Building good character
Proverbs 3:1-10
· IF/Then
o 2 Thes 3:10
o Gal 6
§ What you sow / what you reap
§ Where you sow / where you reap
§ How you sow / how you reap
o Spit in one hand want in the other see which one fills up fastest
Long Life
· If verse one then verse two
o More days
o Not just more days but more accomplished in your days
o Not just more accomplished but enough time to enjoy what you have accomplished
Good life
· If verse three then verse four
o The continual occurrence of the unexpected and undeserved
Clear life
· If verse 5 & 6a then verse 6b
o Have a clear perspective of your future is not seeing the steps you will take tomorrow but being assured in the next step you must take today.
§ HS tells us some of the future but all we need to know about now.
Healthy life
· If verse 7 then verse 8
o A healthy life does not mean we will not face our enemy it simply means our enemy will not dictate our destiny.
§ Cancer may be my father’s enemy but it is not his destiny
Prosperous life
· If verse 9 then verse 10
o Barns represent a Place where we:
§ Store our harvest
§ Supply our flocks
§ Contain and maintain our equipment
o They are therefore built upon a logical conclusion of reasonable expectation
o Don’t tear your barns down until God has filled them
§ Make you property one of the best in your neighborhood before you leave it.
· God not only wants the best for His children He wants the best from His children.
Personal application
Proverbs 3:2 “ For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.”
As we study Proverbs 3:1 –10 we are hearing God’s word tell us what will happen if we do what God expects from us. If we do verse 1 we will see verse 2, If we do verse 3 we will see verse 4 and so on. So now what we have come to is the promise “IF” we do what we are expected to do. Let’s step back to a basic understanding. James 5:1 say’s “If any man (or woman) lack wisdom ask God who is giving it out liberally.” I personally translate this verse this way. When you lack the wisdom to deal with your current issue then do the one wise thing you have been equip to do ask God to help you see where you need to be so you can get what he is already pouring out. What this means is, I believe God is always pouring out life and life abundantly, blessing, healing insight and so on. So all we have to do is position our self in His will and we will then be in place to drink from this water.
Now looking back at Proverbs 3:1 & 2, If I will forget not His law and keep His commandments then I will according to verse 2 get long life. Let’s look at what that means for us.
For length of days
· (Read Joshua 10:12-14) In this passage we find an example of how God can help us accomplish more than we expected in a day or time. The length of days is the promise of accomplishment. I don’t want to live long if I have nothing to show for it and neither does God want us to live long if we are not accomplishing. But if we are forgetting not and keeping His will in our lives it is impossible to not succeed as God desires us too. So the first promise is that our life will take on sudden meaning, we will feel the satisfaction of significances and we will see the accomplishments of our labor.
· How would continues evidence of success help you with how you feel about your life?
Long life
· (Read Exodus 20:12) This is the commandment with promise. Honor parenting and you will have less stress in your life therefore living longer. Stress in our lives is first nature. Birth is a stressful time not just for mom but for baby too. Then life is the same. It’s not just hard on the children being raised but hard on the parents trying to raise them. This will never change, but can be reduced by us learning early and practicing always to honor the efforts of our parents. Now in the same way as we honor God’s law we are extended life or we are given the ability to have less stress in our live. We are more content and more peaceful about the unexpected problems and pleasures of life. This less stress gives us naturally and supernaturally longer life in the world. God is actually promising us the ability to live longer than others expect us too.
· How long in the life do you expect to live? The average Americana lives to be about 78 years old. Is that long enough or do you desire more?
Peace
· (Read Philippians 4:7) This verse mentions a peace that passes, that means it is better, superior surpasses excel. But what does it pass? Your understanding in that verse is what you expected. So this verse does point to hard times you didn’t expect and that the peace of God is greater than your expectation and is not over whelmed by this sudden unexpected hardship. But it also relates to our expected good things and simply points out that we will not spend all of our days and all our day trying to achieve in this life. Rather it is a promise that not only will you accomplish more in life, Not only will you have more days to accomplish but you will have time left over in your day and days to enjoy (Peace) what you have done through Christ.
· What was the last thing you accomplished in life that you have and still enjoy the pleasure of?
Extra thought
A key issue of understanding the verses in Proverbs 3:1-10 is to understand what the heart points to. Look at how often the heart comes up in the first six verses.
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
The following study comes from the MacArther study bible, notation of proverbs 4:21-23
heart. The “heart” commonly refers to the mind as the center of thinking and reason ( 3:3 ; 6:21 ; 7:3 ), but also includes the emotions ( 15:15 , 30 ), the will ( 11:20 ; 14:14 ), and thus, the whole inner being ( 3:5 ). The heart is the depository of all wisdom and the source of whatever affects speech (v. 24 ), sight (v. 25 ), and conduct (vv. 26 , 27 ).
This study defines our heart as the place where we think, decide, and process our feelings. And when you put all that together you come up with our heart is our character. It is whom we are deep inside and demonstrate through our actions. So in all most every place where heart is the English word we could replace it with character. Now look what you would read in verses 1-4.
My son, forget not my law; but let thine character keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine character: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine character; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
This extra thought is summed up in this, the essence of our existence is found in our heart, and our character is the quintessence of our heart. God wants us to have strong character, for through our character we can demonstrate the goodness of God in our lives.
