At the heart of Proverbs 3 we hear the blessing upon the one who finds wisdom.
The father says to his son, "My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights." Here the father plainly connects the relationship between God and the believer as the relationship of father to son.
But we must remember that God disciplines us and reproves us because he loves us! If you object to God's discipline, what you are really saying is, "I don't want God to love me!" - "I don't want to be conformed to the likeness of Christ! - "I just want to live my life my way!"
Do not despise the LORD's discipline. God is training you to look more and more like Jesus. It isn't pleasant at the time, but it is for your good!
And God disciplines us corporately as well as individually. The coronavirus is not a judgment upon a particular individual. It is a judgment on fallen humanity β a reminder to all of us that the wages of sin is death. Some of us will die by one disease β some will die by another. God's common wrath falls upon the whole human race!
But the common and the particular come together in Christ β who is the true Son of God β the true Israel. He bears the common wrath of God upon humanity β but he also bears the particular wrath that was due to us for our sin.
He, then, is the blessed man who found wisdom (3:13). And we are blessed in him as he has become for us wisdom from God, and sanctification, righteousness, and redemption.
But if verses 1-12 made it sound like the pursuit of wisdom was motivated by health and wealth, verses 13-20 show us the true meaning of life and peace! |
