May 08, 2023 – Monday
Proverbs 1:8 NIV
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Proverbs 5:20 NIV
20 My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Comments
In the Old Testament there are 228 references to mother and 92 in the New Testament. With Mother’s Day coming up next Sunday, I thought I would look at a verse or two each day this week about Mothers, especially in Proverbs as we find so much life wisdom there.
Today I chose two verses as they are identical when addressing your mother’s teaching. Proverbs 1:8, 8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. And Proverbs 5:20, 20 My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Proverbs 1:8 is the first part of a couplet with 1:9 providing the second part, 9 They are a garland to grace your headand a chain to adorn your neck. Your father’s instruction and your mother’s teaching form a garland about your head and a chain to ordain your neck! Clearly the teaching of wisdom was the responsibility of both parents. This is not about a literal garland or chain/necklace. Instead, if the child receives wisdom, it will be like a crown on the child’s head and like a chain of great value if the lessons are taken to heart and used as they enter adulthood and the rest of their life.
Proverbs 6:20 is also the first part of a couplet with 6:21 providing the next part, 21 Bind them always on your heart;fasten them around your neck. These are life lessons intended to keep you safe and lead you to enjoy a good life. Holding the lessons so close it is as if you were to tie them to your heart always and keep them around your neck. Why? To keep you out of trouble. In this case these form an introduction to avoiding adultery. One of the easiest ways fall into sin and ruin your life in many ways.
I was like many in my time when I entered adulthood. I didn’t listen. I thought I knew it all. It was only after I grew older that my parents seemed to grow greatly in wisdom and knowledge.
Bottom Line: Listen to what your father and mother do their best to imbue you with wisdom and common sense for the life ahead of you. They will not always be right, but they have experience you do not have. So, listen and as you discover nuggets of wisdom, thank God for your parents … or grandparents or aunts and uncles in your life.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Help me to gain experience and wisdom by listening to the experience of others so I don’t have to learn the hard way as so many of them had to do. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek