Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
7. The first clause of this verse in the rendering of the LXX., , is quoted by St Paul, Rom 12:16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The great hindrance to all true wisdom is the thought that we have already attained it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 3:7
Be not wise in thine own eyes.
Self-conceit
(see Isa 5:21):–
I. It involves self-ignorance. No one who knows himself could be conceited. Let the wisest man think of two things–
1. His knowledge in comparison with what is to be known.
2. His knowledge in comparison with what he ought to have known.
II. It obstructs mental improvement. This is clear from two things–
1. That mental improvement requires an earnest seeking for knowledge.
2. Earnest seeking for knowledge requires a deep sense of the necessity of knowledge. A self-conceited man feels no such necessity; he thinks he knows everything.
II. It destroys social influence. A self-conceited man disgusts rather than pleases, repels rather than draws. He is despised rather than respected. Intelligence, generosity, truthfulness, humility, these are the elements of social power. (D. Thomas, D.D.)
The folly and danger of self-conceit
I. What are the usual signs, in young people, of their setting too high a value upon their own understanding?
1. In a general inattention to the means of instruction and improvement.
2. A spirit of contradiction strongly marks this failing. It is a strong symptom of self-conceit when young people are hasty in their judgments, and confident in their own opinions.
3. When, even in matters of importance, they are above asking or taking advice of others.
4. By rashly condemning the opinions and maxims which have received the stamp of time and experience. Youth should guard against the fascinations of novelty.
5. The worst sign is neglecting to ask counsel of God (Jam 1:5).
II. Whence is it that young people are peculiarly exposed to this evil?
1. They commonly know but little of themselves.
2. They can have but little acquaintance with the world.
3. They are much exposed to the imprudent and sinful flattery of others.
III. Some considerations to put youth seriously upon their guard against being wise in their own eyes.
1. Consider what little foundation there is for this vain conceit.
2. Nothing obstructs progress in true wisdom more effectually than the opinion that you are wise already.
3. If you are wise in your own eyes, you will not be so in the sight of God and man.
4. Nothing more surely betrays young people into certain ruin. Guard, then, against self-conceit. Watch and pray constantly against the spirit that works in character and life such fatal mischief. (John Humphrys, LL.D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Be not wise in thine own eyes; be not puffed up with vain conceit of thine own wisdom, as if that were sufficient for the conduct of all thine affairs without direction or assistance from God, or without the advice of others.
Fear the Lord: this he adds, because the reverence and dread of the Divine Majesty will make a man, when he compareth himself with God, little and vile in his own eyes. Reverence Gods wisdom, and thou wilt despise thine own.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. (Compare Pro 27:2;Rom 12:16).
fear . . . evilreverentiallyregarding His law.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Be not wise in thine own eyes,…. So as to act independently of God; not to trust in him, nor acknowledge him, nor seek to him for help and direction; nor ask nor take the advice of others; but, being conceited and self-sufficient, lean to thine own understanding, as being wise enough to conduct all affairs in life by thy own discretion; and in matters of religion wiser than thy teachers, and even than the Scriptures, being wise above that which is written; pleasing thyself with thine own wisdom, as exceeding others; glorying in it as thine own acquisition, and not ascribing it to God, so far as it any ways deserves the name of wisdom; though for the most part that which men glory in, and are conceited of, is not wisdom, but folly; and at least it is their folly to boast of it and be elated with it; see Isa 5:21
Ro 12:16;
fear the Lord; which is true wisdom; and, where this is not, there is none, let men be ever so conceited; and where this is there is humility; these two go together, and make a man wise, rich, and honourable, Pr 22:4. The fear of the Lord is opposed to pride, high-mindedness, and vain conceit, Ro 11:20; this includes reverence of God, faith in him, dependence on him, acknowledgment of him, seeking to him for direction, and carefulness not to offend him;
and depart from evil; from the evil of self-confidence and self-conceit, and from all other evil; the fear of God influences men to avoid sin, and abstain from all appearance of it; by means and through the exercise of it men forsake it, and keep at a distance from it, Pr 16:6. Nehemiah could not do as others did, because of the fear of the Lord; and Job was a man that feared God, and therefore he avoided that which was evil, Ne 5:15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Consecration to God. | |
