The Rewards of Wisdom

Proverbs 3; I die daily devotional.

 ¹¹ My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, 

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Lord, here we are again, a time to be devoted. And in this devotion, You remind me of the beginning; when mankind was created. You’ve taken me back to when Adam awoke to life by Your breath—^{Genesis 2:5} Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted,  for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to  cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person. So I close my eyes, and breathe.

When my eyes are closed, and I breathe in the air … there is only darkness. I can feel my body expand as the air You breathe enters my body, my eyes open and I see the wonder of Your majesty. I experience Your presence, but have yet to hear Your voice. And then … there it is; I hear You; I comprehend our relationship and recognize Who You are in me. My Father. You give me an environment with a warning, a command, to eat from “… any tree of the garden …; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.” Everything was good, but being alone.

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” And so You gave me love, a woman, and everything was complete. Then sin entered the heart of what was created to be good. Knowledge is inevitable, but evil is cunning, and death has reigned from millennia to millennia since that day of sin committed by mankind—^{1 Timothy 2:13} For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. ¹⁴ And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a wrongdoer [underline bold mine]. I can feel the law of faith discipline me as a son, enlightening me by the testimony of Your Word made flesh for the salvation of souls.

My conscience bears witness to Your work in me, the process of sanctification is an experience foreign to the mind of a human. But to the mind of the resurrected, it’s a taste of home. Oh Lord, I pray for all to be saved by grace through faith in Your Name, to the glory of God our Father.

^{Hebrews 12:7} It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his  father does not discipline? ⁸ But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  ⁹  Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for  our  good, so that we may share His holiness. ¹¹ All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.¹² Therefore,  strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, ¹³  and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. ¹⁴ Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.  ¹⁵  See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; ¹⁶ that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single  meal. ¹⁷ For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

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RESOURCE

Proverbs 3 (NASB)—blueletterbible.org | biblegateway.com
¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; ² For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. ³ Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. ⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. ⁸ It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones. ⁹ Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; ¹⁰ So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine. ¹¹ My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, ¹² For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father  corrects the son in whom he delights. ¹³ How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. ¹⁴ For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace. ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast. ¹⁹ The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. ²⁰ By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew. ²¹ My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, ²² So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. ²³ Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. ²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. ²⁵ Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; ²⁶ For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. ²⁷ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. ²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it, ”When you have it with you. ²⁹ Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you. ³⁰ Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. ³¹ Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. ³² For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. ³³ The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. ³⁴ Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. ³⁵ The wise will inherit honor, But fools  display dishonor.

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COMMENTARY

Chapter 3

Matthew Henry (P3-V11) Commentary
III. We must conduct ourselves aright under our afflictions, v. 11, 12. This the apostle quotes (Heb. 12:5), and calls it an exhortation which speaks unto us as unto children, with the authority and affection of a father. We are here in a world of troubles. Now observe,

• 1. What must be our care when we are in affliction. We must neither despise it nor be weary of it. His exhortation, before, was to those that are rich and in prosperity, here to those that are poor and in adversity.
  • (1.) We must not despise an affliction, be it ever so light and short, as if it were not worth taking notice of, or as if it were not sent on an errand and therefore required no answer. We must not be stocks, and stones, and stoics, under our afflictions, insensible of them, hardening ourselves under them, and concluding we can easily get through them without God.
  • (2.) We must not be weary of an affliction, be it ever so heavy and long, not faint under it, so the apostle renders it, not be dispirited, dispossessed of our own souls, or driven to despair, or to use any indirect means for our relief and the redress of our grievances. We must not think that the affliction either presses harder or continues longer than is meet, not conclude that deliverance will never come because it does not come so soon as we expect it.
• 2. What will be our comfort when we are in affliction.
  • (1.) That it is a divine correction; it is the chastening of the Lord, which, as it is a reason why we should submit to it (for it is folly to contend with a God of incontestable sovereignty and irresistible power), so it is a reason why we should be satisfied in it; for we may be sure that a God of unspotted purity does us no wrong and that a God of infinite goodness means us no hurt. It is from God, and therefore must not be despised; for a slight put upon the messenger is an affront to him that sends him. It is from God, and therefore we must not be weary of it, for he knows our frame, both what we need and what we can bear.
  • (2.) That it is a fatherly correction; it comes not from his vindictive justice as a Judge, but his wise affection as a Father. The father corrects the son whom he loves, nay, and because he loves him and desires he may be wise and good. He delights in that in his son which is amiable and agreeable, and therefore corrects him for the prevention and cure of that which would be a deformity to him, and an alloy to his delight in him. Thus God hath said, As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, Rev. 3:19. This is a great comfort to God’s children, under their afflictions,
    • [1.] That they not only consist with, but flow from, covenant-love.
    • [2.] That they are so far from doing them any real hurt that, by the grace of God working with them, they do a great deal of good, and are happy means of their satisfaction.