Proverbs (Part 067) - Pro 6:20-21

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20. Pro 6:20 - "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:" A. Solomon begins a new line of instruction in this verse. i. He is reiterating what he had previously taught his son in Pro 1:8. ii. This verse begins a reminder about the importance of his instruction to his son (Pro 6:20-23). iii. And in a general application, these verses are God's instruction to us His sons. iv. Solomon will then proceed from the broader exhortation to keep God's commandments and live by them to the specific instruction to avoid the strange woman / adulteress (Pro 6:24-35). B. My son, keep thy father's commandment, i. This is the 14th of 23 instances in the book of Proverbs where Solomon besought his son to hearken unto his wisdom by saying "my son." ii. He exhorts his son to keep his commandment. a. Keep v. - I. Early senses (with gen. in OE., afterwards with simple obj.). 1. To seize, lay hold of; to snatch, take. Obs. 2. To try to catch or get; to seek after. Obs. 3. To take in, receive, contain, hold. Obs. 4. To take in with the eyes, ears, or mind; to take note of, mark, behold, observe. Obs. II. Transitive uses (in early use also intr.). * To have regard, pay attention to, observe. 11. trans. To pay attention or regard to; to observe, stand to, or dutifully abide by (an ordinance, law, custom, practice, covenant, promise, faith, a thing prescribed or fixed, as a treaty, truce, peace, a set time or day; see further under the ns.). (i) He didn't merely ask his son to listen to what he was saying and consider it. (ii) He told him to pay attention to, observe, stand to, and dutifully abide by the instruction he was giving him. b. Commandment n. - 1. An authoritative order or injunction; a precept given by authority. (i) He didn't say, "My son, consider my suggestion, request, or plead." (ii) He told him to dutifully abide by his authoritative order. (iii) Fathers (and mothers) ought to command their children to do what they want them to do, not ask, beg, or suggest them to do so (Gen 18:19). (iv) Parents that do not command their children, or are not heeded by them when they do, are failures (Gen 19:14). iii. In that Solomon was a prophet speaking under the inspiration of God (2Pe 1:21), his words are also God's words given to us His sons and daughters (Heb 12:5-7 c/w Pro 3:11-12). a. If we love God we must keep His commandments (Joh 14:15, 21). b. If we are only hearers of the word and not doers, we deceive our own selves that we are the followers of the Lord (Jam 1:22). C. and forsake not the law of thy mother: i. Mothers also play a significant role in the training of children. a. The mother is supposed to "guide the house" which means that she should be laying down the law when the father is away at work (1Ti 5:14). b. Law n. - I. A rule of conduct imposed by authority. 1. a. The body of rules, whether proceeding from formal enactment or from custom, which a particular state or community recognizes as binding on its members or subjects. (In this sense usually the law.) †Also, in early use, a code or system of rules of this kind. c. Children should obey their mothers as well as their fathers (Col 3:20). d. Children should not forsake the law of their mother. (i) Forsake v. - 1. trans. To deny (an accusation, an alleged fact, etc.). Obs. 2. To decline or refuse (something offered). c. To refuse respect or obedience to (a command, duty, etc.); to disregard. Also, to neglect (to do something). Obs. (ii) A mother nor a father should allow children to be disobedient or disrespectful to their mother. ii. We should follow Solomon's advice even though he himself did not. a. His mother (Pro 31:1), warned him to "give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings" (Pro 31:3). b. Sadly, Solomon forsook the law of his mother (1Ki 11:4; Neh 13:26). c. But truth is truth even when it comes from a hypocrite. 21. Pro 6:21 - "Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck." A. Bind them continually upon thine heart, i. Parents' commandments and laws, and by extension God's commandments and laws, are to be bound continually upon our hearts. a. Bind v. - I. To tie fast. 1. a. trans. To make fast with a tie; to fasten, tie up. b. To tie fast to (on, upon). b. Continually adv. - 1. In a continual way; always, incessantly, constantly, perpetually, all the time c. Heart n. - ** As the seat of feeling, understanding, and thought. 5. a. = mind, in the widest sense, including the functions of feeling, volition, and intellect. 6. a. The seat of one's inmost thoughts and secret feelings; one's inmost being; the depths of the soul; the soul, the spirit. d. In other words we should figuratively tie God's commandments to our mind and soul so that they are always with us. (i) Having God's law bound in a book is good, but having it bound in our heart is better. (ii) If it stays in the book, it does us little good, but if it's in our heart it will guide us through life. ii. How do we bind God's law continually upon our hearts? a. We do so by reading the word of God and meditating on it which enables us to memorize it (Psa 1:1-2; Psa 119:15, 97; 1Ti 4:15). b. When we do this we will write it on the table of our heart (Pro 3:3; Pro 7:3) c. Doing so will keep it hidden in our heart so that it will be ever with us (Psa 119:11; Psa 37:31). d. When the word of God resides in our heart it is able to lead us and talk with us (Pro 6:22), reprove us and be a lamp to our feet (Pro 6:23), and save our souls temporally (Jam 1:21). B. and tie them about thy neck. i. Our hearts represent our inward man; our necks represent our outward man. ii. When the word of God is in our hearts we will think and talk about it during our day and teach it to our children (Deut 6:6-7). iii. As the scripture proceeds out of us it will then be as frontlets between our eyes (Deut 6:8) and will be apparent to all. iv. It will be figuratively visible like beautiful rings on the fingers (Pro 7:3) and gold chains on our necks (Pro 1:9; Pro 3:3). v. In summary, when we read and meditate on the word of God it will become hidden in our hearts. When it's in the heart, it will come out in our speech and actions and will be as it were bound about our neck for others to see.