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
We have here before us three exhortations, each of them enforced with a good reason:–
I. We must live in a humble and dutiful subjection to God and his government (v. 7): “Fear the Lord, as your sovereign Lord and Master; be ruled in every thing by your religion and subject to the divine will.” This must be, 1. A humble subjection: Be not wise in thy own eyes. Note, There is not a greater enemy to the power of religion, and the fear of God in the heart, than conceitedness of our own wisdom. Those that have an opinion of their own sufficiency think it below them, and a disparagement to them, to take their measures from, much more to hamper themselves with, religion’s rules. 2. A dutiful subjection: Fear the Lord, and depart from evil; take heed of doing any thing to offend him and to forfeit his care. To fear the Lord, so as to depart from evil, is true wisdom and understanding (Job xxviii. 28); those that have it are truly wise, but self-denyingly so, and not wise in their own eyes. For our encouragement thus to live in the fear of God it is here promised (v. 8) that it shall be as serviceable even to the outward man as our necessary food. It will be nourishing: It shall be health to thy navel. It will be strengthening: It shall be marrow to thy bones. The prudence, temperance, and sobriety, the calmness and composure of mind, and the good government of the appetites and passions, which religion teaches, tend very much not only to the health of the soul, but to a good habit of body, which is very desirable, and without which our other enjoyments in this world are insipid. Envy is the rottenness of the bones; the sorrow of the world dries them; but hope and joy in God are marrow to them.
II. We must make a good use of our estates, and that is the way to increase them, Pro 3:9; Pro 3:10. Here is,
1. A precept which makes it our duty to serve God with our estates: Honour the Lord with thy substance. It is the end of our creation and redemption to honour God, to be to him for a name and a praise; we are no other way capable of serving him than in his honour. His honour we must show forth and the honour we have for him. We must honour him, not only with our bodies and spirits which are his, but with our estates too, for they also are his: we and all our appurtenances must be devoted to his glory. Worldly wealth is but poor substance, yet, such as it is, we must honour God with it, and then, if ever, it becomes substantial. We must honour God, (1.) With our increase. Where riches increase we are tempted to honour ourselves (Deut. viii. 17) and to set our hearts upon the world (Ps. lxii. 10); but the more God gives us the more we should study to honour him. It is meant of the increase of the earth, for we live upon annual products, to keep us in constant dependence on God. (2.) With all our increase. As God has prospered us in every thing, we must honour him. Our law will allow a prescription for a modus decimandi–a mode of tithing, but none de non decimando–for exemption from paying tithes. (3.) With the first-fruits of all, as Abel, Gen. iv. 4. This was the law (Exod. xxiii. 19), and the prophets, Mal. iii. 10. God, who is the first and best, must have the first and best of every thing; his right is prior to all other, and therefore he must be served first. Note, It is our duty to make our worldly estates serviceable to our religion, to use them and the interest we have by them for the promoting of religion, to do good to the poor with what we have and abound in all works of piety and charity, devising liberal things.
2. A promise, which makes it our interest to serve God with our estates. It is the way to make a little much, and much more; it is the surest and safest method of thriving: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty. He does not say thy bags, but thy barns, not thy wardrobe replenished, but thy presses: “God shall bless thee with an increase of that which is for use, not for show or ornament–for spending and laying out, not for hoarding and laying up.” Those that do good with what they have shall have more to do more good with. Note, If we make our worldly estates serviceable to our religion we shall find our religion very serviceable to the prosperity of our worldly affairs. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is and most of the comfort of it. We mistake if we think that giving will undo us and make us poor. No, giving for God’s honour will make us rich, Hag. ii. 19. What we gave we have.
III. We must conduct ourselves aright under our afflictions, Pro 3:11; Pro 3:12. This the apostle quotes (Heb. xii. 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. iii. 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.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Guidelines to Remember
(Pro 3:7-12)
Vs. 7-12 explain some things involved in yielding to the LORD’s direction in all one’s ways.
