Proverbs 7:1–5: My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. 2Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend; 5 That they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.
As fathers, we often look for advice on how to raise our children and lead our wives in a way that pleases God. In that search, there will be many voices attempting to speak into the issues we are facing. We may hear from a friend, listen to the latest podcast, or watch a news report on the biggest issues that men are dealing with today and how to solve them. Although they may be sometimes helpful, and you may occasionally agree with them, you will find that they do not provide the hope that you are searching for. This confusion makes it easy to feel discouraged when searching for answers. How can we know that what we are following is wise or godly advice, not advice founded on selfish desires and worldly pursuits? We must turn to the wisdom found in the greatest Father; we must turn to the truths found in God’s word that will lead us to become men that value the wisdom found in Him.
We find many “nuggets of gold” in the wisdom that the book of Proverbs has to offer that we must learn to extract, value, and implement. In Proverbs 7:1-5, we are called by our Father to treasure His commandments in our hearts and to make wisdom and understanding our companions. As we look at verses 1-3, God’s commandments and teachings should be valued as treasures to us. They should be more precious and valuable than anything this world has to offer. We should delight and meditate on His words just as Psalm 1 says.
Let’s take a moment to evaluate our lives. When you think of your life and what you treasure, do you find that you delight in God’s word and treasure it, or do you find that His word is absent in your heart? Do we bind them on our fingers to be daily reminders? Do we write them on the tablet of our hearts to make them permanent? If we do, then we will find the strength to persevere. His word will lead us to fight the good fight and finish the race (2 Tim. 4:7).
When you have fear stirring up inside, who do you turn to? When you struggle to trust in God, whom do you trust in? When you need guidance or wisdom, where do you go? Brothers, I encourage you to turn to the Lord and trust in His word.
When we seek encouragement, whom do we turn to? Verses 4 and 5 tell us to turn to wisdom and understanding. If we’re honest, we could probably all say that we’ve got someone in our lives that we can count on to be there when we have a need or want to share something with. We have a strong relationship with that person and trust them to speak truthfully and lovingly to us. That is the type of relationship that our Father calls us to have with wisdom and understanding. These will keep us from falling into the temptation of listening to anything or anyone that will lead us astray. Just as a foreigner, who does not know the town that you are in, can lead you astray from the right path, so does the error of not listening to God’s word. Listening to God’s word will keep us safe and on the righteous path.
As men, we are called to lead faithfully with excellence, but those we lead do not benefit if we are not led by God and other godly men. I encourage you to heed the words in Proverbs 7:1-5 and grasp God’s word, value it, live it, and you will find that wisdom will be close to you in your daily walk.
Encouragements from Scripture
For Fear: Deuteronomy 31:6; Isaiah 41:10; Psalm 27:1; Hebrews 13:5-6
For Trust: Psalm 46:10; Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 6:26-27; Romans 8:28
For Truth and Discernment: Psalm 25:5; John 14:6, 15:26; Philippians 4:8; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 1 John 4:1; Titus 1:15-16; 2 Peter 2:1-3
