Proverbs 3:1 "My son, forget not my law; But let thine heart keep my commandments:"

God is telling each of us to guard His commandments when they are placed in our mind. There are many that would like to sidetrack you from following Father's way.

Proverbs 3:2 "For length of days, and long life, And peace, shall they add to thee."

As you add knowledge to grow in the wisdom from God's Word, it will give you a good life when you apply that wisdom. You can count on it.

Proverbs 3:3 "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: Bind them about thy neck; Write them upon the tables of thine heart:"

Again, your heart is your mind, and that is where you store up God's Wisdom from His Word. It is important that you remember all of the goodness of God's covenant with you, a child of His. It's part of your inheritance. Don't allow any person to take them from you, for it is God's promise to you personally. "To bind them about thy neck" is like the phylacteries, those little pieces of paper with notes on them pinned to their outer garment, to remind them of the promises of God to them individually. However here we are to pin them to our mind, in our heart to remind us of the promises of God to each of us that love him.

Proverbs 3:4 "So shalt thou find favour and good understanding, In the sight of God and man."

"Good understanding" is "good insight", "sekel" in the Hebrew text which is the same word for "wisdom". If you know what tomorrow brings and what you can expect from God, you can get the job done. You should be a winner in all that you do.

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding."

"Confide in the Lord with all that is on your mind." Confide with Father like you would with your closest friend. Don't rely on your own discernment until after you have laid it before the Lord. Test your trials with the Word to see what instructions the Lord has for you. Then ask God for direction and discernment over the matter.

Proverbs 3:6 "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct thy paths."

In everything you do, recognize God and acknowledge His authority over you, and God will direct you and the path you should take. Did you notice the condition stated here in order for God to direct you in the way that you should be going? That condition is that you must first acknowledge and recognize God and ask him for the direction, then wisdom is given to you. God will direct our path, "IF" we acknowledge Him. Do you then thank Him for leading you through those tight spots of trouble and doubt?

Proverbs 3:7 "Be not wise in thine own eyes: Fear the Lord, and depart from evil."

To "be wise in your own eyes" is when you let your ego control you; to let vanity run wild in your mind. It is an easy thing to do, and the best way to not have that happen to you is to recognize that every gift you have comes from God, and He gave you the power to do what you do. Your gifts are God's, and you are acting as a servant of the Father. There is nothing that you have to get on an ego trip about, it just isn't yours. What ever knowledge you have of God's Word then becomes your responsibility for sharing with others.

Proverbs 3:8 "It shall be health to thy navel, And marrow to thy bones."

"Health to thy navel" means that the connection of the umbilical cord parent to child, makes it your responsibility to pass your knowledge of God's wisdom on to your children, and for generations to come. God controls all parts of your body, and what ever gifts you have within your body, it is God that placed those abilities there.

Proverbs 3:9 "Honour the Lord with thy substance, And with the firstfruits of all thine increase."

God will always bless you when you honor him with the tithe and first fruits of whatever profits come your way. The tithe is the Lords, it is not yours to give, and when you are not a faithful steward and withhold the tithe, you are stealing from God. The offerings are given of your free will, up and over the tithe.

Proverbs 3:10 "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, And thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

In other words, God will always bless you when you honor him with the things that He has allowed you to have. That is a promise you can plan on. You bless Him and He inturn blesses you.

Proverbs 3:11 "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; Neither be weary of His correction:"

This is also a promise that you can count on. When the Lord claims you as His and when you mess up, God will chasten you. When you stray off His path, He will see to it that you are corrected and brought back on the path. When God corrects you, don't forget to thank Him for loving you enough to correct you.

Proverbs 3:12 "For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."

Many times it hurts the Father more to correct the child, than it does the child. That is why He deserves your thanks.

Proverbs 3:13 "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, And the man that getteth understanding."

"Blessed" is the man that findeth wisdom and understanding in His Word.

Proverbs 3:14 "For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, And the gain thereof than fine gold."

Wisdom is more valuable than fine gold, why?

Proverbs 3:15 "She is more precious than rubies: And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her."

Wisdom, knowledge and understanding are blessings from God to believers.

Proverbs 3:16 "Length of days is in her right hand; And in her left hand riches and honour."

When the "right hand" is used, it signifies power. There is power in knowing when to do right, and how to live your life; and with that power, the left hand brings riches and honour and blessings to you. One follows the other. It just happens that way to the wise person.

Proverbs 3:17 "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace."

That is just the way that it is; a wise person knows how to smooth out the rough spots in his or her life.

Proverbs 3:18 "She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: And happy is every one that retaineth her."

We're talking about the "tree of Life" here; Christ is the tree of life. All wisdom comes from God, and wisdom brings happiness. Lose her [wisdom] and you are unhappy.

Proverbs 3:19 "The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; By understanding hath He established the heavens."

The heavens and the earth are in their places and they are perfect.

Proverbs 3:20 "By His knowledge the depths are broken up, And the clouds drop down the dew."

Right off the bat it should be obvious that there is something wrong with the translation of this verse, because it never dews on a cloudy night. The word "clouds" should be translated "skies". The night mist of dew is pure, where as the rain from the clouds brings impurities from the air.

