My son, forget not my teaching, and let thy heart observe my commandments;
Proverbs 3 opens with a father speaking to a son. The call is not to try harder but to remember — and to let that remembering reach the heart. Two questions sit behind these simple words: whose teaching is this, and why must obedience start inside?
Chapter 3 opens by naming what comes first in a life of wisdom.
Subjection and obedience are the first marks of the path of wisdom. And this guidance happens inside a known relationship. "My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments," chapter 3:1.
Two things can look like wisdom and are not.
Proverbs 3 shows that it is not human shrewdness or man's prudence that gives the wisdom spoken of here. Nor is it the eager desire for prosperity and happiness that shows itself in crooked ways. Instead, the fear of Jehovah and subjection to His word are the one guide that leads us safely through a world of wickedness that He governs.
The voice is a parent's. Yet "my teaching" and "my commandments" carry an authority no parent owns by himself. Kelly traces where that weight comes from.
They might come through a parent. No doubt that was the proper order in Israel. It was marked out from their father Abraham. Jehovah showed His pleasure in Abraham for commanding his children and his household to keep the way of Jehovah, doing justice and judgment. But what gave it divine value was that it was His teaching, and that the commandments laid down were His. This alone sanctifies: obeying God, obeying His Word. Obedience is the effect and proof of love, when anyone is in relationship with God. And we do not forget, but remember, what we love and value.
That last line explains the whole command. We do not forget what we love, so forgetting is a failure of valuing.
The verse does not say "let your hands keep." It says the heart. One commentator reads this as an appeal to something already at work inside a believer.
How vital is the need for simple, faithful obedience to the Word of God! So the path of consistency begins with this instruction: do not forget God's laws, but let the heart keep His commands. The heart of a believer leans toward obeying God, so it is only right to let the heart follow that bent.
The Lord tied this obedience to love, and added a promise.
So the Lord puts it in His matchless way to His disciples. "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." John 14:21.
"Do not forget" fits one moment in life. A young person leaves the shelter of home and finds out what is inside him.
This is when the young man, once led as a child, goes out and his own principles are tested. What governs him inside comes to light. He still obeys what he has learned, and so far he is in subjection. But now it is his own moral character. He must trust God within, and not lean on the shelter of a parental home and its authority. How often we see people fall away at this point! Fair hopes and the lovely blossoming of a receptive youth turn to bitter fruit.
The words "my son" find their fullest answer in one life. Luke 2 tells of Jesus as a boy in Nazareth.
What a blessed picture Luke 2 sets before us of the Lord! He was obedient in the early days of His life on earth, subject to Joseph and Mary in Nazareth. Yet He knew a higher relationship, and so He was taken up with His Father's things. And the fruits were blessed. Even then, truly, as He said later, He kept His Father's commandments and remained in His love.
- Remember — forgetting is a heart problem, not a memory problem; we remember what we love and value.
- Receive — the words may reach you through a parent, but their divine value is that they are God's own.
- Obey — the verse puts obedience in the heart, where a believer's leaning toward God already lies.
- Love — Christ tied keeping His commandments to loving Him, and the Father loves whoever loves Him.
- Follow — the Lord at Nazareth is the perfect example: subject and obedient, keeping His Father's commandments and remaining in His love.
for length of days, and years of life, and peace shall they add to thee.
Verse 2 gives the reason for the appeal just before it: keep the teaching, and three things are added — length of days, years of life, and peace. But what kind of life is promised, who was it first spoken to, and does the promise still reach us?
The verse begins with "for." It gives a motive. One writer takes verses 1 and 2 together and shows where obedience starts:
How vital is the need for simple, faithful obedience to the Word of God! So the path of consistency begins with the instruction not to forget God's laws, but rather to simply let the heart keep His commands. The heart of the believer is disposed to obey God, so it is only right to let the heart follow this proper bent. Normally, such obedience will result in a long and peaceful life (v. 2).
The words come from a father to a son. What makes them binding is not the family relationship but their source:
They might come through a parent, and that was no doubt the right order in Israel. That order goes back to their father Abraham. The LORD was pleased to express His delight when Abraham commanded his children and his household to keep the way of the LORD and to do justice and judgment. But what gave divine value was that it was His teaching, and that the commandments enjoined were His. This alone sanctifies — obeying God, obeying His Word, the effect and proof of love, when any are in relationship with God. Nor do we forget but remember what we love and value.