Vs. 7 admonishes to not think you are wise, Rom 12:16; but reverence the LORD, Pro 16:6; and refuse every form of evil, 1Th 5:22.
Vs. 8- Compliance contributes to physical health.
Vs. 9 commands that the LORD be honored with the cheerful giving of the “first” of all increase in material substance, Exo 22:29-30; Exo 23:19; Exo 35:5.
Vs. 10-Material prosperity is promised to the obedient, Deu 28:8; 2Co 9:7.
Vs. 11-12 counsel do not reject or resent the chastening of the LORD, but understand that it is administered in love, even as a father corrects a son in whom he delights. Deu 8:5; Heb 12:6; Rev 3:19. Chastisement has a beneficial purpose, Psa 94:12; Psa 119:67; Psa 119:71; Heb 12:10-11; 1Pe 5:6. Correction is a part of the instruction mentioned in Pro 1:2-3.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 3:8. Navel, body or muscles. Marrow, literally refreshing, moistening, in contrast to the condition described in Psa. 32:3-4.
Pro. 3:11. Despite not, or loathe not, shrink not. The word, according to Miller, means to melt. Chastening, discipline, correction.
Pro. 3:12. The latter clause of this verse should be read, and holds him dear, or does him a favour, as a father does his son.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Pro. 3:7-12
THE WAY (1) TO HEALTH, (2) TO WEALTH, (3) TO ENDURANCE
Three exhortations are here given, to each of which is attached a promise or reason to induce the young man to obey.
I. An exhortation to humility. (Pro. 3:7-8.) Its peculiar appropriateness and importance will be seen if we consider
1. The person to whom the exhortation is addressed. My son (Pro. 3:1). Lack of experience has a great tendency to breed self-conceit. As a rule, those who have lived the longest and have most acquaintance with men and things are the least disposed to be wise in their own eyes. Ignorance is the mother of self-conceit. These words are addressed to a young man, because his youth would render him very liable to this fault.
2. That self-conceit does not end with oneself but is dangerous to others. The man who insists upon the correctness of his knowledge of a dangerous way, and will not listen to the experience of those who are better acquainted with it, is sure to find some who believe in him and follow his guidance. Thus he may not only lose his own life, but be the murderer of others.
3. It shuts a man up to his ignorance. The only way to become wise is to feel we are ignorant. As a lunatic must be shut up with others in a like condition while his madness is upon him, so a self-conceited man must be imprisoned with the fools of the universe while he remains in that condition.
4. The Divine woes which are levelled against such an one. All the woes pronounced by our Lord against the Scribes and Pharisees were against sins born of this sin. The charge against them was that they were wise in their own eyes. For judgment am I come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him said, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth (Joh. 9:41). Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight (Isa. 5:21).
II. The remedy against self-conceit. Fear the Lord, etc. When those who are wise in their own eyes begin to reverence those who are much wiser than they are, they will begin to depart from this evil which is the root of many evils. Esteem for those who deserve esteem will lessen their esteem for themselves. A knowledge of the character and wisdom of God will produce reverence. When a man renders to God the reverence which is due unto Him, and which is born of a right appreciation of what God is, the scales of self-conceit will fall from his own eyes. As the sun melts the hoar-frost from the windows and leaves a clear medium for the rays of the sun to enter the chamber, so the contact of God with the human soul will melt away the self-esteem which shut Him out. How entrenched was Saul of Tarsus in his own opinions before he met the Lord on the road to Damascus. How high an estimate he had of himself, but how great was the change which acquaintance with Christ wrought. When Job got an insight into Gods greatness, he said, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job. 42:6). Self-conceit cannot live where there are right views of God.
III. The promise here given to those who walk reverently before God. Certain it is that such a mode of life leads to bodily health. Those who walk in the fear of the Lord live lives of purity, of temperance, of freedom from the consuming passions and corroding cares of the ungodly. Other things being equal, or anything like equal, godliness has the promise of the life that now is in this respect as in others. But if we understand the words in this narrow sense only, they seem to express only a small part, and the inferior part, of the blessing that comes to a man from the fear of the Lord. The bones here, as in Psa. 32:3; Psa. 35:10, are put for the whole man. And as the Psalmist, in the first-mentioned psalm, expresses his sad condition of soul as well as body when he says, My moisture is turned to the drought of summer, so the marrow, or moisture, of the bones here expresses a vigour of the entire man. Sin breaks the bones of a mans spirit; the consciousness of the Divine favour which will flow from a reverential walk with God makes them to rejoice (Psa. 51:8).
