Proverbs 3:1-2 – Keep My Commands

Proverbs chapter 3 has been a particular blessing to my life, and the Lord has taught me many things through it. The first section of this chapter (verses 1-12) appears to be a unit, which has a common structure throughout. Consequently, I would like to share my thoughts on these verses over the next few articles, God willing.

When reading Proverbs 3:1-12, I see a pattern emerging – these verses come in pairs. In each pair, the first verse gives an instruction, whilst the second verse provides a blessing that comes with keeping that instruction. This naturally leads to the study of these verses in their pairs, as each is a complete thought in itself, although all of them are included together under the heading of the first two verses, which is the subject of this first article.

Prov. 3:1-2:     My son, do not forget my law,

But let your heart keep my commands;

For length of days and long life

And peace they will add to you.

This is the head verse, the preface if you like, of the whole chapter. In the rest of the chapter, specific commands and blessings are given that govern one or another area of life. These first two verses set the scene and provide the overarching principle on which the chapter is based. Here, we see the instruction given in verse 1: My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands, followed by the blessing or promise in verse 2: For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. The instruction here is very broad, as is the blessing – if one keeps the law and commandments, then long life and peace will follow. Let us take a closer look at these two verses.

Firstly, see that this chapter is addressed to “My son” although the proverb writer Solomon may have been writing to his own son, I believe that his address also applies to us. Those who are Christians, who have been adopted into the family of God, are called sons of God (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 3:26). This is an important point to understand before reading the rest of Proverbs 3, which contains many practical instructions for living a life that is pleasing to God. These instructions are addressed specifically to those who are already sons of God (and this includes women!). If you are not part of God’s family, then try as you might to follow all the instructions in Proverbs 3, you will not be pleasing to the Lord, and you will not qualify for the blessings he describes. If you already know the Lord, then take heed to the wisdom that is presented in this chapter.

The words law and commands found in verse 1 are enough to send many running for the hills, crying: “We are not under law, but under grace! That doesn’t apply to us any more!” Now, whilst it is true that we are no longer governed by the set of laws that God gave to Israel in order to run their nation, we remain under the moral law of God. What I mean by moral law is what God defines as good and evil – He has not changed these definitions since eternity past: good has always been good, and evil has always been evil. As we apply this verse to ourselves in the New Testament, we need to understand that we are under the law of liberty, as described in James 2:8-13. The law of liberty is simply God’s moral law, which Christians should find liberty in keeping.

In our day, many who call themselves Christians tend to forget God’s law, and assume that He doesn’t really care how we live our lives. In Romans chapter 6, Paul refutes this idea in no uncertain terms, showing that God’s grace should draw us into lives of moral purity and holiness, which fulfils God’s law. These words written so long ago are thus as applicable to us today as they have ever been: My son, do not forget my law.

The next part of verse 1 goes even further than just not forgetting God’s law, in that he says: But let your heart keep my commands. This is where the nation of Israel fell short. Even when they did everything according to God’s law, their hearts were not always with God. They kept the law and commandments out of a sense of compulsion or tradition, but their hearts easily turned to idols when their kings turned away from God. Sadly, the same is true for many in traditional Christians. Their lives may appear to be God-fearing, but their hearts are not really in it. As David declares in Psalm 51:16-17–

For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering.

[Sacrifices and offerings were all part of the outward ceremony of worshipping God, which people may do without actually worshipping God from their hearts].

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise.

The first verse of Proverbs 3 sets out three challenging questions, which I want to ask of all who read this article. 1) Are you a child of God? 2) If you are a child of God, then have you forgotten God’s moral law in your daily life? 3) If you are a child who keeps God’s law and commandments, do you do this with the right heart? Let each one of us examine ourselves in the searchlight of this verse.

Having given an instruction in the first verse, Solomon then presents the promise or blessing that comes from obeying the instruction. As with all of the other pairs of verses that we will look at in Proverbs 3, the blessing is a consequence of keeping the instruction. God has ordained that as we do these things, His blessings will flow into our lives. This is in contrast to the idea of karma, or ‘what goes around comes around’, which excludes God from the process of blessing those who love Him. The blessings that a Christian receives come directly from the hand of God.

As broad as the instruction is (the whole law, all of God’s commands), the blessing is even broader – For length of days, and long life, and peace I will add to you. God’s blessings always far outstrip any of His demands on our lives. This blessing emphasizes length of life twice, which I believe points to this ‘long life’ as being much more than just many years of living on earth – it points to eternal life. This glorious eternal life is found in Jesus Christ: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

This glorious, abundant life does not begin only when we die, but while we are living and obeying God’s commands. This is illustrated at the end of verse 2: and peace I will add to you. The peace of God is not something that we can only dream of experiencing in heaven, but it is a very real experience we can have on earth. This peace permeates our whole life, which starts from the moment we are born into the kingdom of God. This all-pervading peace is also found in Jesus, who in His final teaching to His disciples told them: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). This peace came to His disciples when the Spirit came to dwell in their hearts, thus granting them the peace of the Lord Jesus. From that point forward, they delighted to obey the Lord’s commands from a pure heart, and they remained in perfect peace even when they were severely persecuted (see Acts 5:40-42, 7:54-60, 16:21-25).

The message here should be both challenging and comforting to all who know the Lord, who are children of God. By His grace, God has adopted us into His household, and now He instructs us to remember His moral law, and keep His commands from a pure heart. As we are saved by grace, and start to keep His Word out of love for Him, He lavishes even more grace upon us by granting us abundant, eternal life, which is accompanied by perfect peace, all of which are found in the Lord Jesus Christ.