So forgetting is a failure of love before it is a failure of memory.
The promise is not arbitrary. Sin shortens and spoils life by its own working, and God stands behind the arrangement:
We have here first the call to obedience; a law given in which is life. Naturally there can be no real question about this. Men's vices are physically their destruction, and rob human life of everything that makes it worth the name: "…fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones" (Prov. 3:7, 8). It must be so, if God is over all, and "the eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous."
Notice the terms of the promise, and who first received it:
Verses 1-10. The call to obedience is followed by promise. The promise is like all the promises to an earthly people, "for length of days and years of life."
That does not put the verse out of reach. God still governs, and He still marks out a path:
It is true that God is not mocked. What a man sows he will reap. God has attached certain consequences to certain conduct in His government. But He also watches over and directly governs His children… Then there is a path marked out by God as the path of peace in a world like this. It is not in itself simply the path of spiritual power. It is a path of quietness and peace in this world, walking peacefully through it under God's eye. And that is very precious for us.
One Person kept these commandments from the heart. Here is what that looked like:
Even a Jew was not left without blessing. He was called not to forget what he had been taught. His heart was to keep commandments which were the LORD's, even though they came through Moses or anyone else who passed them on. What a wonderful picture Luke 2 gives us of the Lord, obedient in this way in the early days of His life on earth! He was subject to Joseph and Mary in Nazareth, yet aware of a higher relationship and so taken up with His Father's things. And the fruits were blessed. Even then, truly, as He said later, He kept His Father's commandments and remained in His love. So here it is written for obedient Israelites, "length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you."
He received the promise Himself, and He will hold it in the coming kingdom:
The blessed Lord Jesus claimed no exemption from the duties of a son that belong to all mankind. Though He was the Eternal Son, He learned obedience in this relationship as in others. So He was granted length of days and years of life — yes, "the power of an endless life" — throughout the many glories of His millennial kingdom.
- Keep — the command is not just to hear but to let the heart keep. What we love, we do not forget.
- Whose — a parent may pass the words on. Their authority is that they are God's, and that alone sanctifies.
- Why — vice destroys life by its own working. Under a God who governs, obedience lengthens life and steadies it.
- Whom — God first gave the promise in earthly terms to an earthly people. His government still marks out a path of quietness and peace today.
- Christ — He kept the commandments perfectly at Nazareth, and He receives length of days in full.
Let not loving-kindness and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck, write them upon the tablet of thy heart
A father tells his son to keep two qualities close — bound where people can see, written where they cannot. Older translations call them "mercy and truth" or "loving-kindness and truth"; the ESV calls them "steadfast love and faithfulness". What are they, and why are they always named together?
These two words are not just an ideal to admire. One writer matches them with words used of Christ, and finds His own life traced here.
There is another point of great interest here. The language used here matches perfectly what history records of the Lord. "Let not grace and truth forsake you," is said to the young men. Now "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." He was that, its perfection, which the young man was to seek to keep. It is added, "You shall find favour and acceptance with God and man." "So Christ increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." And He was subject to Joseph and His mother. It is deeply interesting to find in Christ what wisdom is here sketching out as the divine path of man on the earth.
The command is negative: do not let these go. One writer hears in it a call to trust mercy and truth, and to keep trusting them always.
As we know that "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," the Israelite was urged to cherish confidence in mercy, or loving-kindness, and truth. Let them "not forsake you," is the word. He was entitled to believe and count on them habitually and for ever. "Bind them about your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." What ornament can compare with them? What inward lesson is so cheering and strengthening!
The two images do more than decorate. Each names a place where a person goes wrong: a stiff neck, and a hard heart.
Mercy and truth (v. 3) are especially important in our relationships with others. If they are bound "about your neck," they will keep us from being "stiff-necked" or self-opinionated. Written on the tablets of our heart, they will keep us from hard-heartedness. These matter mainly in our dealings with others. Yet they also gain favour and high esteem in God's sight as well as in men's. God wants believers to represent Him rightly before the world (v. 4).
The two must stay together. One writer makes their blending the test of whether anything will thrive.
