Lesson 277 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
Cross References
I Keeping God's Law
1. A father reminds his son not to forget the law of God, [PRO:3:1], [PRO:3:3], [PRO:3:21]; [DEU:4:9]; [DEU:6:12]; [DEU:8:11].
2. The keeping of God's law brings length of days, long life, and peace, [PRO:3:2]; [DEU:5:33]; [DEU:11:18-21]; [PS:119:165].
3. The favour of God and man shall be gained in keeping the law of God, [PRO:3:4]; [PS:19:11]; [JER:32:41]; [DAN:1:9]; [LUK:2:52]; [ACT:2:47].
4. God's law is a literal protection to all who embrace it, [PRO:3:21-26]; [1SM:2:9]; [2SM:22:29-31]; [PS:119:105]; [PS:112:7].
II Trusting in the Lord
1. God will direct the path of those who choose to trust Him, [PRO:3:5-6]; [PS:37:3]; [ISA:26:3-4]; [PS:23:2-3].
2. Self-esteem and carnal security must be forsaken to obtain wisdom, [PRO:3:7-8]; [PRO:26:12]; [ISA:29:9-16]; [1CO:1:18-24].
3. Men are expected to acknowledge God's benevolence to them by tithing their increase, [PRO:3:9];[PRO:3:10]; [EXO:22:29];[EXO:22:30]; [MAL:3:8-11]; [1CO:16:2]; [HEB:7:1-9].
III Chastisement of God
1. God's chastisement is not to be despised, but accepted for good, [PRO:3:11-12]; [DEU:8:5-6]; [HEB:12:5-13].
IV Value of Wisdom
1. The value and worth of wisdom is inestimable, [PRO:3:13-20]; [JOB:28:12-28]; [PRO:2:1-9]; [1CO:2:1-16].
V Neighbourly Goodness
1. The keeping of the commandments is fulfilled by the law of love, [PRO:3:27-30]; [LEV:19:18]; [MAK:12:29-33]; [MAT:22:37-40]; [ROM:13:8-10].
VI No Envy of the Wicked
1. The wicked are not to be envied, for judgment will come upon them, [PRO:3:31-35]; [PS:37:1-40]; [PRO:24:19-20].
Notes
Forget Not My Law
Our text is similar to many of the chapters of Proverbs, which begin with the exhortation to forget not the law of God, and to give earnest heed to the advice of the Author. Early reference is made to the Levitical Law, which God commanded Moses to teach Israel. They were to bind this Law (in some written form) on their forehead, and to post it in conspicuous places, such as the doors and gates of their houses. (Read [DEU:6:6-9]; [DEU:11:18-20].) God's intention was that His law would be placed so close to the business of everyday life, that Israel would be constantly reminded of their privileges under the Law and their obligations to the law of God. By fastening portions of the Word of God to themselves the idea was presented to them that it was to become an integral part of them.
It is promised by the Word of God that the Word shall be spiritually written upon the fleshy tables of the heart. This writing takes place at true conversion and is a process that is continuous from thenceforth, throughout the Christian life. It is a condition of the New Covenant, and is in itself a proof of true conversion, for God promised Israel by His Prophet Jeremiah: "After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them” [JER:31:33-34]). In a letter to the Corinthians, Paul states: "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart”
[2CO:3:3]). (Review lesson 157, 158 and 159 for a detailed study of the New Covenant, together with the following Scriptures: [HEB:8:10]; [HEB:10:16].) It becomes obvious that while our text mentions but briefly the subject of remembering the law of God, it is reference to a great and all-encompassing subject included within God's great plan of salvation.
Length of Days and Peace
Forgotten and ignored is the word and promise of our text to him who forgets not the law of God: "Length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” Furthermore the Word promises protection in times of unforeseen emergencies. "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken” [PRO:3:2], [PRO:3:25-26]). Let the man who desires safety, peace, and protection, turn to the living God, who offers life, and that more abundantly.
Much is being said of the progress made by medical science to prolong the life-span of man through the improvement of hospitalisation, medical insurance, modern drugs, and various other things. However, the statistics they give to prove their claim are group-averages over long periods of time. They make no promise to the individual to insures him from the results of unforeseen and inescapable circumstances that might come upon him. God has allotted man threescore years and ten, and four score by reason of strength, and all of man's devices shall not change the Word of God. In the words of the Psalmist, "The days of our years are threescore years, and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” [PS:90:10]).
