Proverbs 7:1

The book of Proverbs gives us insights into so many different areas of life. The book gives us instruction on how to live our lives for God. Here is a proverb that gives us insight about keeping God’s Word:

Proverbs 7:1 (ESV)

My son, keep my words

and treasure up my commandments with you;

Chapter seven of Proverbs is such a special chapter.  It is told in narrative form and in that single narrative it conveys the entire them of all of Solomon’s plus 900 proverbs.  The theme of Solomon’s teaching is making the choice of fearing the Lord vs chasing after folly.   The narrative is about a young, naive man who falls for a prostitute (the personification of folly).   He follows her and ends up like a cattle to the slaughter.   This is what folly does to us.   Solomon tells the story to warn us.   He wants us to choose the fear of the Lord.  To make that choice he begins the proverb with the above verse.  To avoid folly and to choose the fear of the Lord we MUST keep His commandments.  That is the simple formula God offers.   We often want to make it over complicated.   But, we don’t need to.   God makes it clear that to fear Him we simply obey Him.    The word “treasure” is to hoard up His command.   We hoard lots of things.  We hoard many things of the world’s goods.  We are to treasure up His commands.  That will produce a fear of the Lord.   That will give us discernment to avoid Lady Folly who walks the streets like a woman of the night.  That will prevent us from being destroyed like a dump cow headed for slaughter.