Where mercy is not blended with truth, there can be no prosperity. Mercy and truth are met together in Christ. The word is, "Let not mercy and truth forsake you, for so you shall find favour and good understanding (or success) in the sight of God and man." Through our Lord Jesus Christ "grace and truth subsist" now. When we receive of His fullness, it is not truth upon truth, but "grace upon grace." That is the secret of our spiritual success today.
The son must write these things on his heart. Believers now have help with that writing. And the promised favour, from God and from people, was seen in full in Christ.
So we see in our perfect pattern. Our Lord certainly found "favour" with God and man in His unequalled path of subjection, as we are told... It was a good and welcome mark of divine approval through devotedness to God's will, without either self-seeking or people-pleasing. Happy, when as here, the answer comes from people around as well as from above, to grace and truth written on the heart! Now too one word, Christ, expresses it all. And the Spirit of the living God is given to us who believe, so that He may be written truly and deeply on those tablets of flesh, our hearts.
The instruction has authority because of its source, not because of the one delivering it. In Israel it usually came through a parent, but its value lay elsewhere.
What gave it divine value was that it was His teaching, and that the commandments enjoined were His. This alone sanctifies — obeying God, obeying His Word, the effect and proof of love, when any are in relationship with God. Nor do we forget, but remember, what we love and value.
- Person — Mercy and truth are grace and truth. They came in a Person: the path set out for the son was walked perfectly by Christ.
- Hold — The word is negative: do not let them go. They are yours to count on, not just to achieve.
- Wear — Bound around the neck, they keep a neck from stiffening. No ornament compares with them.
- Write — Written on the heart, they cure hard-heartedness. The Spirit now writes Christ deeply on those tablets of flesh.
- Favour — Keep them together, and verse 4 answers twice: favour from God above, esteem from people around.
and thou shalt find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
This promise rests on a condition set just before it: keep mercy and truth close, bound on the neck and written on the heart. The result is double — approval from God, and standing among people. How can one life win both at once?
The favour of verse 4 is not where the chapter starts. It follows a call to obedience, inside a relationship the son already has with God.
We may first remark that subjection and obedience are the first marks of the path of wisdom. He receives this guidance inside a relationship he already knows. "My son, forget not my law; and let your heart keep my commandments," chapter 3:1.
Kelly ties this obedience to love, and to the source of the commands.
But what gave divine value was that it was His teaching, and that the commandments enjoined were His. This alone sanctifies — obeying God, obeying His Word, the effect and proof of love, when any are in relationship with God. Nor do we forget but remember what we love and value.
Verse 3 gives two pictures: mercy and truth tied around the neck, and written on the heart. One writer reads each picture as a guard against a different failure.
Mercy and truth (v. 3) are especially important in our relationships with others. Bound "about your neck," they will keep us from being "stiff-necked" or self-opinionated. Written on the tablets of our heart, they will keep us from hard-heartedness. These things matter mainly in our relationships with others. Yet they also gain favour and high esteem in God's sight as well as in men's sight, for God wants believers to represent Him well before the world (v. 4).
Mercy and truth are not only qualities to practise. They are also things to trust.
But this is far from all. We know that "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." So the Israelite was urged to hold on to confidence in mercy, or loving-kindness, and truth. "Let them not forsake you" is the word. He was entitled to believe them and count on them habitually and for ever. "Bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart." What ornament can compare with them? What inward lesson is so cheering and strengthening!
The ESV reads "good success" here. Older translations render the same word "good understanding." Kelly is not sure of its exact shade. He is clear about what the promise marks: God's approval, echoed back by people.
The word often translated "good understanding" may carry a modified sense here, as it sometimes does elsewhere. But as it stands, it was a good and welcome mark of divine approval through devotedness to God's will, without either self-seeking or men-pleasing. Happy, when as here, the answer comes from people as well as from God on high, to grace and truth written on the heart!
Darby finds the same wording matched in the Gospel account of Jesus' early years.
But there is another point of great interest here, before we come to details. The language here matches perfectly what history tells us of the Lord. "Let not grace and truth forsake you," it says to the young men. Now "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." He was that, its perfection, which the young man was to seek to keep. It adds, "You shall find favour and acceptance (esteem) with God and man." "So Christ increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." And He was subject to Joseph and His mother. It is deeply interesting to find in Christ what wisdom is sketching out as the divine path of man on the earth.
Paul seems to draw on this verse when handling money given by the churches. He took steps so that no one could accuse him.