Proverbs 3:21 "My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: Keep sound wisdom and discretion:"

Keep focused on those truths from God's Word, claim them and and apply them to your life and then they become yours personally.

Proverbs 3:22 "So shall they be life unto thy soul, And grace to thy neck."

Your neck is where you wear your chain, and that is where these blessings are bound to you. Remember from Proverbs 1:9 "For they [the wisdom of Father's instruction] shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck.

Proverbs 3:23 "Then shalt thou walk in thy ways safely, And thy foot shall not stumble."

This is another promise from God to you when you do not take your eyes off of the wisdom of God's Word. You first have to meet the qualification to have this protection from Father.

Proverbs 3:24 "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet."

When you go to bed, you don't have to worry about anything when you are in our heavenly Father's care.

Proverbs 3:25 "Be not afraid of sudden fear, Neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh."

"The desolation of the wicked" is the desolator, that is another name for Satan. Don't be afraid of him. God has already given you power over Satan and all his satanic forces. You can sleep well tonight, because God is on duty protecting you.

Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

This is your badge of authority to do what you must do to keep Satan and all his evil spirits away from you. You have to use your authority before this power becomes yours. When you use the authority that Christ has given you, then you have nothing to fear from any evil spirits, for they are on the run from you.

Proverbs 3:26 "For the Lord shall be thy confidence, And shall keep thy foot from being taken."

" Thy Confidence" in the Hebrew text is # 3689 in Strong's Hebrew Dictionary; "Kecel, a form of trust and hope." This is a two way street, it is looking at whether or not there is trust between you and the Lord. We know we can trust and have confidence in Father, but can God afford to have His trust in each of us personally? When you have been given a gift and assigned a task for the Lord, can He count on you in keeping that trust? How much wisdom do you posses.

Proverbs 3:27 "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, When it is the power of thine hand to do it."

When you know that a good deed has been given, or a job has been well done; it is our duty to acknowledge to that person the good efforts that have been done.

Proverbs 3:28 "Say not unto thy neighbour, "Go, and come again, And tomorrow I will give;" When thou hast it by thee."

If your intent is to give assistance to a neighbor, do in then and without delay.

Proverbs 3:29 "Devise not evil against thy neighbour, Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee."

A good neighbor is very valuable, for he can watch your place when you are gone, and you do the same for him. However that doesn't mean that a Christian is a door mat for any con artist that comes down the road. Go back to verse 27: "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due..." If the neighbor has violated your trust, you are not obligated to be his doormat to all his requests. "It is due", in the Hebrew text means that he or she has it coming to them for past deeds. This does not apply to lazy people and con men.

Remember what Paul said in II Thessalonians 3:10; "For even when we were with you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat." Of course this verse does not apply to the handicap individual, or those that do need help. If you see a con artist, there is absolutely nothing due that person. Be a wise Christian, and use wisdom in your discretion and discernment. Don't be an easy mark.

Proverbs 3:30 "Strive not with a man without cause, If he have done thee no harm."

Don't get involved with needless fights and arguments when there is no cause for the involvement. Don't get it mixed up in your mind what Jesus said about turning the other cheek, when someone smites you. That has to do when you are planting seeds of truth, and the reaction is in response to your giving that person the gospel or in teaching. Sure, then it is our obligation to him, for we have offended that person in his religious convictions. That advice was given to protect those with tender ears, and not the bully on the corner.

Proverbs 3:31 "Envy thou not the oppressor, And choose none of his ways."

God just doesn't like some one that is an oppressor, and remember that the chief oppressor is Satan. When it appears that some one is getting ahead by their wicked deeds in ripping people off, don't envy them. Friend, they are on a slippery slope on their way to hell. If someone is rich with God's blessings, buy doing it God's way, his or her wealth is their to enjoy, with God's blessings. They have earned their right to enjoy the fruits of their labor. There is nothing wrong with gaining money, if it is obtained righteously.

Proverbs 3:32 "For the froward is abomination to the Lord: But His secret is with the righteous."

The word "froward" as used here is different than where it is used in most other cases. Here it means; "to those that turn aside". What is the subject that we are talking about here? Of course it is the wisdom of God's Word. Those that have tasted of the truths of God's Word, and then turn that knowledge and wisdom aside are an abomination to the Lord. "His secret" is "God's secret counsel", is the seal of God within the mind of those that claim Christ. This is directed to those that would listen to an apostate, one that would change and go against the writings of God's Word.

Proverbs 3:33 "The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just."

The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked one, and Satan is the wicked one. Those that do not follow God's ways, and following the ways of the wicked one, and their home is cursed. The Just are the Zadok, the elect, God blesses the homes of those that respect and follow all the truths of the wisdom of His Word.

Proverbs 3:34 "Surely He scorneth the scorners; But he giveth grace unto unto the lowly."

Proverbs 3:35 "The wise shall inherit glory: But shame shall be the promotion of fools."

"Grace" is God's Riches At Christ's Expense, it is our inheritance, to live and reign with Him. It is God's promise to each of us, however it is not offered to fools. So who are fools? Remember from verse 7; "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction."