers His kind of life to us, but it takes each one of us to take hold of that offer.  Living the full life in God is such a great life that our heavenly father wants all of us to have. 

By Wisdom God Founded the Earth and the Heavens

Proverbs 3:19  The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; 20. By His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew.

It appears that King Solomon has completely changed the subject in his teaching to his son here, but in reality he has not.  He, being the was the wisest man on earth at that time, knew that God - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the wisest of the wisest in all the world, and he simply turned his attention toward God Almighty to give Him His due recognition to his son.   As such, Solomon took the focus off of himself by claiming God as the ultimate designer and provider for mankind as the Creator of the world.  As such, he was praising God to his son.

King Solomon, in his praise of God was reminding his son what the Torah in the Mosaic Law said on how God created the heavens and the earth.  Verses 19 and 20 are connected together in that King Solomon was giving God praise for all He has done as listed in the Torah, which we know of as the first five books of the Old Testament.

  • King Solomon was referring to the beginning words of the Torah in the writings of the Book of Moses, which we know of as Genesis 1, where God claimed and explained how He founded the earth and established the heavens. 
  • Both King Solomon and his son knew what God was saying here because it was part of their learning in the Torah which they repeated many times over as part of knowing how to obey the Mosaic Law.

The Torah was written in Hebrew which was King Solomon and his son's native tongue.  While the time difference was 500 years between the writings of the Torah and when King Solomon spoke to his son here in Proverbs, we need to understand that the Israelites of King Solomon's day followed the Torah exact to its specifications.  For us today, we are dealing with language challenges, historical. geographical, sociological, and cultural differences, as well as 3500 years difference between the time of the writing of the Torah and today.  In addition, all of the authors of the Bible wrote from an Eastern mindset and we, as Westerners carry a completely different mindset, bringing on additional misunderstandings of all of the above challenges between then and now.

  • The Eastern mind of every author of the Bible, written 2000-3500 years ago, centered their writings  around relationships, being circular in its purpose, while the Western mind of today think more concrete, factual and lineal - where there is a beginning and an end. 

    • For instance, the Eastern mind did not see a beginning nor an ending in its writings of the Scriptures.  In other words, when we finish with the Book of Revelation, we simply circle back to  Genesis 1 in its fulfillment back in the Garden of Eden before sin entered into man.  In other words, Revelation 23 and Genesis 1 have the same  purpose - God's relationship with mankind. 
    • God looks at relationship with Him and with each other as being the most important. 
    • The Western mind, however, looks at Genesis as the beginning of time and Revelation as the end of time - Period!.  Two entirely different views.

Fortunately, there are biblical scholars who have interpreted the Hebrew/Greek languages of the Bible into English through the use of the Strong's Concordance or other similar biblical study tools to research Scripture's most accurate meaning to help avoid any wrong interpretations with all these barriers inbetween. Then making use of Bible dictionaries and other Bible study tools helps us understand the Eastern mind of 2000 - 3500 years ago and all of these other differences between then and today.

  • Some words may need to be researched back to the original Hebrew language to get the most accurate meaning of what the writer intended when he wrote the Scripture because this chapter hold many truths that science and the world wants to distort and Christians, often deceived by their narrative, can overlook or misinterpret its true meaning. 

Let me read Proverbs 3:19 again:

Proverbs 3:19  The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; 

Let's now go to Genesis, chapter 1 - the beginning of the Torah to back up what King Solomon was telling his son.

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  2.  The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep (Strongs Concordance H8415 - surging mass of water).  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

So God was careful to say here in the first half of our next verse in Proverbs 3:20 and in the first chapter of Genesis that by His Words He created this surging mass of water.  Then by His knowledge He divided the surging mass of waters apart...so let's read them both together. 

Proverbs 3:20  By His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew.

Gen 1:6  Then God said, "Let there be a "firmament" in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

By His knowledge the depths were broken up.  God placed a "firmament" in the midst of the waters to divide it.  So then what did the Torah mean by "firmament?" 

The Hebrew meaning for "firmament" according to the Strong's Concordance is H7549 - meaning a "visible arch in the sky."

The Complete Jewish Bible uses the word "dome" instead
of a "visible arch in the sky."  (David Sterns)

Gen 1:7  Thus God made the "firmament" and divided the waters which were under the "firmament" from the waters which were above the "firmament" and it was so.

Gen 1:8  And God called the "firmament" Heaven...

So God called the "firmament," which in Hebrew tells us it is a visible arch in the sky, as heaven.

Gen 1:9  Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.  10  And God called the dry land earth...

Gen 1:11  Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth...

God then speaks of the many blessings He has given mankind by creating the heavens and the earth.  In His infinite wisdom, God established, prepared, adorned, and beautified the earth, along with the hosts of luminaries of the sky, filled with the sun, moon and stars.  In other words, God is the ultimate provider for mankind and needs to be glorified and praised as such.

Then going back at Proverbs 3, the second half of verse 20,

Prov 3: 20 By His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew.

"and clouds dropped down the dew.  When then is the dew?

Dew (Strong's Concordance H2919 as covering vegetation)

The clouds before the time of the flood of Noah, which came almost 1700 years later, did not break open to give rain upon the earth.  Instead the clouds were a covering for the earth to give dew upon the whole earth to give natural moisture to all vegetation.

 Solomon was teaching his son what the Torah in the Mosaic Law taught, and for us, today, these words also speak to us that as God's people, we too must never forget to keep our focus on God as our Creator, but also, how He as the Creator of all of heaven and earth formed the earth and the heavens.  God created a beautiful earth for us to live on, take care of, and He also created for us a heaven for us to enjoy for all eternity.  We can't take that for granted.  

Walk in the Ways of the Lord

Solomon then went back to reminding his son not to forget what God has given him.   

 21.  My son, let them not depart from your eyes—keep sound wisdom and discretion;  22 So they will be life to your soul, and grace to your neck.  23 Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble.  24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. 25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; 26 For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

To explain these six verses, let me paraphrase in my personal words what Solomon re-taught his son, and it also re-teaches God's wisdom to us.

"Don't forget son, keep God's wisdom and understanding, don’t let them out of your sight.  Remember, first comes knowledge, then get understanding, for out of that you will receive wisdom.  Wear knowledge, understanding and wisdom like a necklace around your neck so you know and others can see you are a godly young man.  Remember, as others are watching you, don't forget that you have a responsibility that comes with those  blessings from the Lord.  Make godly choices.  Make sure, son, to stay on this path of wisdom by choosing to be that young man of wisdom, and when you do, you will walk around in safety and not get hurt. You do not need to be afraid at night while you sleep and when you are awake.  As long as you walk in God's wisdom, you will live in peace.  What comes upon the wicked and rebellious, will not come to you because you can  be certain that the Lord will keep you safe, and His wisdom will keep you from being deceived by the enemy. "

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. 28 Do not say to your neighbor,“ go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you.

King Solomon begins this section of Scripture by giving his son some wise practical advice on how to live a godly life, which we can also take as good advice to us today. 

It may be said in this way:  "When the opportunity comes to help someone in need, it then becomes your responsibility toward God and that person to not only be kind, but help him or her in whatever help they may need if it is within your power to do so. If what he needs is money and you have it in your heart to give, having the means, give it to him now.  Don't put it off, because if you do, it may leave your mind, so it will probably never happen.  It's much too easy to put it off for later.  Therefore, when you feel that nudge to help someone in need, don't procrastinate, but just do it, and do it right away."   

29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety’s sake. 30 Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.

The Lord does not intend for His people to devise evil against anyone.  Here in this verse God, through King Solomon, is instructing His people to not devise evil against his neighbor.  Who then was their neighbor?  Again, going back to its original language in Hebrew, what did King Solomon means when he wrote to not devise evil against one's neighbor?  According to Strong's Concordance, neighbor (H7453) means brother, someone close, like a companion, friend, spouse, or lover.  While that seems to only include those close to you, God expands his meaning through the next verse. Solomon stated to his son, and God to us, that we are not to strive with anyone without cause - especially when he or she has done you no harm.

God’s wisdom teaches us to treat others well.  Our neighbors around us are for our own security and safety in case of danger from outsiders. 

  • God's people during this time in history lived in clusters together throughout Jerusalem.  They needed each other for protection from the outside world. 
  • It behooved them, and it behooves us today, as our sphere of influence is broadened, to get along with our neighbors and those we come in contact with on a regular basis, including work and church friends and acquaintances. 
  • We have to interact with them, so it is far better to pursue peace instead of strife.  That is the way of wisdom.

Who is the Oppressor?

Proverbs 3:31 Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways;

There are many words in the next few verses that need to go back to the original Hebrew language using the Strong's Concordance, because the meanings today in our English vernacular may not give us an accurate picture of the true meaning of these verses.

Let's look at the words envy and oppressor here.

Envy - H7065 - To make zealous, and in a bad sense jealous or envious.

Oppressor - H2555 - Cruel, unjust gain, injustice, uprighteous and wrong.

Because King Solomon has been teaching his son to be kind to everyone, and through his words, God wants us to strive for peace with everyone.  But let's look at ourselves to make sure our heart is right here. 

  • Have you ever been an oppressor or envious of someone else?  Have you ever been so angry toward someone and either out of spite or even without realizing your motive, you did something to them that in the eyes of God is a sin - something that is contrary to His will?  That's being an oppressor.   
  • Every person, Christian or otherwise, is capable of being an oppressor toward someone - especially when in anger and the motive of the heart springs forth into actions toward that person. 
  • How about jealousy?  Have you ever been jealous of someone, and secretly you want something bad to happen to them?  That's a sin in the eyes of God. 

We need to know that God sees the heart motive of everyone and He will judge our heart motive as well accordingly and in His timing.  As such, we always have to guard our heart against anything that is contrary to the will of God.

God's Secret Council of the Upright

32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord, but His secret counsel is with the upright. 

Again, going back to the original Hebrew meaning of certain words...

Perverse - H3868 - Departed, to turn aside, be perverse.

Abomination - H8441 - Disgusting (morally), an abhorrence.

Secret counsel - H5475 - Secret assembly, company of persons in close intimate deliberation.

Upright - H3477/H3474  - To make straight, pleasant, prosperous, righteous.

Looking at the original meanings of these words makes it easier to understand this verse of scripture in the way that King Solomon meant it to say.  We know from studying the Book of Proverbs so far is that for those who have departed from the ways of the Lord, they have become perverse in their behavior.  The two work together. 

  • God calls this kind of behavior disgusting and something He abhors.  But for those who have a close intimacy with the Lord, purposing to walk in the ways of the Lord, which is what God desires for His whole family, they will walk straight according to His will.  They will be prosperous, life will be pleasant, for God considers them the upright or righteous.  

Understanding the Curse of the Lord

33  The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,  but He blesses the home of the just. 

Curse - H3994/H779 - An execration (to detest utterly; abhor, abominate). 

Wicked
- H7563 -  Morally wrong, a bad person.

Just
- H6662 - A lawful (meaning one who faithfully follows the Mosaic Law)  righteous man

Again, trying to understand this scripture verse in its original context, and as King Solomon taught it to his son, the curse of the Lord is not an action that God would put upon anyone, for God does not curse people.  God is not in the cursing business, but chooses to only bless the just - those who follow in His ways.  It is the devil who curses, as well as people can bring about their own curses simply by their evil actions. 

  • What King Solomon is saying here is that God considers their acts utterly destible, something He abhors, and is an abomination in His eyes.  People's wicked actions bring about their own curses in which Satan may or may not be a part of it.

God blesses the home of the "just."  In this verse, the "just" refers to those under the Old Covenant who faithfully followed the Law of Moses, and God considered them as a righteous person. 

  • For a New Covenant believer, however, how can we understand who is a "just" person?  The "just," in its Greek meaning (G1342) that comes from the New Testament, means one who is innocent and holy - set apart by God to do a work of holiness in that person.  In other words, Christians can take this verse to refer to those who have an intimate, deep, close relationship with the Lord, and are set apart by Him to do a work of holiness.  As such, he or she will walk more faithfully in God's ways.  God can use that person even greater for His plans and purposes.  That is the person whom God blesses.

34  Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. 

Scorns/scornful - H3887 - To make mouths at, that is, to scoff; to interpret or intercede. 

Grace
- H2580 - Favor, kindness, beauty, pleasant, precious, well-favored

Humble
- H6035 - lowly, needy - especially saintly. 

As some other more modern version say of this verse - The Lord mocks or laughs at them who mocks and laughs at Him.  In other words, God speaks forth from His mouth in the same way what others speak out to Him.  If you scorn God, God scorns you. But if you praise God, God will praise you.  However you speak of God, God will speak the same way of you.

  • God gives grace or kindness and favor to those who are humble.  They are well-favored in the eyes of God.
  • Humble or humility has nothing to do with those who have low self esteem and appear humble in the eyes of the proud.  This "humble" is speaking here of the lowly in heart who know they have a need for the Lord in their life.  Humility in heart is what the Lord wants for each one of us.  He wants us in a place where we constantly are in need of the Lord.  He is the One Who fills our life with whatever we need.  At that, we continuously have a need for Jesus as we humbly reach out to Him every day.

The Future of the Wise and the Fool

35  The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.

Inherit (H5157) - To occupy, causatively to bequeath, or generally distribute, instate.

Glory (H3519) Splender or copiousness (meaning age of abundance), glorious.

Shame (H7036) confusion, disgrace, dishonour, reproach, shame.

Legacy (H7311) - Bring up, promotion, set up

Fools (H3684)  - Stupid or silly

The wise - those having the God kind of wisdom - will occupy or have bequeathed to them splender and glorious abundance in their life.  In other words, wise people will receive honor, but fools will be disgraced.  While honor or dishonor may not happen immediately to a person, man's behavior is a set up for how they have lived their life.  Honor catches up with a person in the same way dishonor catches up, based on past behavior.   

  • God so desires us to have His kind of wisdom, for when we do, God promises that we will inherit glorious abundances in our life.  Again, that take us back to the beginning of Proverbs - First comes knowledge, then understanding, and when understood, we will gain wisdom - and what King Solomon is referring to is God's kind of wisdom.

JE______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

That ends chapter 3.  A lot of meat was given in this chapter, and much to meditate on.  

God bless

Pastor Joyce Erickson
Believersbibleschool.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Pastor Joyce A. Erickson

Believers Bible School, Founder https://believersbibleschool.com/