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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Becky Harcourt and are based on Proverbs 3 (NIV)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Job 28
1 My son, do not forget my teaching, 2 but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honour the Lord with your wealth, with
Sunday March 9 - Wisdom bestows well-being
...do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for
they will prolong your life... and bring you peace and prosperity.
Proverbs 3:1-2
The book of Proverbs has always had a special place in my heart. As a teenager, when I found much of the rest of the Bible hard to get my head around, I would turn to the practical verses in Proverbs and find encouragement and skill for living. Many years on, and understanding much more about myself and human nature, I still love turning to Proverbs and gleaning wisdom from its pages.
Proverbs 3, this week’s focus, is part of the introduction to the book. Here we have a father, generally accepted to be King Solomon, exhorting his son to listen and take this wisdom to heart, because as a father he knows that wisdom will help his son live well, if he will make the effort to follow it. So he begins by pointing out wisdom’s benefits: a long life, peace and prosperity.
Wisdom doesn’t guarantee these things, but it makes them much more likely. Whereas foolishness leads to bad choices and decisions, often resulting in disaster in the long term, wisdom leads to good choices and decisions, with a build-up of positive results over time, giving rise to a long life, peace and prosperity. It’s never too early or late to learn this skill for living that wisdom teaches. Whatever stage we find ourselves at in life, let’s pay close attention to this teaching and make every effort to follow it.
Thank you, Lord, for this skill of living well that wisdom teaches. Please help me to be a good student! Amen.
the first fruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
32 For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. 33 The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. 34 He mocks proud mockers but shows favour to the humble and oppressed. 35 The wise inherit honour, but fools get only shame.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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