The Key to Confident Living. Proverbs 3:1-6
Confidence is one of those interesting
words we often hear. Sometimes it follows the hyphenated compound
self-confidence. Self-confidence sometimes just means that we have a sense of
who we are, that we have mastered whatever our area of endeavor is, and so we
are confident that we can accomplish a task. And that, as far as it goes, is
probably not a negative concept. But confidence ultimately has to be based in
our life on one of two things. It is either based on the creator, on God, or it
is based on circumstances, the details of the creation. Those are the only
options. We ultimately ground our stability, our confidence, our certainty, our
future hope and expectation upon God and God alone. And it doesnt just mean
trust Him but it emphasizes something more specific; it is trusting in what He
has revealed in His Word.
Confidence is the stress we will study
today in the first six verses of this section, and we are going to see the key
to confident living. The theme verse for Proverbs is that there is a way that
seems right to man but its end thereof is death. So we have this choice, and
often we dont know which way to go. What the father is saying to his son in
the framework of the book of Proverbs is teaching him how to acquire the wisdom
to make skilful decisions as we go through life. In the midst of crisis, in the
midst of pressure and stress we have laid down a foundation in our soul that is
based upon Gods Word. And it has built a strength, a framework of stability so
that it sets a course for our thinking. It takes time; it doesnt happen in a
week, in a month, or even in a year or two. It happens as a result of being
completely enmeshed in the Word of God so that the thinking of Scripture
becomes our thinking. That takes time, and we have to make decisions every
single day that we are going to make that a priority, and then over the course
of time we see that strength develop.
We have seen in our introduction, in
the first nine chapters of Proverbs there are ten lessons on wisdom given by
the father to the son. And though originally these proverbs were written down
as a result of the teaching of the father to the son, it had as its teaching
point to the people of Israel a framework and model of how parents, and fathers
specifically, were to train their children. So that following the dictates of
Deuteronomy the focus upon the Word and the wisdom and the doctrine of the Old
Testament would be passed on from one generation to the next. The application for
us is that we are to do the same. So the only way we get to that point in our
spiritual growth where we move from just the information of Scripture—and
it is amazing how many people dont even have the basics of
information—is to make the Word our priority and learn to apply it. As we
accumulate knowledge in our soul that gives us the information and the
understanding we need to apply, and that is how wisdom is built. We cant get
to wisdom without spending a lot of time in the Word. Reading our Bible once a
year is a minimal expectation.
We saw in the first lesson in the first
chapter the challenge to listen to the fathers guidance and to reject the
influence of the sons peers. That is so true today. It is not just something
for young people, it is something for older people as well. We have so much
chatter around us from the cosmic system that is constantly penetrating our
defenses that we dont even realize how much worldly or cosmic thinking we have
absorbed, how much human viewpoint foolishness has become a major part of the
way we look at life. So we have to be challenged to listen to the teaching of
Scripture.
Then from verses 20-33 in the first
chapter there was a comment made as wisdom was personified, and wisdom rebuked
the simple, the nave and the open-minded.
The second lesson was in 2:1-22,
dealing with the need of wisdom to protect us from the wicked. Now we are in
the third section, which is on the promise of the Lord, His promise to guide
and protect us; but we have a responsibility to guard the Word, to obey the
Word, and to have our confidence in God alone.
These verses are set in collections
where we really have quatrastitches (4 lines), or in one case a pentastitch (5 lines),
and each one is a different proverb; they are not one verse but usually two and
sometimes three verses connected together. The first two verses here go
together.
Proverbs 3:1 NASB 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. What we see here is a
challenge to the son to obedience. The father is anchoring his teachings even
more strongly and orienting them to the Word and the command from the Lord.
This is seen in several verses in this chapter. He is challenging to son to
follow his laws and commands because they are the Lords law and commands, not
just because they are the fathers opinions or ideas; these come from the Lord.
In the first verse we have an
antithetical parallelism. In Hebrew poetry there is the rhyming of ideas, not
words. Sometimes there is a synonymous parallelism where the first line is
restated with similar words to give a better explanation or understanding.
Sometimes there is an antithetical or opposite so that the second line expands
on the first line by stating it in the negative. That is what we have here in
the first verse. The positive command is to not forget my teaching; in
contrast we are to let our heart keep his commands. We see a parallel between
the idea of do not forget and keeping. So we understand that not forgetting the
law doesnt mean that just dont have a lapse of memory but it really means to
keep or obey, even guard, the law [teaching].