The moral reason for the caution follows: "guarding against this, that no one should blame us in this abundance that we are administering, for we provide things honourable not only before the Lord but before men" (vv. 20, 21). This is not a lack of faith. It is faith working by love, cutting off any occasion from men and walking with a pure conscience before God. The allusion is to Proverbs 3:4 in the Greek Old Testament.
- Rooted — the promise grows out of obedience inside a relationship God has already given. The commands carry weight because they are His.
- Worn — tie mercy and truth on like an ornament, and write them on the heart. One guards against a stiff neck, the other against a hard heart.
- Reflected — the favour is God's approval, and people notice it too. It comes without self-seeking and without pleasing men.
- Perfected — Christ fills out the pattern. Grace and truth came through Him, and He grew in favour with God and man while subject at home.
- Practised — Paul applies it to handling money. He provides what is honourable before the Lord and before men, so no accusation can stick.
Confide in Jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own intelligence;
This verse sets two rival supports side by side: the LORD, and a person's own grasp of things. Commentators read it as a choice between two ways of living, and they ask what "all your heart" means in daily life.
One writer sets the choice out as two paths, and points to where the wrong one started:
Two paths lie before man — to trust God, or to trust himself and his own wisdom for his happiness. This is exactly where Eve failed. She did not confide in God, did not trust Him and what He had said, for her happiness. She leaned on her own understanding, thinking she could secure it better by doing what seemed advantageous to her. So it is with every sinner. He thinks he can secure his own happiness better by doing his own will than by listening to God. Trust in God is the first positive, active principle of life and wisdom.
The command is only as good as its object. One commentator points to the privilege in it. Israel had such a God to trust, and He asked for that trust:
How blessed for the Israelite that he had Him to trust in — and that He even asked for that trust! He was in no way told to trust himself. He was only a creature whose breath is in his nostrils; what is he worth? It was wise to stop leaning on man, wiser still to trust in the LORD.
The words "all your heart" set the measure. One writer explains what "all" means here:
Our understanding is very faulty in many things. If we depend on it, we will be badly misled. The only safe alternative is to trust in the Lord with all our heart — that is, fully and without reserve. He will certainly not deceive us, and there is no possibility of His making a mistake.
The second half of the verse says something about how man was made. One writer links it to two other warnings in the Bible:
Cursed is the man who trusts in man, says the prophet (Jeremiah 17:5), and he who trusts his own heart is a fool (Proverbs 28:26)... God has made man dependent on Himself. So no one should think he can take up eternal problems and solve them by his own natural intelligence. If he tries, he is as certain to go astray as if going astray were the one desire of his heart.
Trust that stops at the large decisions has not obeyed the verse. Writing to someone starting out in life, one writer shows how far this trust should reach:
Do not think that any detail of your new life is too small for God to guide you in. The choice of your business, your future home, your companions — all should be entrusted to Him. He will honour such confidence, and lead you in the very best path. For it would be foolish to think that a loving and all-wise Father would or could do anything else.
Guidance is not a technique for getting answers on demand. One writer looks at John, one of Jesus' closest followers, and links guidance to living near the Lord:
John did not go and take a place near Christ to know His secrets; he had a place near Christ, and then the secrets were given to him. You cannot go to Christ with your questions, as John did, unless you are living near Him. It is simply "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." You must live near the Lord, or you cannot count on His guidance.
- Two paths. Every life leans on one of two supports — God, or self. Eve chose the second, and so does every sinner who thinks his own way will make him happier than God's word.
- All. The measure is the whole heart: full, with nothing held back. Our understanding is faulty at many points; He never deceives and never makes a mistake.
- Not self. God set man in dependence on Himself. Confidence in your own natural intelligence for eternal questions guarantees going astray.
- Every detail. Nothing is too small to entrust — work, home, friendships. A loving and all-wise Father could not lead you anywhere but the best path.
- Nearness. Guidance follows closeness. Live near the Lord, and the promised direction becomes something you can count on.
in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will make plain thy paths.
Verse 5 tells the heart where to lean. Verse 6 takes that trust into the street, the office and the daily calendar. So what does it look like to acknowledge Him in all your ways, and how does the promised direction reach us?
One commentator sets the two verses side by side as the first and second working principles of wisdom. He points back to Eve in the garden to show the opposite.
Two paths are before man — to trust God, or to trust himself and his own wisdom for his happiness. This is just what Eve failed in. She did not trust God, or what He had said, for her happiness. She leaned on her own understanding instead... Trust in God is the first positive, active principle of life and wisdom. The next is acknowledging Him in our ways. We let His will and authority shape them, not our own will and wisdom, and we do that openly (v. 6). He will surely direct our steps. No human wisdom can guide like that.
"All your ways" is wide on purpose. It reaches into the corners of life where God is left out. The second half of the verse answers with a God who takes an interest in the obstacles in front of us.
We owe it to the LORD to acknowledge Him where He is easily ignored or forgotten — in each detail of daily life, and in all of them. And it did bear present fruit, for He could not forget, who never slumbers or sleeps. "And He will make straight your paths." He is Lord of all, no less than He is the Eternal. He concerns Himself with every obstacle and difficulty for those who want to walk by His will without turning aside.
Many treat God as a consultant for crises only. The verse asks for something steadier. Another Scripture explains why.
It is written that "it is not in man who walks to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). And again we read, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." We are not just to turn to the Lord in some great emergency. We are to wait on Him as a habit, in the details of life, great and small. Acknowledging Him, we shall find that He guides us; then we shall be able to say, "I bless the LORD who gives me counsel."
Acknowledging Him is not only inward. One writer draws out the spoken side of it.
Not only should we recognise His guidance, but we should be glad to acknowledge it in all our ways and by word of mouth also. We ought to SAY, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." And notice, please: we OUGHT to say it. It is not something we may say and then find that God approves. It is something we must say if we want to give Him His proper place in our lives.
Changes of circumstance are the test — a new job, a new friendship, a new tie.
At every change it is our privilege and our safety to depend on God and to do the will of the One we belong to... "O God, we belong to You. Guide us in all our ways," should be our cry. A young man starting in business, or young Christians forming friendships and new ties, should let one great fact control them: they were bought with a price.
How does God make a path straight? Writers point first to Scripture, and to asking.
But the direction must come from the word of God. Sometimes we do not know what to do — we want to do what is right and we don't know what is right. Well, you lack wisdom, don't you? And "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God." It shall be told you, "This is the way, walk in it."
That does not mean finding a verse for every errand. So how do we know what to do?
It is not, by any means, a question of having a literal text of Scripture for every movement or every act... The answer is: wait on God, with a single eye and a sincere heart, and He will make your path as plain as a sunbeam.
- Acknowledge — the trust of verse 5 becomes the obedience of verse 6. His will shapes our ways, not our own, and we say so openly.
- All — the small details where He is forgotten, and the big changes that decide a future.
- Habit — not a rescue call in a crisis. We wait on Him in matters great and small, and say "if the Lord wills" out loud.
- Means — direction comes through His word, and through asking God for the wisdom we admit we lack.
- Result — He makes the paths straight and takes on every obstacle. Wait on Him with a single eye, and the way is as plain as a sunbeam.
Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear Jehovah, and depart from evil
The proverb has just told the reader to trust God and not to lean on his own understanding. Verse 7 turns the same lesson inward: stop admiring your own judgment, fear God, and leave evil behind.
Every person stands at a fork. One writer traces both roads back to Eve's choice.
Two paths are before man — to trust God, or to trust himself and his own wisdom for his happiness. This is just where Eve failed. She did not trust God and what He had said for her happiness. She leaned on her own understanding. She thought she could secure her happiness better by doing what seemed to be to her advantage. So it is with every sinner. He thinks he can secure his own happiness better by doing his own will than by listening to God… But self-confidence is ruin. "Be not wise in your own eyes." Men do not see far if they only see self, and self is always what is in our own eyes.
Being wise in your own eyes means taking advice from yourself. That advice has a long and unimpressive record — and a known source.
The great danger for all is to seek counsel from within, and thoughtful, experienced people face it most. Yet experience should have taught them a less flattering tale. All Scripture echoes this word, "Be not wise in your own eyes." The bait of Satan was to become so, and man has always coveted it. How blessed when we learn our folly and find a far better wisdom open to us!
Self-importance is not a private fault. It often grows out of weakness, and the damage spreads past the person.