Pro. 3:9-10 contain
I. An exhortation to a right use of temporal riches.
1. Those who honour God with their gifts honour Him who has first honoured them with their stewardship. The man who is entrusted with the property of others has an honour put upon him by the trust. Potiphar put a great honour upon Joseph when he committed all that he had into his hand, and Joseph felt that it was so. This of itself should be a motive to a strict integrity and to devotion to the interests of One who has thus honoured us with confidence. All temporal, material blessings are given to men as stewards of Gods property (Luk. 16:1-12), and in this light they ought to regard themselves.
2. If men honour God with their substance, they turn what would otherwise be a snare into a blessing. The tendency of wealth is doubtless to make men God-forgetting, self-confident, selfish (Mar. 10:23; Luk. 12:16; Jas. 5:1). But those who use it for the advancement of Gods kingdomfor the alleviation of human sufferingmake a friend of this mammon of unrighteousness (Luk. 16:9).
3. God cannot be honoured with our substance unless we first give ourselves to Him. The great desire of a true father in relation to his children is to secure their love. Having that, everything else that is theirs will be his. Without that, no offering, no service, can be acceptable. God must have the man before He will accept his wealth.
II. The promise annexed to this exhortation. This cannot be the motive, but it is the consequence. Any man who gave his wealth because he believed it was a good investment in this sense, would not be honouring God with it. We must give, as we are commanded to lend, hoping for nothing again (Luk. 6:35). And, although the material rewards which are appended to a certain line of conduct under the old dispensation do not invariably follow it in the new and more spiritual one, there is probably no Old Testament promise of earthly reward which is, and ever has been, fulfilled with so few exceptions.
Pro. 3:11-12.
I. An exhortation to patient endurance of affliction.
1. From the constitution of our nature we can but dislike or loathe (despise, see Critical Notes) affliction itself. There has never been one of human kind who has welcomed affliction for its own sake; nay, more, there has never been one who has not shrunk from it, considered by itself. No man can do other than grieve for the death of his friend when he considers his own loss merely. No child of God can love pain or loss. The man who is under the knife of the surgeon must groan in the unnatural condition in which he is placed. Even Christ Himself, though He delighted to do the will of His Father (Psa. 40:8), shrank from the bitter cup of suffering. If, then, painprobably mental painwas felt to be bitter by the Sinless Man, how much more will a sinful man find it hard to bear.
2. The pain itself is that which renders us unable to see the connection between it and the benefit it is to work out. While a man is suffering pain of body or mind, his feelings, more or less, overpower his reason. Although we know that it is to work good in the future, we fail often to realise the factfeeling holds us down to the present.
II. Four considerations to help us in times of affliction.
1. Its individuality. My son, despise not thou, which implies that God chastises men as individualsthat he distinguishes between them. There may be many sons and daughters in a human home; no two are exactly alike, therefore a wise discrimination must be exercised with regard to the chastisement or the discipline administered. So God discerns the needs of His children. No son or daughter need think that another cross would suit them better; they may be assured that the one they bear is the one that has been especially prepared for them, and is therefore peculiarly adapted for them.
2. Its end. It is educational. It is correction, not destruction. Even if it is rebuke, or punishment for a particular sin, it is designed to eradicate that sin, and thus add to the character; and we are assured, on the highest authority, that tribulation worketh patience, experience, and hopeall of which graces go to form a higher type of man (Rom. 5:2-3).
3. Its signification. It means son-ship, adoption. It means that God has taken us in hand; that He is Himself presiding over our education; that He loves us and desires our spiritual growth.