These two words are important as we
look at this section. The word for forget is shakach, which has the idea of not
forgetting, not having a lapse of memory or ignoring something. In many
passages where it is a spiritual passage related to the Word of God it has the
idea of dont abandon or deny God. It is not simply talking about a memory
failure. Dont go against the law [Torah]. This has the idea of instruction in the
law—the commands of God going back to the Mosaic Law; it also has the
idea of instruction or guidance for living. The son is commanded: Dont deny
the Law; dont abandon the Law. The principle for us is that we are not to
abandon, deny or ignore the Word of God; it is to be the highest priority in
our life. If it is not it is easy for us to go against the Word. The second
line says, let your heart keep my commandments. That is the Hebrew word natsar which
means to watch, to watch over, to keep or to guard something. We are to guard
it, keep it, make sure that it is enshrined within our souls and within our
thinking, and that it is the foremost content in our thinking. This is the
foundation.
Deuteronomy 4:9 NASB
Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not
forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your
heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your
grandsons. So within the content of the Mosaic Law there is to be this family
responsibility of teaching the Law and passing it down from generation to generation.
It is the parents job and the grandparents job to teach and to train and
equip children in the Word of God. It is not something that is to be delegated
to the schools or the Sunday schools. The training in the Word of God in a
biblical context is in the family. These other things like Sunday school are
simply adjuncts.
Deuteronomy 6:12 NASB
then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD
who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. One of
the ways that they were not to do that was because they would be continually
reminded of the rituals in the temple, rituals laid out in the Levitical
offerings that constantly brought their minds back to what God had done in the
exodus event. We have the same kind of thing in the Lords table. We remember
the Lord in His death; who He is and what He did for us.
Deuteronomy 8:14 NASB
then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD
your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery. Proud, i.e. being arrogant is the idea; forget, i.e. when you
become arrogant and you abandon, deny or by the way you are living. Constantly
remember what God did.
Deuteronomy 4:9 refers to
forgetting the things your eyes have seen. That is the exodus event; 6:12
refers to the exodus event; 8:14 refers to the exodus event. These are all
referring to something where God entered into human history and did something
profound in delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The point is that
this is a historical event in space-time history when God interfered with human
history miraculously and delivered Israel. Christianity is not based on feeling
or on some kind of mystical idea about God, it is not based on anything like
any other world religion; it is based on the God who has entered into
space-time history, the history of the human race, and has acted in the history
of the human race.
Deuteronomy 32:18 NASB
You neglected the Rock who begot you, And forgot the God who gave you birth.
In the Psalms we see the
same challenge. Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 106:13 NASB
They quickly forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel. This is a
rebuke of the exodus generation. [21] They forgot God their Savior, Who had
done great things in Egypt.
The promise is that if we
keep the law, if we do not abandon God, and if we guard and keep His
commandments—which means observe them regularly in our life—then
they have a result: Proverbs 3:2 NASB For length of days and years
of life And peace they will add to you. Literally in the Hebrew this reads:
For length of days and long years And peace Length of time involves the
quantity of life and the peace relates to the quality of life. It emphasizes
that we will not only have a longer life—this was also contained in the
commandment related to honoring your father and your mother—and an
increase in the quality of life. The word shalom, translated peace here, doesnt simply
means peace, the absence of conflict, but is also relates to a comprehensive
kind of fulfillment or completion, a perfection in life and spirit which quite
transcends any success which man alone, even under the best circumstances, is
able to attain. It relates to a fullness of life. It qualifies in ones life
every sufficiency and good fortune, free from hostility and lack, and so filled
with inner contentment, delight and joy as a gift of God. It is a life of
happiness and joy and contentment no matter what circumstances might be.
This idea that obedience
to the Word extends our life is also present later in this chapter in vv. 16,
17. NASB Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are
riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace.
Having begun with an emphasis
on knowing and keeping and guarding the Word in our life, then we receive
another exhortation in vv. 3, 4 to take what we have learned in terms of
applying it in relation to mercy and truth, again reflecting an idea that we
saw earlier. This is to be bound around our neck like a necklace. This buys
into an imagery of a necklace with a symbol of protection. So it is the idea
that mercy and truth protect us.
Proverbs 3:3 NASB
Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write
them on the tablet of your heart. In the first line is the command. The next
lines expand on that and they are in synonymous parallelism. Binding them is
parallel to writing them; around your neck is a symbol of protection; writing
them on the tablet of the heart is making this a part of the thinking of our
soul. The result: [4] So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of
God and man. This idea is also repeated several times in the Proverbs.