Self-conceit is often the offspring of weakness and ignorance. The mind swells with an imagined superiority to those around us. We brush aside the opinions of the lowly, and self-confidence follows. Wherever this pride shows itself among Christians, it destroys the prosperity of the church and hinders the blessing of the individual. May the Lord give us the spirit of a little child — humble, teachable, dependent.
The verse speaks to the conscience as well as to the heart. The fear it calls for rests on forgiveness, not on dread.
But there is a word for conscience as well as heart… "Fear the LORD, and turn away from evil." Was there ever true fear of Him without pardon? Certainly Psalm 130:4 makes it clear that there is forgiveness with Him, that He may be feared. Without it, what can the fear be but slavish and tainted? This nerves the soul to turn away from evil. We hate it, because He hates it.
Another writer says what this fear is not, and what it brings.
This fear of the Lord is not the slavish dread that marks the superstitious. No. It is a reverent trustfulness accompanied by hatred of evil… Where we keep this, the presence of the Lord is a reality and joy.
The two halves of the command belong together. Obadiah served in the court of wicked King Ahab. One writer sees in him a man who had the first half without the second.
"Obadiah feared the LORD greatly." That might seem enough for a faithful walk, since "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." But we are also told: "fear the LORD, and turn away from evil." And again: "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil." A man may fear the Lord greatly and still dishonour Him by his link with the world that rejects Him.
Turning from evil goes further than never doing anything wrong. One writer marks the difference with Adam before the fall.
Departing from evil is something more than walking in His fear. There is a hatred of evil, partly for what it is, partly because it is against His will. I may walk in God's fear and do no evil myself, and still not be marked, I think, by departing from evil. Adam, innocent, would have walked uprightly and done nothing wrong. He would not have departed from evil; he had nothing to do with it. I do have something to do with it. So I depart from it, leave it, and break with it. This has to do with holiness.
- Self is short-sighted. Those who only see self do not see far. Self-confidence is ruin, and it repeats Eve's attempt to secure happiness her own way.
- Self-counsel is the bait. Being wise in your own eyes was Satan's first bait. The cure is to learn your folly and find a far better wisdom.
- Self-conceit spreads. Pride brushes aside the lowly and hinders blessing for the whole church. The cure is the spirit of a little child.
- Fear rests on pardon. God forgives so that He may be feared. Without pardon, fear is only slavish. With it, the soul hates what He hates.
- Fear breaks with evil. Doing no evil is not the same as departing from it. A man may fear God greatly and still dishonour Him by his link with a world that rejects Him.
it shall be health for thy navel, and moisture for thy bones.
Verse 8 gives the reason for the command just before it: turning from evil in the fear of the Lord brings healing, and that healing reaches the body. Is this a promise of physical health, or a picture of something deeper?
The words are a consequence, not a standalone blessing. One writer sets this verse beside the chapter's opening call to keep God's commandments. He reads both as one law of life:
Men's vices destroy their bodies, and rob human life of all that makes it worth the name. The law given here is a law of life: "My son, do not forget My law, but let your heart keep My commandments; they will add to you length of days, years of life, and peace. … Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil: it will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones" (Prov. 3:1-2, 7, 8). This must be so, if God is over all, and "the Lord's eyes are over the righteous."
If "it" means the fear of the Lord, then everything depends on what that fear is. One commentator ties this fear to pardon. Forgiveness changes the fear, and that fear gives the strength to turn from evil:
Was there ever true fear of Him without pardon? Certainly Psalm 130:4 makes clear that there is pardon with Him that He may be feared. Without pardon, what can the fear be but slavish and tainted? This nerves the soul to "depart from evil." We hate it, because He hates it… A son honours his father, a servant his master. His honour, His fear, are no longer light things to us. And the effect is wholesome and blessed. "It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones."
Another writer puts the same reverence in positive terms — trust, not dread:
This fear of the Lord is not the slavish dread that marks the superstitious. No. It is a reverent trustfulness accompanied by hatred of evil. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Prov. 8:13).
Why name the body at all? One writer takes the two images apart and finds a spiritual meaning in each:
If we give the Lord His place, then we recognize that evil can have no place. This response to the Lord will mean "healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones" (v. 8). Of course, this is not only literal. The bones are the framework of the body, so this implies spiritual health and strength. The body stands for daily activity, and the bones for the strength that carries the activity out.