4. Its Author. The Lord. We accept that from one whom we know, which we would not from a stranger. If we can be sure that a mans motives are pure, we judge of his conduct accordingly. The consideration that affliction comes from the righteous Father, the King who cannot wrong any of His subjects, ought to help us to take the rebuke with meekness,to bear the pain, although we cannot now see the profit.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro. 3:7. This warning against self-confidence is closely connected with the preceding verse. The wise in his own eyes is he that leans to his own understanding. How striking is this connection between the fear of the Lord and the fear of sin (ch. Pro. 14:27; Pro. 16:6; Gen. 39:9-10; Neh. 5:15).Bridges.
Get all the wisdom thou canst. That is the very burden of these Proverbs. But as thou gettest it if thou seemest wise, be sure that thou art weighed down with folly. Gabriel, who has never sinned, is foolish because he knows not the end from the beginning, and we are foolish from a further cause, that our wisdom has remains with it that are corrupt.Miller.
The greatest hindrance to all true wisdom is the thought that we have already attained it.Plumptre.
Fear God, and fear evil; fear God to go to Him, fear evil to depart from it. The wings of fear to carry thee to God are love and care, the wings of fear to carry thee from evil are shame and sorrow.Jermin.
Pro. 3:8. The constant, steadfast, self-diffident operation of the religious principle is beneficial alike to body and soul. It preserves the mind in tranquillity and peace (Isa. 26:3), and this is in a high degree conducive to the health and vigour of the bodily frame.Wardlaw.
Two sadnesses flow from not fearing Jehovahworn muscles and dried bones (see Critical Notes). The two are perfectly distinct. One means aching labour, the other, horrible despondency. The fear of God delivers from both.Miller.
All Gods laws come from one source and conspire for one end. They favour righteousness and frown on sin. The law set in nature runs parallel as far as it goes to the law written in the word. Vice saps the health both of body and mind.Arnot.
Pro. 3:9. Works of piety and charity are evidently included.Wardlaw.
Who art thou, that thou shouldest be able to honour Him, who is Himself of infinite honour? Who would not in this respect employ his substance in Gods fear, seeing thereby thou dost honour Him, whom to serve is a high honour to the highest angels.Jermin.
To devote a portion of our substance directly to the worship of God, and the good of men, is a duty plainly enjoined in the Scriptures. It is not a thing that a man may do, or may not do, as he pleases. There is this difference, however, between it and the common relative duties of life. For the neglect of it no infliction comes from a human hand. God will not have the dregs that are squeezed out by pressure poured into His treasury. He loveth a cheerful giver. He can work without our wealth, but He does not work without our willing service.Arnot.
Pro. 3:10. At first sight the motive may be regarded as a selfish one. But second thoughts give another view. It is a trial of faith. And it is a trial than which few are found more difficult. It is hard to persuade a man that giving away will make him rich. We look with more confidence to bank interest, or the still better interest of a vested loan, than to a return of profit from what is wholly given away.Wardlaw.
Men take care how to use their money to the best advantage by sea, by buying land or cattle, or by usury, an easy trade; thy best trade will be to maintain Gods worship.Jermin.
This consecration of substance, as the seed-corn for the harvest, is as strange to the world as would be the casting of the seed in the earth to an untutored savage. Yet is the result secure in both cases: only with the difference, the temper of the earthly sower has no influence on the harvest; whereas the fruitfulness of the spiritual harvest mainly depends on the principles of the work. Most important is it that we honour the Lordnot ourselves.Bridges.
Pro. 3:11. Two things are forbidden here.
1. Do not make light of (despise) the Lords chastening, as if thou couldst easily cast it offin insensibility to it, not recognising the Lords hand in it, and not humbling thyself under it.
2. Do not, on the contrary, through pusillanimity, be weary, and impatient, and despondent under the burden.Cartwright.
Not to feel thy evils would be inhuman; not to bear them, unmanly.Seneca.
Fainting and wearying may take place in two ways. The heart may be overwhelmed by sudden trials, giving an effect so stunning and overpowering that the spirit sinks into a temporary stupefaction, and, as the Apostle has it, we faint. Or it may become wearied out and exhausted by the long continuance of the same trial, or by a rapid succession of different strokes of the rod.Wardlaw.
