Proverbs 3a

 3: 1-4.       My child, do not forget my teaching,

                 but let your heart keep my commandments,

for length of days and years of life

                  and abundant welfare they will give you.

Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;

                          bind them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will find favor and high regard

                          in the sight of God and of people.

How should we read this? Are these absolute promises? Or is this good advice in the sense that, if you are loyal and faithful to God’s teachings, then you have laid the foundation for long life, abundant welfare, and favor? One commentator says that these are true ‘in principle’, because we know exceptions; people who have been loyal and faithful who die young or remain poor.   

To help us interpret this, let’s look ahead to Proverbs 30 where we find the claim is balanced by a warning about seeking long life and abundant welfare as ends in themselves.

30: 7-9.  Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with food that I need, or I shall be full,

and deny you, and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’

or I shall be poor, and steal,

and profane the name of my God.

Christopher J. H. Wright calls this “the wisdom of contentment, … equally as aware of the dangers of excessive wealth as of the temptation of acute poverty.”[1] As with all Scripture, one verse will never do. Scripture sharpens Scripture as iron sharpens iron.

The great danger seen frequently around us is that people hear, people forget, and then people do otherwise. Where our translation has “loyalty and faithfulness,” the Hebrew words are ḥesed and emeth, ‘mercy’ and ‘truth’. These two words show up together repeatedly in the Old Testament, and are perhaps most prophetic in Hosea 4: 1-3.

"Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel; for the LORD has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or loyalty, and no knowledge of God in the land. Swearing, lying, and murder, and stealing and adultery break out; bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore, the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing.”

God foresees that ignoring God’s mercy and truth leads even to environmental degradation, just as we see with fish being rapidly depleted from the oceans, and wild animals and birds are dwindling to extinction.  Your choices and behavior affects not just you.

The phrases “bind them on your neck” and “write them on the tablet of your heart” reveal the danger; and this was recognized before in the Torah. “You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and fix them as an emblem on your forehead” (Deuteronomy 11:18, see also Deuteronomy 6:8). This led to the use of phylacteries, small leather boxes containing Scripture verses that orthodox Jews still bind to their forehead and wrist. That may work, but even this can turn into a show when it does not animate the heart (Matthew 23:5).

That is why the prophets yearned for a time when the law would be written on people’s hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, Psalm 37:31; Zechariah 7:12; see also Hebrews 8:10, 10:16). The point is that people should know and love the law well enough that their behavior is guided by their heart naturally, not imposed from the outside.

3: 5-8.               Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

                                           and do not rely on your own insight.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

                                           and he will make straight your paths.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

                                           fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

I it will be a healing for your flesh

                                           and a refreshment for your body.

Honor the LORD with your substance

                                           and with the first fruits of all your produce;

then your barns will be filled with plenty,

                                           and your vats will be bursting with wine.

The first two verses are quite well-known; you often see Proverbs 3: 5-6 written on signs and walls and even cars. That’s good; it can’t be said enough. However, people should also include the warning: “Do not be wise in your own eyes.”  

3: 11-12.            My child, do not despise the LORD’s discipline

                                           or be weary of his reproof,

for the LORD reproves the one he loves,

                                           as a father the son in whom he delights.

Would that these two verses were as popular as the ones above. Does the Lord bless the one he loves with riches and good health? Or, does the Lord discipline and reprove the one he loves by withholding these things? Or both? And how does that discipline happen? Do we recognize it when we are disciplined? These are things to think about if we are to achieve the balance of the whole Scripture to guide the whole person living in the whole community of God.

[1] Wright, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God. 2004. Page 163.