Words and music by DT (davesali [at] gmail [dot] com)
Proverbs 4:8 KJV — Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
And the Word will honour you.
The Word of God is a force multiplier. Whatever you pour into it, the Word will multiply back to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over.
Every moment you spend honouring the Word compounds back to you with promotion and honour coming to you as a byproduct.
Proverbs 4:1 KJV — Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
But what if my kids don’t listen to me?
Instruct them in the ways of the Lord…simply because you’re their Dad.
God has authorised you to teach and instruct your children.
And he’s designed them to listen to you, simply because you’re their Dad.
Thats more than just a noun. It’s a position of great Authority.
Proverbs 3:26 KJV — For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
You’re still getting out of bed and doing things.
But your confidence isn’t in what you’re doing or any of your many abilities.
Your confidence is in the Lord. You’re trusting in His presence and wisdom and favour and exceeding precious promises that He has already placed inside your born again Spirit.
You are working diligently, because that’s just the Kingdom way of doing things: whatsoever your hand finds to do, do with all your might.
But even as you are busy being diligent, your confidence about the end result is 100% resting on the Lord and His Word.
Proverbs 3:1 KJV — My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Law is torah. The overall body of God’s instruction.
Commandments is mitzvah…the individual rules or commands within the law.
The Law is made up of commandments.
Big things are built from little things.
Mighty oaks grow from tiny seeds.
When you let your heart keep specific aspects of God’s word, your life will walk in alignment with that which is written in the Word.
None of this is to help you be accepted by God. You already are through your submission to Jesus as Lord.
This is to help you walk in alignment with your new reality in God’s family.
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Proverbs 3:14
Wisdom, silver or gold?
The obvious answer is of course Wisdom.
Not because you’re supposed to choose it, like you’re supposed to choose eating your vegetables, drinking 8 glasses of water or flossing your teeth or any other boringly vital activities.
You choose Wisdom because wisdom will lead you to the silver and gold…and help you keep them.
1 John 4:19 KJV — We love him, because he first loved us.
In the Old Covenant, our relationship with God was based on our obedience to His commandments. It was dependent on our actions towards God.
But now, in the New Covenant, our relationship is based on one thing:
God’s love for us.
That’s it.
And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.
Judges 7:11
That problem isn’t just a Problem (r). It’s a physical construct with walls, internal fixtures and physically defined boundaries.
It’s got an inside and an outside.
And sometimes, the insights that you think you’ll find in the heart of the problem are ones you can only overhear by sneaking around the fringes of the Problem.
Proverbs 2:1 KJV — My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
You are not an orphan.
You are a child of God.
You’re a beloved member of God’s family.
You’re part of something bigger than yourself.
You are seen, valued and dearly loved.
Selah.
Proverbs 1:7 KJV — The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If you take the “text” out of “context“, all you’re left with is a con.
In Proverbs 1:7-10, we have a progression from the fear of the LORD, to submitting to the authority of parents, and then exercising your authority to “consent not” to go with sinners.
You submit to authority so that you can exercise authority.
You submit to the authority of Jesus when you get born again (Romans 10:9-10) and so you are able to exercise His authority.
Things surrender to you because of your surrender to Jesus.
And now, your context is as one who is dead to sin and alive to God in righteousness.
Your context is as one whose life is not your own.
Your context is as one who is seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Remember your context. Because when you don’t, and where you don’t, those are the areas where you’re getting conned.
2 Corinthians 12:10 KJV — Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Anytime a verse starts with “therefore” you need to understand what it is there…for.
Therefore is a response to that which preceded it.
Therefore is inevitability, consequence and responsiveness.
Therefore establishes that you have joined a vehicle that’s already in motion. You’re part of a story that started long before you showed up.
Life does not begin and end with you.
Therefore…find your meaning from the finished work of Christ that preceded you.