Having stated the blessings of wisdom, it is logical to consider the apparent exceptions.Miller.
For if God did despise thee, He would not chasten thee, if He was weary of thee, He would not correct thee.Jermin.
Some think it a goodly thing to bear out a cross by head and shoulders, and wear it out as they may, never improving it. As a man that, coming out of a shower of rain, dries again, and all is as before.Trapp.
Prosperity and adversity, in their wise mixture and proportion, form our present condition. Each is equally fruitful in honouring the Lord; in prosperity, by a wise consecration of our substance; in adversity, by a humble and cheerful submission. It is correction, this is for your humbling; it is only correction, this is your consolation. It is the declared test of our legitimacy (Heb. 12:7-8). His discipline is that of the family, not of the school, much less of the prison.Bridges.
Solomon here anticipates a covert objection, if all the favour in the sight of God and man, and the health which have been attributed to the fearers of the Lord (Pro. 3:1-10) really be theirs, how is it that we see them so often sorely afflicted? The reason is, the Lord sends these afflictions, not for evil, but for good to His people.Fausset.
Consider the afflictions we meet with in the character which the text assigns to them, viz., as corrections. What reasons have we for viewing them in this light?
1. They are of God, and God takes no pleasure in the misery of His creatures. By some other demonstrations than the dark demonstrations of sorrow, we know the benevolence of God; and as afflictions are from Him, we have reason to deem them a part of the discipline of His love.
2. The rule or order of human afflictions indicates their corrective intent. All do not come under this principle, but many do. It is manifest that many miseries of life are the results of sin, and if we could see further, it is extremely probable that we should attribute many human miseries to human sin which we now attribute to the naked sovereignty of God.
3. There is every reason to believe that a state of innocence would have kept the world from all suffering. Evils that extend so far, or are of such a nature that our reformation could not shun them, are instructive monitions that sin strikes deep, and requires for its cure the hand that rules the world.
4. Our afflictions have many alleviations. If they were intended as mere punishments they would have been made more destructive.Dr. Spencer.
The first distinct utterance of a truth which has been so full of comfort to many thousands, the summing up of all controversies, like those of Jobs friends (Job. 5:17) or our Lords disciples (Joh. 9:2) as to the mystery of suffering. It was the lesson which the book of Job had proclaimed as the issue of so many perplexities. Here it enters into the education of every Jewish child taught to acknowledge a Father in heaven chastening him even as he had been chastened by an earthly father. The Apostle writing to the Hebrews can find no stronger comfort.Plumptre.
Especially the well-beloved Son, who (Pro. 3:12) was made perfect through sufferings.Wordsworth.
Gods strokes are better than Satans kiss and love; God smites for life, Satan caresses for death.Egard.
The kingdom of God in this world is a kingdom of the cross; but all suffering tends evermore to the testing and confirmation of faith (1Pe. 1:6-7).Lange.
Gods chastenings and corrections are no signs of anger, but of love; they are the pains which our healing and cure demand. Those who lie under the cross are often more acceptable to God than those who taste and experience His dainties. He finds pleasure in our crosses and sufferings for this reason, because these are His remembrance and renewal of the sufferings of His Son. His honour is also involved in such a perpetuation of the cross in His members (Eph. 3:13; Col. 1:24, etc.), and it is this that causes Him this peculiar joy.Berleburg Bible.
God loveth not thy correction, but thee He loveth.Jermin.
He that escapes affliction may well suspect his adoption.Trapp.
