Proverbs 3: 1-13 – Indirectly, these scriptures show how to replace the evil with good. The idea is that you can’t just get rid of evil. That just leaves a void. Instead you must replace it with good. So, looking at these verses will show you how to replace evil (in heart, mind and action) with good.
Let’s look at these verses more closely:
Proverbs 3: 1 “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:”
- First you need to remember the law! You can’t keep it if you don’t remember it. Next, it’s one thing for your brain to know, it’s another for your heart to know. It’s kind of like people who smoke. They know that it’s harmful and is literally killing them, but they are so addicted to the nicotene that thir personal desires and self-control are rendered almost useless. The heart, or spirit of a person, must be given power, and the desire to do righteousness.
Proverbs 3: 3 “Let not mercy and atruth forsake thee: bbind them about thy neck; write them upon the ctable of thine dheart:”
- This invokes similar thoughts. Once you have the law in your heart, do the same with truth and righteous motives. Let them be close to you, and part of you. “Write it on the table of your heart.” How to do that, of course, is the purpose of this study!
Proverbs 3: 5-6 “aTrust in the Lord with all thine bheart; and lean not unto thine cown dunderstanding. In all thy ways aacknowledge him, and he shall bdirect thy cpaths.”
- These verses give the ideas on how to bind about your neck and write in your heart the truth and the law. Trust in the Lord, don’t just believe in Him, but believe Him (see “Believing Christ” by Stephen E. Robinson). Always acknowledge God’s part in your life; your blessings, your existence, your stature, your possessions, etc. When you acknowledge Him, He will lead you.
Proverbs 3: 7-8 “Be not awise in thine own eyes: bfear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be ahealth to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”
- More of the same. Trust in God, in His wisdom, not your own.
Proverbs 3: 9-10 “aHonour the Lord with thy bsubstance, and with the cfirstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with aplenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”
- Give back to God your best. Pay tithing.
Proverbs 3: 11-13 “My son, despise not the achastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he acorrecteth; even as a bfather the son in whom he delighteth. aHappy is the man that findeth bwisdom, and the man that getteth cunderstanding.”
- Take the counsel of God. Don’t be upset when he corrects and reproves. It is a sign of His love for you when he corrects.