Recently I’ve been trying my hand at expositing the Scriptures – specifically, Proverbs 3. Let me tell you, it is no small task!
However, it is proving a great exercise, and I encourage you to try it. My method is about as simple as it can get. I meditate on a particular verse, sometimes for days, and sometimes only for a few minutes, and write what I feel the Lord is teaching me through that passage. Then comes the hard part – applying the Word.
Keep a record of your writings so that you can go back and read what you’ve written! God grant that we might love his Word, and have joy in its study.
Here is the first installment of Proverbs 3. (I’ve only done 7 verses so far).
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
“My son”
God begins His lesson in wisdom with the precious term “my son”. There is no more endearing or precious term than this! He does not call us servant, or slave. For “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6) He does not shout commands at his children, or try to cruelly beat wisdom into them. He sits with us, as a man would with his son, exhorting and encouraging; Showing the pitfalls of this world, and placing our feet on the right path.
“Forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments:”
Why would the Lord charge us to not forget, unless were prone to forget? Alas, we are (or at least I am). I forget the little things of life, such as appointments, duties, or even where I placed my pencil. But how much worse to forget the words of God! Thus it was in Israel’s history, and such is the tendency of human nature.
But with the warning, God gives the remedy. “Let thine heart keep my commandments”. I believe that the phrase “know by heart” is used too loosely. God doesn’t say in this passage “memorize scripture verses so you can spit them out on demand”; he says to let your heart keep them. The heart is the gut, the soul of your being, the place where your deepest thoughts and emotions reside. Constantly keep the words and commandments of God in your heart, and you will not forget them. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”. (Matt. 12:34).
- Walter