Trust in the Lord
The next section of the chapter advises that men should put their confidence, their trust, and most heartfelt faith, loyalty, and hope in the Person of God. There are many today who ridicule the idea of a personal Saviour, and the idea that God, "if there is a God,” is anything but indifferent to the state of man. Others say that the Bible idea of God is archaic, outdated, and useless in the modern times of today.
The great majority of people in modern civilization seem to have forsaken the worship of God in the beauty of holiness, and have sought out some new thing as the ancient Greeks did. The Greeks as a nation had declared that they had sought after truth as the ultimate goal of men. Not finding it, they became a nation of pleasure seekers, seeking pleasure as the greatest good that could be achieved. Because of this they sank into the worst kind of national debauchery; the nation's home life was destroyed; and they fell victims of the Romans' savage conquests.
Much of the so-called "free world” today is in a similar state. The average citizen, having left his conceptions of God, truth, right, and wrong, and all ideas of retributive justice behind as a decadent ideology that has no place today, is becoming a cynic of the worst kind; having no faith in anyone, or any real foundation or hope of eternal life in any philosophy or religion, and is rapidly becoming reprobate in the eyes of God. All this, because the command of God to "lean not unto thine own understanding”, is ignored.
Parental Correction
The writer also speaks of a very personal matter, that of the father correcting his son. It is a mark of the "last days” that children shall be "disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.” (See [2TM:3:1-5]; [ROM:1:30].) If men are disobedient to their earthly parents, it is obvious that they are going to be disobedient to God who is in Heaven.
It is the declaration of the Bible in a number of places that "whom the Lord loveth he correcteth” [PRO:3:12]), but if we be without chastisement, then we are not sons. (See [HEB:12:3-11].)
Wisdom
King Solomon, who is accredited with the authorship of much of the Book of Proverbs, was a man who had riches in almost incredible amounts. He could and did indulge in about every possible thing human mind could invent to seek pleasure, satisfaction, and fullness of life. His account of the vanity of life without God, known as the Book of Ecclesiastes, is without equal. Quoting his father, Solomon said in proverb, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” [PRO:4:7]).
If a poor man had made such exclamations many would ignore him, and say he was not qualified to speak because he knew nothing about riches and the pleasure they can bring. However, Solomon had as much as any man has had, and therefore we can take his advice, for it is inspired of God and is authoritative, is true, and is the voice of experience.
Job, another godly man who had great possessions, had this to say of the worth of wisdom: "It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold” [JOB:28:15-19]).
How far removed are these two men's definitions of that which is truly valuable as compared with carnal man's conception of what true riches consist.
What is wisdom? And understanding? "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” [JOB:28:28]).
Love for Neighbour
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” [ROM:13:10]). Here in the words of Paul is summed up the meaning of a part of our text. What evil could have been prevented in the world if men had put into application God's advice as to how to keep peace in the neighbourhood by withholding not good from them to whom it is due and striving not with a man without cause [PRO:3:27], [PRO:3:30])!
Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, is the Way of lasting peace between men. "Recompense to no man evil for evil. . . . Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” [ROM:12:17], [ROM:12:20-21]). Jesus said: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” [MAT:5:44]). To help His people keep this advice, Jesus, gave them peace. He said: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” [JHN:14:27]).
The Gospel is revealed in these verses of our text; and further understanding of the proper affection men are to have one toward another is obtained by considering what manner of love God has for mankind. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” [JHN:3:16]). That we are to be like Jesus is expressed a number of times in the Bible, and the Lord told His listeners to be like their Heavenly Father, who is "kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” [LUK:6:35]). The substance of the final advice that is given to the children of God in our lesson text is: "Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.” "The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools” [PRO:3:31], [PRO:3:35]).
Questions
1. Why did God command Israel to attach written portions of the Law on their bodies?
2. How can the law of God be written in the heart?
3. What will bring long life, length of days, and peace?
4. What is the value of wisdom?
5. How can we get wisdom?
6. What is neighbourly goodness?
7. Why should we not envy the wicked?