Proverbs 7:2, 3 NASB
Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple [center] of your
eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Again
and again you need to learn the Word and make it so much a part of you that you
cant live without thinking about what God wants you to do, and how does the
Word of God apply to this decision and this situation.
The two words used here
translated in the NKJV as mercy and truth are extremely significant words used
in the Scripture. They are virtues that reflect the content of the fathers
teaching. The first word mercy is the Hebrew word chesed, the word that relates to Gods
faithful, loyal love. In human beings chesed is related to faithfulness and loyalty
as a result of our understanding of Gods Word. Truth [emeth] here has the idea of stability. A
form of this word is used to refer to the foundation stones placed under the
pillars in Solomons temple to give them stability. So from that root idea of
firmness or stability comes the idea of something totally dependable, something
unchangeable, something unchangeable, and therefore something that is
absolutely faithful. Mercy and truth are words that are emphasized throughout
the Proverbs. In this particular structure using mercy and truth together
emphasizes what is essential to have a life of wisdom and to live a life of
skill.
Proverbs 23:23 NASB
Buy truth, and do not sell {it,} {Get} wisdom and instruction and
understanding. This emphasizes the priority of truth. We live in an era when
people dont believe in truth anymore as an upper case, capital T, universal
principle that applies to everybody in every situation in every culture in the
world. Truth is whatever you find works for you is what our culture says. As
Bible believers we reject that. There is one truth; it needs to be the
priority; we need to buy it and not sell it. Some things are necessary in life
and you never get rid of them. That is the foundation for the future. That is
the idea here. Along with truth buy wisdom and instruction and understanding.
Proverbs 29:14 NASB
If a king judges the poor with truth, His throne will be established forever.
This relates to leadership, any leadership. Truth becomes the foundation for
being able to make judgments in life to help people solve problems and face
issues in their life.
Isaiah 48:1 NASB
Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel And who came forth from the
loins of Judah, Who swear by the name of the LORD
And invoke the God of Israel, {But} not in truth nor in righteousness. This is
a condemnation of the generation of Isaiahs time that had rejected the Lord.
They just talked. There are as lot of people today who have just a superficial
God-talk. There are even politicians who use Christianity or God-talk to try to
put some sort of respectable faade on their evil ideas. People who reject God
want to wrap up what they are doing in the cloak or veneer of biblical truth,
and yet they deny it.
We often see these words
linked together in Proverbs. Proverbs 14:22 NASB Will they not go
astray who devise evil? But kindness [mercy] and truth {will be to} those who
devise good. These two elements, chesed and emeth, go together.
Proverbs 16:6 NASB
By lovingkindness [mercy] and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of
the LORD one keeps away from evil. Gods grace and His faithful
stability (His truth and integrity) go together. That is part of the integrity
of God.
Proverbs 20:28 NASB
Loyalty and truth preserve the king, And he upholds his throne by righteousness.
The opposite is true. If the ruler doesnt understand mercy and truth then his
government becomes a government of rot and is antagonistic to freedom.
So by joining these two
concepts together, mercy and truth, the father is linking these things together
as a part of a necklace that provides protection and guidance for the person
who applies the Word.
Proverbs 3:5 NASB Trust in
the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own
understanding. This verse gives us the positive commands as to what we should
do. First of all, trust in the Lord. This is expanded and illuminated for us by
the synonymous parallelism of the next line. Trust means not to lean on or
depend upon or rely on our own understanding. That doesnt mean that we dont
think. What it means is that we dont operate on human viewpoint understanding,
on the limited information that comes from the basic systems of rationalism and
empiricism; we rely ultimately on the revelation of God.
This verses is located within the
context to how the son is to bind the teaching of his father around his neck to
guard and protect him. This is done through trust. The word that is translated
trust here in this passage is the Hebrew word batach, a word that has a very simple
meaning: confidence. It emphasizes what one relies on for something, that which
provides you with security. What is your ultimate source of confidence and
security? It is what we often refer to as the faith-rest drill. When we put our
confidence in God then we are able to relax in life situations whatever they
may be.
It is sad to say that we are as guilty
as many in our culture in that we have reduced the phrase trust the Lord to
something that isnt much more than just a simple clich. The Bible doesnt use
it in and of itself. We trust the Lord in terms of some sort of revelation,
some sort of content. We are trusting a promise, we are trusting a provision,
we are trusting in a revelation from God in the Scriptures; we are not just
mindlessly just trusting the Lord in and of itself as an independent concept.