The same stroke may fall on two men, and be in the one case judgment, in the other love. In vain have I smitten your children, they received no correction (Jer. 2:30). All were smitten, but they only obtained paternal correction who, in the spirit of adoption, received it as such. You may prune branches lying withered on the ground, and also branches living in the vine. In the two cases, the operation and the instrument are precisely alike; but the operation on this branch has no result, and the operation on that branch produces fruitfulness, because of a difference in the place and condition of the branches operated upon.Arnot.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(7) Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.The same result is reached by Job also (Pro. 28:28) in his inquiry after wisdom.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. This is in substance a repetition of the fifth verse, with members transposed, thus giving the sentiment emphasis. Compare Rom 12:16, last clause.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Wisdom and its blessings in Health: Wisdom Blesses the Man Physically – Wisdom will teach us how to have a long life if we will fear the Lord and keep His commandment. The reason that the phrase “depart from evil” is used in Pro 3:7 as a condition living a long life in Pro 3:8 is because the context of chapters 1-9 refers to the path of wisdom verses the path of the evil man. The voice of wisdom will help us avoid the paths of evil that have cut off the life of many victims. Pro 22:3 tells us that a wise man will see danger ahead and will turn from it and save his life, but the fool, in his blindness, will walk right into danger.
Pro 22:3, “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
Sowing in the Physical Realm Pro 3:29-30 serves as an illustration of Pro 3:7 by telling us not to get into strife with our neighbour. We are to “depart from evil”, or “depart from strife”. We know that people who are wise in their own eyes tend towards strife.
Illustrations – Obviously, wisdom will teach us to avoid the sinful places where the wicked drink and revel in sin. Wisdom will also teach us to avoid certain places at certain times. For example, the Lord spoke to Kenneth Copeland about the tragedy of 9-11 when the Twin Towers in New York fell, killing thousands of innocent people. [62] The Lord said that He spoke to everyone in the building. Some people could not hear His voice. Others heard but did not follow the witness of their spirit. Still others heard and obeyed and left. It was only those who heard and obeyed that were saved on that terrible day.
[62] Kenneth Copeland, Believer’s Voice of Victory (Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Fort Worth, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
In Pro 22:3, a prudent man is one who has taken the time to learn how to hear and obey the voice of wisdom. Therefore, he hears the voice of the Holy Spirit warning him about the evil ahead. Now, the simple person is not necessary an evil person, but rather, he is someone who has been too lazy to learn the Word of God and how to discern the voice of wisdom.
A similar passage to Pro 3:7-8 is found in Pro 4:21-22. This verse tells us that when we are led by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, that we will be blessed with health in our bodies.
Pro 4:21-22, “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”
This same promise is also seen in 3Jn 1:2, where we are told that God will reward us with health is we will obey His commandments.
3Jn 1:2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Pro 3:7
Pro 26:12, “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”
Rom 11:25, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits ; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
Rom 12:16, “Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits .”
Pro 3:7 “and depart from evil” Comments – Running with the wicked man or the strange woman will shorten our lives. If serving the Lord brings a long life, then serving evil will shorten our lives.
Illustration – I remember one classmate that died shortly after high school. He had been running with those who sold large amounts of illegal drugs. One day, these men decided that this young man knew too much, so he was killed.
Pro 3:7 Scripture References – Note a similar verse:
Pro 16:6, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.”
Pro 3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
Pro 3:8
Comments – Ronald Hawkins suggests that the navel is used figuratively to represent the “lifeline” of our sustenance from God. [63] Since the context of Pro 3:5-8 is trusting in the Lord, we can also use the synonym “dependence,” or “sustenance.” This means that we live daily in dependency upon His provision in the same way an unborn child lives by what its mother provides it through its umbilical cord.
[63] Ronald E. Hawkins, Proverbs, in The KJV Bible Commentary, ed. Edward E. Hindson and Woodrow M. Kroll (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1994), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), comments on Proverbs 3:1-12.
Pro 3:8 “and marrow to thy bones” – Word Study on “marrow” – Gesenius says the Hebrew word ( ) (H8250) means, “drink, the moistening, i.e. refreshing of the bones.” Strong says it means, “a beverage, moisture, i.e. refreshment.” The word is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “marrow 1, drink 1.” The verb form of this Hebrew noun is ( ) (H8248), meaning, “to give to drink” ( Gesenius). Thus, the phrase is better translated, “and moistening to thy bones.”
Comments – Note other Scriptures that mention the moistening or dryness of the bones:
Job 21:24, “His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow .”
Psa 6:2, “Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed (or dismayed, in agony).”
Psa 22:14-15, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint : my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.”
Psa 31:10, “For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed .”
Psa 32:3, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.”
Psa 109:18, “As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones .”
