Sermon for September 17th, 2017

Proverbs 3:1-18

1 My child, do not forget my teaching,
    but let your heart keep my commandments;
2 for length of days and years of life
    and abundant welfare they will give you.

3 Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake 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 of people.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be a healing for your flesh
    and a refreshment for your body.

9 Honor the Lord with your substance
    and with the first fruits of all your produce;
10 then your barns will be filled with plenty,
    and your vats will be bursting with wine.

11 My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
    or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves the one he loves,
    as a father the son in whom he delights.

13 Happy are those who find wisdom,
    and those who get understanding,
14 for her income is better than silver,
    and her revenue better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
    and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
    in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
    and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
    those who hold her fast are called happy.

Walk This Way - The Wisdom of Proverbs III

When I was in graduate school preparing to become a high school teacher (my first career), we were told again and again that the most effective teachers don't just tell their students the answers to the questions...they demonstrate. They illustrate. They make an unforgettable, compelling case for WHY you should choose the right answer.

I'm reminded of the story about a private girls school somewhere in the Northeast, where a number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back. Finally the principal of the school decided that something had to be done.

So she called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem and had to be removed every night. To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled brush, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. And after that, there were no more lip prints on the mirror. Ever.

Today we resume our sermon series on Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs, and in chapter three we find just that sort of teaching. Other parts of the Bible (think of Leviticus or Deuteronomy, where we find the ten commandments) simply tell us what we should or shouldn't do, or how we should or shouldn't do it. But Proverbs, like a skilled teacher, demonstrates, illustrates, tells us why we should or shouldn't do something, and what the practical result of our actions will be.

Some of the most well loved and often quoted Proverbs come from this chapter; they are beautiful, and highly poetic as well. In fact, the first 12 verses form six couplets of two verses, each following a similar pattern, and then verses 13 through 18 are like an epilogue and a blessing for those who embrace the teaching of the first 12 verses.

To understand those six couplets, let's look at the pattern they follow. Each contains a negative -- "do not do this..." -- usually (but not always) at the beginning of the couplet. But even though they sound like the ten commandments (do not murder; do not steal) in Proverbs, these are not external laws, or even sins. In fact, you could ignore all of these "do not's" and still technically keep all of the law and the ten commandments and be a "good" person. Instead, these "negatives" all identify a problem, a challenge or pitfall that good, well-meaning people often face.

In the first couplet, it's "do not forget my teaching." In the second (verse 3) it's "do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you." In the third couplet, it shows up in the second line, "do not rely on your own insight." This is similar to the fourth couplet, verse 7, "do not be wise in your own eyes."

The fifth couplet, on the surface, doesn't seem to have a negative, but it's implied in the second half of verse 9.