Proverbs 3

For the Lord reproves him who He loves, as a Father the son in whom He delights.

Proverbs 3:12

It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.  (Message Bible)

Rev. 3:19-20; Prov. 3:24

Without knowing who you are; without even knowing your name, a profound truth of two things we all have in common exists: we all have an earthly father (existant or non-existant), and, we all have a heavenly Father who is eternally present to us!

Let us quickly review two fatherly examples, both God centered, yet human, revealing the fact that we all make mistakes and fail to meet God’s standard of righteousness.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.  Seemingly living in the will of God every step of the way, they grew into becoming the 12 tribes of Israel, and eventually the family tree peeks at the birth of Jesus.  Abraham obeyed God and left the house of his earthly father, yet later lied about his wife Sarah.  Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau who grew into two tribes, yet in their youth Jacob causes Esau to sell his birthright and steals the blessing of the first born with the help of his mother, not necessarily the most trustworthy of all families.  Jacob had 12 sons who later grew into the 12 tribes of Israel, yet a few of the sons of Jacob were never truly at peace with each other, bringing immense suffering to their father.  

Our faith in God can yield unforeseen, futuristic, exponential blessing and growth as we see in these three fathers.  Fast forward now to David and Solomon.  David fathered Solomon through deceit, murder, and adultery.  David had Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah (who fought in David’s army), killed in Battle.  David then took Bathsheba as his wife.  David raised Solomon to follow after God, however, later during Solomon’s reign, he became obsessed with the women of other nations and had a grand total of 1000 wives, princesses, and concubines all totaled togethe.  Not so much for the ways of God.

Abraham’s descendants who chose to obey God were blessed.  Of David’s descendants there were many kings who chose not to follow God.  Those who fell away from God, the blessing of God was removed from them.  The king’s who kept God’s word received God’s blessings.  

When we read about the men in the Bible, fathers, we must heed the details of their story.  God greatly blesses those who choose to live life purposefully for His cause and purpose, to build the kingdom of heaven.  Solomon echoes God’s heart for His people; God reveals through Solomon, though he strayed far away from the path God set for him for a time, that we can both learn and gain wisdom from their faults and failures.  We can, without a doubt, trust the words of Solomon and his proverbs, the one who was wiser than any other man to have ever lived.  

The key to all of this is to clearly know who your heart belongs to.

Note also the fact that these words of wisdom are all found in the Bible.

REFLECTION : What is God saying to you through todays reading?

Who do you hold to be more promising and trustworthy as your father: God, our Heavenly Father, or your biological father who helped in bringing forth your life on earth? Why?

As you consider that we all make mistakes, and that God is able and willing to forgive, are you also able to forgive yourself and move in the direction of God’s blessings?

As God has forgiven us, as we have wronged Him, have you forgiven those who have wronged you?