Proverbs – Lesson 11 – July 8 – Proverbs 3.5

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Review

This is lesson 11 in our Proverbs series.  Let’s review the key points we have learned up to this point.

In chapter one Solomon mentioned three voices his son would encounter, which one of these is  NOT a voice Solomon mentioned:

• The voice of parents, advising the son
• The voice of sinners, enticing the son
• The Voice of culture, persuading the son
• The voice of Wisdom pursuing the son

 

Answer

• The voice of parents, advising the son
• The voice of sinners, enticing the son
• The Voice of culture, persuading the son
• The voice of Wisdom pursuing the son

 

In Chapter 1, Solomon described Wisdom as a woman lifting up her voice. Where was wisdom calling from?

• The Streets
• The City Gates
• The City Markets
• The Schoolhouse

 

• The Streets
• The City Gates
• The City Markets
• The Schoolhouse

 

In our discussion of chapter 2, we described Wisdom as a secret service detail protecting us from two people. Who were those two people?

• The LGBTQ Community
• The Evil Man
• The Corrupt Politician
• The Strange Woman

 

• The LGBTQ Community
• The Evil Man
• The Corrupt Politician
• The Strange Woman

 

In this lesson, Solomon warns his son about another voice that he must guard himself from.

• This voice is more dangerous than the sinners from chapter 1, the scoffer, the froward, or the strange man and evil woman from chapter 2.

This voice is dangerous because it carries more influence over us than any other voice we hear.  We continue trusting this voice even though it often persuades us to make wrong decisions.

What voice am I talking about?

• The voice of our own understanding 

 

Proverbs 3:5–8 KJV

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

⁷ Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

⁸ It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

 

Define Some Terms

Trust

 

The Hebrew word for trust means to put your  entire  weight on something.

This concept of trust implies there is no partial trust. In other words, it is impossible to place your full weight on something while keeping part of your weight on something else.

 

Examples Of Trust

Peter walking on the water

• What was required for Peter to walk on the water? Faith.
• He had to fully trust that Jesus would give him the ability to walk on the water.
• But Peter had to actually place his full weight on the water itself.
• Would it have been the same if Peter would have held onto the side of the boat with his feet just barely touching the water? NO that would not be faith, and it would not be walking on water.
• Peter trusted the boat to support his full weight, but he had to leave the boat completely and place his full weight onto the water. Peter had to transfer his weight from one object to the other.

 

David With Goliath

• David decided to fight Goliath because Goliath was defying God.
• David also decided not to take the weapons of war, like Saul’s armor or a spear and shield.
• David was not placing his full trust in his sling or his skills but in God. Read what he said in 1 Samuel 17:45-47

1 Samuel 17:45–47 KJV

⁴⁵ Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

⁴⁶ This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

⁴⁷ And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

David was placing his full weight on God’s protection. If God did not come through for David he would die.  David had to put himself in the danger before he was able to experience the victory God would give.

 

Talk It Out

What did the experiences of Peter and David have in common?

• It was live or die for both of them.
• There was no middle ground or safe backup plan
• If God did not come through they both would have died because they transferred their trust from something they could hold onto and put them in the place where God had to hold onto them.

 

Object of Trust

Trust must have an object – something we place our weight onto.

What is the object that Solomon instructs his son to trust in?     God 

 

Question:  True or False:

Solomon is encouraging his son to believe in the existence of God?

 False 

Solomon does not argue for the existence of God.  It is assumed in this verse that his son knows God exist.

Solomon is instructing his son to trust in the trustworthiness / faithfulness of God

• faithfulness
• goodness
• ability to provide
• willingness to provide

 

Revisit Our Examples:

Peter had full faith in the existence of both God and Jesus.  But to walk on water he had to fully believe in the power and faithfulness of God to equip and protect him.

David fully believed in the existence of God. To fight Goliath, David had to fully trust in God’s goodness, protection, ability, and faithfulness.

Proverbs 3:5 KJV

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

• We have the command:  TRUST
• We have the object of our trust: the LORD
• Next we have the center of trust:  with all thine heart

 

The phrase “with all thine heart” describes the totality trust.