Pro 12:4, “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones .”
Pro 14:30, “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones .”
Pro 15:30, “The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat .”
Pro 16:24, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones .”
Pro 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones .”
Isa 58:11, “And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones : and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
Isa 66:14, “And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb : and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.”
Eze 37:11, “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried , and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.”
Hab 3:16, “When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones , and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Pro 3:7. Be not wise in thine own eyes, &c. He employs all his authority, and all his eloquence, to exhort us to search after wisdom; but he would not by any means that we should be wise in our own eyes: he would have us doubt our own understanding; be always disposed to receive the good instructions of others; and refer to God, and not to ourselves, what we do: in one word, that our wisdom should never cause in us any pride, presumption, or temerity. See 2Co 12:11 and Isa 5:24.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
If I do not mistake, here is a sweet reference to Christ in these verses. The first fruits offered to the Lord was to be all in faith. Thus Abel by faith offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Heb 11:4 . Every first fruit had certainly reference to Christ. The promise to this is striking. The barns and the wine presses shall not only recompense, but abound. It is most blessed to do all things by faith, for whatsoever is not of faith, is sin. Rom 14:23 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Ver. 7. Be not wise in thine own eyes. ] Bis desipit qui sibi sapit. He is two fools that is wise in his own eyes. This mars all. Socrates’s Hoc scio quod nihil scio, got him the name of the wisest among men. Consilii satis in me mihi a is the proud man’s posy. “He that would be wise, must be a fool, that he may be wise.” 1Co 3:18 Intus existens prohibet alienum. A conceit of wisdom bars out wisdom.
Fear the Lord.
And depart from evil.
a Arachne apud Ovid. Metamor, lib. vi.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Be not wise, &c. Illustrations: Ahab (1Ki 22:30, 1Ki 22:34, 1Ki 22:35); Jeroboam (1Ki 12:26-33; 1Ki 13:33, 1Ki 13:34; Asa (1Ki 15:19); Ben-hadad (1Ki 20:10, 1Ki 20:11); quoted Rom 11:25; Rom 12:16.
Fear = revere. See note on Pro 1:7.
the LORD. Jehovah (with ‘eth) = Jehovah Himself. App-4.
depart from = shun, or avoid.
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
fear
Also; Pro 2:5 (See Scofield “Psa 19:9”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Be: Pro 26:12, Isa 5:21, Rom 11:25, Rom 12:16
fear: Pro 14:27, Pro 16:6, Neh 5:15, Job 1:1, Job 28:28, Psa 34:11-14, Ecc 12:13
Reciprocal: Exo 20:20 – his fear 2Ki 5:11 – Behold Psa 4:4 – sin Psa 34:14 – Depart Psa 97:10 – hate Pro 3:5 – and Pro 12:15 – way Pro 13:19 – depart Pro 14:16 – feareth Pro 14:26 – fear Act 10:35 – feareth 1Co 3:18 – If 2Ti 2:19 – depart 1Pe 3:11 – eschew
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 3:7-8. Be not wise in thine own eyes Be not puffed up with a vain conceit of thine own wisdom, as if that were sufficient for the conduct of all thine affairs, without direction and assistance from God, or without the advice of others. Fear the Lord, &c. This he adds, because reverence for, and a dread of, the Divine Majesty, will make a man, when he compares himself with God, little and vile in his own eyes. Reverence Gods wisdom, and despise thine own. It shall be health to thy navel To thy body, which is signified by one important part of it; and marrow to thy bones Which is the nourishment and strength of the bones, and a great preserver and prolonger of life, as the decay of it is a chief cause of the weakness, dryness, and decay of the body. The sense of the verse is, This fear of God, or true religion, is not only necessary to the salvation of the soul, but is also calculated to promote the health of the body. For, as it prevents those diseases which are often occasioned by sinful lusts and passion, so it teaches that prudence, temperance, and sobriety, that calmness and composure of mind, that good government of the appetites and passions, which must, in the nature of things, tend to produce a good habit of body; and at the same time it gives us an interest in Gods promises, and places us under the care of his special providence.