September 25, 2018: Day 45 – Proverbs 3

So far the last two chapters have begun with the words: “My child…”  If it was Solomon writing then he would be writing to his children as they looked to take on the daunting task of preparing themselves for the rule of the kingdom.  He would have needed to write a few things down so that they could be prepared.  But his words are also useful for us as Scripture as we look to live our lives in a fairly perilous world as well.

There are a lot of memory verses in this chapter alone.  Look at vs.5-8 and who of us hasn’t heard before: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.

This chapter does contain some statements that make us think that the Lord’s favor is with the righteous and that favor will play itself out on this world.  We seem to have a bit of a prosperity gospel approach in verses 9-10 where we read that if we honor the Lord in all of our ways that he will then shower us with plenty.  Verses 11-12 are also memory verses for those times that people are down and out feel as if God is punishing them.  We hear that punishment builds character, well here we read that punishment is a sign that God loves you.  Not sure I would take that logic too far.

We once again have an emphasis on wisdom and how precious and important it is.  As a juxtaposition we find evil and wickedness (vs.27-35) especially in the light of dealing with our neighbors.  The whole concept that Jesus gives us, which is to love our neighbors as ourselves, is not new to the New Testament.  Here we hear it repeated where we are told not to plan harm against our neighbor, not to withhold something that we have that they may need, not to quarrel with them for no reason.  All great advice.  It helps us live our lives as examples of disciples of our Lord.