• We have already stated that the word trust means to place our full weight on an object.
• This means we fully trust the LORD’s faithfulness

 

Now the added phrase “with all thine heart” applies this type of trust to our entire life. Every decision is ruled by full trust in God’s faithfulness.

The Hebrew understanding of “heart” is:  The center of decision making, emotions, and will

In other words,

• every decision is entrusted entirely to God.
• my emotions do not get a vote; only God
• my will and my wants do not get a vote; only God

 

Talk It Out

What does it look like to not allow our fear to determine our obedience to God?

What does it look like to not allow our feelings to vote on our obedience to God?

What are some mistakes we are in danger of making if we allow fear or feelings to guide our decisions and not the word of God?

• with money?
• with relationships?
• with career?
• with revenge?
• with church?

 

Proverbs 3:5 KJV

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

To understand this phrase, we will return to our definition of the word TRUST.

What does TRUST mean? –   to place your full weight on something  

Think back to our example of Peter walking on the water.

 

Before Peter could walk on the water, he had to transfer his full weight from what to what?   From the  Boat  to the  Water 

 

This is the picture Solomon is painting in our minds. A full transfer of trust from something to something.

In this case, we are called on to stop trusting in our own understanding, and place our full faith in the faithfulness of God to provide and protect us.

In the opening of this lesson we  stated that the voice of our own understanding is the most dangerous voice competing for our influence because we naturally listen to our reasoning, our feelings, our own understanding above all other voices.  This is what we said earlier:

In this lesson, Solomon warns his son about another voice that he must guard himself from.

• This voice is more dangerous than the sinners from chapter 1, the scoffer, the froward, or the strange man and evil woman from chapter 2.

This voice is dangerous because it carries more influence over us than any other voice we hear.  We continue trusting this voice even though it often persuades us to make wrong decisions.

What voice am I talking about?

• The voice of our own understanding 

 

Solomon does not argue against us thinking for ourselves, we are called on to make sound decisions. But the final authority in our decisions must be God’s word over our own feelings or experience.

 

Read these verses and discuss how they apply to Proverbs 3:5.

Isaiah 55:8–9 KJV

⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

• humans have limited understanding. We operate from a limited perspective of the situation.
• God has full knowledge from beginning to end. He is the only one capable of making a sound decision because He is the only one operating from a full understanding.

 

Jeremiah 17:9 KJV

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 

• the human heart is prone to sin. and our own heart rationalize and explains away our sin, making it easier for us to follow our heart and believe we are making the right choice.
• This verse is in the context of the Israelites committing huge sins against God but when Jeremiah called them out on the sin, they were asking “what have we done wrong.” – their hearts had justified their sins and approved their choices even though they were sinning against God.

 

Proverbs 28:26 KJV

²⁶ He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

• this does not mean we are not to trust our instincts or our experience but it does mean God and His word have the final decision over our heart and experience or understanding.

 

 

Proverbs 14:12 KJV

¹² There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

• A choice may feel right, and it may appear right based on the information we have. But God and His word have a better perspective than we do and our heart is capable of misleading us, even if that misleading felt right.

 

Proverbs 3:5 KJV

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In this lesson we have learned that Wisdom must protect us from ourselves.

• We will rely (trust) our own emotions, desires, or understanding as the final authority in decision making.
• This does NOT mean our motives or intentions are bad, or sinful.
• BUT because we operate from a limited knowledge, and a limited perspective of God’s bigger plan, we are not equipped to make the final decision.
• We have also learned that trusting God means far more than believing God exists. It means trusting in the faithfulness of God to provide and protect us even when the choice we must make looks like it will not be in our favor.

In this lesson we have learned that trust means not holding onto a backup plan in case God does not provide, protect, or give us what we want.

 

Proverbs Connection:

Solomon instructed his son to pursue wisdom with the same effort wisdom pursues him. He called on him to put in the effort and exhausting work to obtain wisdom.

For us today it means working hard to know what the Bible says, and what each verse means.  Then relying on the Bible to guide our choices.

When we are fully trusting in God for our decisions, our actions and reactions, we will be transformed into the image of God, which is our original purpose.