The verse only makes sense against the choice set out just before it. Two roads are open, and one of them wrecks the traveller:
Two paths are before man — to trust God, or to trust himself and his own wisdom for his happiness. Trust in God is the first positive, active principle of life and wisdom. The next is owning Him in our ways, taking His will and His authority to shape them, not our own will and wisdom — and doing so openly (v. 6). He will surely direct our steps… But self-confidence is ruin. "Be not wise in your own eyes" (v. 7). They do not see far if they only see self, and that is what always is in our own eyes.
Commentators differ on whether a healthy body is still guaranteed. One holds that godliness affects the body in ordinary ways:
Godliness leads to health of mind and body. Timothy had a weak stomach and frequent illnesses. He was careful in his habits, almost to the point of legality. He was likely to live longer than a heavy drinker.
Another writer draws a line between Israel's promise and ours:
We must always take account of the government of God, and especially those whom He has blessed with the knowledge of redemption. If Israel had simply obeyed the Lord, He would have kept them from such physical diseases, for He is the Lord who heals. In our present time of grace, obedience is not promised to keep us free from physical disease. But obedience will surely keep us from spiritual disease, and give us spiritual health and strength.
- Cause. The healing of verse 8 is the fruit of verse 7. Fear God, turn from evil, and this follows. Trust your own eyes instead, and self-confidence ruins you.
- Gift. The fear that heals rests on pardon. Without pardon, fear is only slavish. With it, fear becomes a son's honour for his Father, and the nerve to hate what God hates.
- Reach. The promise touches the whole person — flesh for daily activity, bones for the strength that carries it.
- Limit. Commentators differ on the body. One sees godliness lengthening life. Another holds that under grace, obedience guards against spiritual disease, not physical.
- Result. God's government makes the outcome sure, for His eyes are over the righteous. Vice destroys the body; reverence makes life whole.
Honour Jehovah with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase;
Proverbs 3:9 puts honour to God where it can be counted — in income and harvest. The real question is not how much God wants, but where He comes in the order of our spending.
The word "honour" here is not about warm feelings. One writer points to how Jesus used the same word with teachers who dodged the duty of supporting their parents:
First, the Lord brings forward the law of Moses, the word of God — "Honor your father and your mother." This command plainly made it binding on the Jews to maintain their parents, if necessary. (See Proverbs 3:9, for a similar use of the word "honour.") But they wanted to escape this responsibility, and they invented a religious excuse for doing so.
So honouring God with your wealth means parting with it.
"Firstfruits" means the first part of the harvest, given to God before the owner uses any of it. One writer sets the verse beside what God assigned to the priests:
In Proverbs we read, "Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce." God also provided for the support of the priests. Besides parts of the various offerings, Scripture says, "All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, their firstfruits that they give to the LORD, I give to you." This gives us another example: the first and best of all we are and have are to be devoted to God. In judging our own state, we can hardly overrate this question: do we habitually give God our first and best?
There is a difference between giving God a slice and giving Him the first slice. One writer presses that the order matters more than the amount:
Everything you possess belongs to God, and you are only a steward. God has a particular claim beyond this. He claims a place in your everyday calculations — and not any place, nor a second place, but the first place... It is not a set quantity of your time, intellect, or money. You may give Him a large portion of these in a legal spirit, thinking you may then use the rest for yourself, and yet be far, far away from the blessing... To give God His place is more to Him than giving Him any portion... Place is greater than portion. God will not accept second place at your hands.
Some assume that because Christians are not under the law of Moses, a verse like this no longer applies. One writer answers that the claim is heavier, not lighter:
We are not under law, but under grace. So we have no such rules about what we are to give to the Lord. But may there not be some most valuable instruction for us in these solemn words? Indeed, is it not true that now all that we are and have belongs to Him who has redeemed us through His precious blood? Much more, then, should we enter into such a word as this, "Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce."
God fixes no percentage now. So how do we obey the verse? One writer points to regular giving, sized to what we receive:
Whatever our possessions are, our first thought should be how to honour the Lord in the use of them. For all that we have comes from Him... We do not need to wait for the proceeds of all our labour for the year and then give a tenth. We are not commanded (as Israel was) to give one-tenth of our income to God. Instead, we are encouraged in 1 Corinthians 16:2, "on the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper." No exact amount is even suggested, but "as he may prosper" leaves this to the individual's faith. Yet 2 Corinthians 9:6 tells us, "whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." This beautifully confirms that believers are not under law, but under grace.
