Proverbs
Nine One Five
#34
Proverbs 2:01 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee
We have seen in chapter one that a major theme of Proverbs is the counsel of parents and their significance in producing wise children. In chapter two, we now have the cry of a loving father for their child to be wise.
If peace and safety were not a great enough reason to be wise, perhaps the plea of a father will move your heart. The word “son” is used forty-five times throughout the book of Proverbs, while the phrase “my son” appears twenty-three of those times, making the book the advice of a father to his son.
It should be noted that in each of the first seven chapters, there is a verse almost identical to this one. They can be found in Proverbs 1:8, 3:1, 4:10, 4:20, 5:1, 6:20, and 7:1. Interestingly “my son” isn’t said again until chapter nineteen, but is used somewhat regularly from that point on. This is because Proverbs 10:1 presents a new division in the book by introducing the next section with the phrase “the Proverbs of Solomon” being presented again.
So, for the first nine chapters the structure of the book is to bookend each thought with one of these verses. Whereas in chapter ten we are introduced to the structure of individual Proverbs that are contained within one or two verses. So, while the book never loses this fatherly advice, in these first chapters it serves as the structure holding together everything else that is being said. God wants His children to be wise, and He has given this book to us to help produce this; but will you receive His words?
If peace and safety were not a great enough reason to be wise, perhaps the plea of a father will move your heart. The word “son” is used forty-five times throughout the book of Proverbs, while the phrase “my son” appears twenty-three of those times, making the book the advice of a father to his son.
It should be noted that in each of the first seven chapters, there is a verse almost identical to this one. They can be found in Proverbs 1:8, 3:1, 4:10, 4:20, 5:1, 6:20, and 7:1. Interestingly “my son” isn’t said again until chapter nineteen, but is used somewhat regularly from that point on. This is because Proverbs 10:1 presents a new division in the book by introducing the next section with the phrase “the Proverbs of Solomon” being presented again.
So, for the first nine chapters the structure of the book is to bookend each thought with one of these verses. Whereas in chapter ten we are introduced to the structure of individual Proverbs that are contained within one or two verses. So, while the book never loses this fatherly advice, in these first chapters it serves as the structure holding together everything else that is being said. God wants His children to be wise, and He has given this book to us to help produce this; but will you receive His words?