Often we hear this word used as a sort of non-specific generic motto that has
reduced it to something that isnt anything more than something banal and
platitudinous. It means something significant in Scripture. There is a specific
statement that our trust wraps itself around. We are combining our confidence
in a specific statement that the Scripture says.
Contextually in the book of Proverbs
this goes back to the idea in Proverbs 2:6 that it is the Lord who gives wisdom.
It is from His mouth that we receive knowledge and understanding. This trust
means confidence in life. It is a sense of confidence that means that we are
not worried or concerned about things anymore. We are confident that God is in
control. It doesnt mean we are irresponsible but it means that we can relax
because ultimately God is taking care of things. I am going to do thing I can
do to the best of my ability but God is the one who takes care of all of the
details, the consequences and the results.
It is interesting that in the
Septuagint the word batach is never translated with the pistis
[pistij] word group, which means to believe. But it is translated
with the elpis [e)lpij] word
group which means to hope in something, to have confidence in something. That
expresses the main idea of batach—to rely upon God, depend upon God, to have our
confidence in Him. It emphasizes such a strong sense of confidence that we are
just not concerned about the problem anymore. We are not going to lose sleep
over it anymore because God takes care of it.
There are several passages in Proverbs
that reiterate this. Proverbs 16:20 NASB He who gives attention to the word [wisely] will find good,
And blessed [happy] is he who trusts [has confidence] in the LORD.
Having confidence in the Lord is
parallel to heeding the Word.
Proverbs 22:19 NASB
So that your trust may be in the LORD,
I have taught you today, even you. The second line expands on the first, but
the reason we are instructed in the Word is so that we can be confident in God.
Proverbs 28:25 NASB
An arrogant man stirs up But he who trusts [confident] in the LORD
will prosper. Notice the difference between being arrogant or self-assertive
independent versus dependent or confident in God.
Proverbs 29:25 NASB
The fear of man brings a snare strife We are worried about people, about
events and circumstances, and that creates a trap in our soul. But he who
trusts [is confident] in the LORD
will be exalted [be safe]. Its not because we did all the things we should do
to be safe and secure—not that we shouldnt do this. But we cant ever
lock every door and every window of our life. There are evil people and bad
things that happen that are beyond our control. Even when the Lord is in
control He sometimes allows things to happen in order to give us opportunities
to trust Him, to be a witness to others, and apply the Word. So we can just
relax and he confident in Him.
Jeremiah as a list of
things we should not trust in. Jeremiah 7:4 NASB Do not trust in
deceptive words, saying, This is the temple of the LORD,
the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.
They were trusting in the superficialities of religious observance, religious
ritual.
Jeremiah 7:8 NASB
Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. We have a lot of
people in this country who have put their trust in the lying words of religion
and politicians. They are just building a house of cards that will easily fall
down when adversity comes.
Jeremiah 7:14 NASB
therefore, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you
trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.
Their confidence was in the temple, in the superficial worship, and so God
condemned them. He would destroy it.
Isaiah 12:2 NASB
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.
Being confident in God means fear, anxiety and worry are out the door.
Isaiah 26:4 NASB
Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD
the LORD, {we have} an everlasting Rock.
Jeremiah 17:7 NASB
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust [hope/confidence] is the LORD.
Psalm 37:4-6 NASB
Psalm 37:4 NASB Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as
the light And your judgment as the noonday.
Psalm 56:3 NASB
When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.
Psalm 91:2 NASB
I will say to the LORD, My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!
Things not to trust in. Psalm 44:6 NASB
For I will not trust in my bow, Nor
will my sword save me.
Psalm 118:8 NASB
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
Than to trust in man.
Psalm 62:10 NASB
Do not trust in oppression And do not vainly hope in robbery; If riches
increase, do not set {your} heart {upon them.}
Psalm 52:7, 8 NASB
Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the
abundance of his riches {And} was strong in his {evil} desire. But as for me,
I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness
of God forever and ever.
Often we trust in our own
goodness, our own righteousness. But God says in the Old Testament: Ezekiel
33:12 NASB And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens, The
righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his
transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble
because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous
man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits
sin.
The point being made in
these verses is that our righteousness is not the issue, because all of our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). The Scriptures teach us that
the only hope that we have is the righteousness of Christ.
Proverbs 3:6 NASB In all
your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.