The instinctive objection is that giving away the first portion leaves less to live on. One writer meets it head-on:
When believers are enjoying the love of the Spirit there is no lack; the poor are cared for, and every need is met... "Honor the LORD with your wealth" is a word we do well to remember. Will it impoverish us? Not a bit. God knows how to deal with grudging souls.
- Honour costs. The verse uses "honour" the way Jesus did about caring for parents — real support, not religious talk.
- Honour comes first. Firstfruits are the first portion, given before you keep anything back. The best of the oil, wine and grain went to God.
- Honour is place, not percentage. God will not take second place. Give Him a portion but keep first place for yourself, and you miss the blessing.
- Honour deepens under grace. No rule fixes the amount now. But everything we are and have belongs to the One who redeemed us, so the claim grows.
- Honour loses nothing. Set something aside each week, as you prosper. Giving God first place makes no one poorer.
so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall overflow with new wine.
This verse is a promise, and it hangs on the verse before it. Barns and vats overflow only where God has been given the firstfruits. So is this a guarantee of wealth? And does it still hold for us?
The name used here matters. One writer points out that this promise was spoken to a people under a rule where obedience and blessing were visibly linked — and that the link is not the same for us now.
Jehovah is the name for God which He gave to Israel. By it they were to learn His ways and bear witness to Him in His earthly government... the word was: "honour Jehovah with your substance, and with the firstfruits of your increase." It is always true as a moral principle. But at that time God was showing His direct judgment in real events, so the result was certain: "then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." The rejection of Christ brought heavenly hopes to light for believers. It also brought suffering and persecution, along with better spiritual blessings even while they were here. The text speaks of normal results for the earth, and Israel on it.
So the principle holds in every age. The guaranteed harvest belonged to Israel under that earlier arrangement.
The word behind "vats" names the press, not the drink.
The word yekev is translated "wine" in Deuteronomy 16:13. It means "wine-press," or more exactly, "winefat"... The vat is used figuratively for the wine it produced, as the floor is for the corn.
So the promise is physical: grain stores packed, presses running over.
The verse before speaks of firstfruits. One writer makes this a matter of place rather than amount.
Everything you own belongs to God, and you are only a steward. But God has a particular claim beyond this. He claims a place in your everyday calculations — and not just any place, not a second place, but the first place... It is no particular quantity of your time, intellect, or money. You may give Him a large portion of these in a legal spirit, thinking you may then use the rest for yourself, and yet be far, far away from the blessing... To give God His place is more to Him than giving Him any portion.
On the amount, the writers do not speak with one voice. Some hold to the tenth as a floor:
Proverbs 3:9 says, "Honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase." Many people live by this principle, especially older ones. From whatever source their income comes, they are careful to see that at least one tenth goes to the Lord... It has been well said that if the law required a tenth, then to give less under grace is a disgrace!
Others read the New Testament as leaving the figure open:
We do not need to wait for the proceeds of all our labour for the year and then give a tenth. We are not commanded, as Israel was, to give one tenth of our income to God. Instead we are encouraged in 1 Corinthians 16:2, "on the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper." No exact amount is even suggested. The words "as he may prosper" leave this to the individual's faith. Yet 2 Corinthians 9:6 tells us, "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." This confirms that believers are not under law, but under grace.
That is the fear the second half of the verse answers, and one writer meets it head-on:
As for stingy souls, what can we say of them? But "the generous soul will be enriched." It holds good to this day. "Honour the Lord with your substance" is a word we do well to remember. Will it make us poor? Not at all.
Yet this is not a technique for getting rich. What God claims is first place, and a gift offered in a legal spirit misses the blessing.
- First — God gets the firstfruits, before you work out anything else. Place matters more to Him than portion.
- Free — grace fixes no figure. "As he may prosper" leaves the measure to each person's faith, though some hold the tenth as a minimum.
- Full — barns packed and presses overflowing. God answers generosity with plenty, not shortage.
- Framed — the guaranteed harvest belonged to Israel under God's earthly government. The principle still stands, but our richer blessings are spiritual.
- Fearless — giving does not leave you poor; the generous soul is enriched, and that holds good to this day.