Proverbs 7    

Father Knows Best

This chapter begins with the words, “My son.” Chapters two through six begin with similar words. In fact, the words “my son” occur 15 times in the first seven chapters of this wonderful book and five more times in chapters 23, 24, and 27. The author, Solomon, must have felt compelled to intentionally instruct his son(s) about many critical issues of life. He did not leave their teaching up to the religious leaders of his time, but knew that, as a father, the responsibility to “train up a child in the way he should go” rested squarely upon his shoulders.

In the passages where Solomon penned the words, “My son,” he warned them about the dangers of bad friendships and encouraged them to resist temptation. He taught his sons about the Lord’s discipline when they would sin and about the absolute necessity of obtaining wisdom. He taught them to guard their hearts and to live pure lives in both behavior and in thought. Six of his admonitions to his sons stressed the importance of hiding God’s word in their hearts.

How can we instruct our children and grandchildren in the busy world in which we live today? If our children are young, then we can read Bible stories to them. We can reward them for memorizing Bible verses. At any age, we can ask them what they learned in Bible Fellowship class each Sunday and/or have a brief family discussion regarding Pastor Whitten’s Sunday morning sermon. We can have the entire family gather together for a brief time of prayer. Doing some of these things together communicates how important the things of God are to our family and how important our children are to their parents.

--Mike Kahn