Pro 3:7-8 | KingComments | STEP | The fourth advice is not to be wise in one’s own eyes ( ; ; ). It is a warning against self-confidence. It follows the thoughts expressed in the previous verses, only from a different point of view. In the previous verses, God is seen and presented as the Source of wisdom and guidance. Now we are warned against a wisdom separate from God. Our hearts are deceitful. We are able to use clever manipulation to make ourselves believe that we are making wise choices because we are so intelligent or have a certain character. It can be so, that we trust God and become proud to do so. The Lord Jesus condemned the Pharisees and rabbis of His day not because of their praying to God, but because the motives of their prayers were not good. True wisdom is not denying our talents, but recognizing their source. We are wise in our own eyes if we prefer our own feelings or judgment to that of the Lord. It is acting in independence of Him, knowing better than Scripture. He who is wise will remember that he has no wisdom in himself, but that he gets his wisdom from God. The higher source of wisdom is the fear of the LORD. That is the true wisdom. When that fear is there, the immediate logical consequence is to turn one’s back on evil. Fearing the LORD can never go hand in hand with doing evil, but brings to hating evil ( ). Listening to the counsel of is like a medicine, it has a beneficial or healthy effect ( ; ; ). A baby in the womb receives food through the “navel” [‘body’ is literally “navel”] and grows. The navel is also the center of the body and represents the whole body. The “bones” allow the body to function. If the advice of is followed, it has a refreshing effect on the bones. They gain new strength through it. The word for navel appears only in Ezekiel 16 ( ). There is no better example of our dependence on God than that of the fetus in the womb receiving its nourishment through the navel string. This happens as long as he is in the womb. As a result, the child grows until it is born. So what is said in is essential to the spiritual growth of the life from God that the believer possesses. Without fear of the LORD on the one hand and turning away from evil on the other, it is impossible to grow spiritually healthy.

‏ Proverbs 3:7-8

Fear the LORD

The fourth advice is not to be wise in one’s own eyes (Pro 3:7; Isa 5:21; Rom 12:16). It is a warning against self-confidence. It follows the thoughts expressed in the previous verses, only from a different point of view. In the previous verses, God is seen and presented as the Source of wisdom and guidance. Now we are warned against a wisdom separate from God.

Our hearts are deceitful. We are able to use clever manipulation to make ourselves believe that we are making wise choices because we are so intelligent or have a certain character. It can be so, that we trust God and become proud to do so. The Lord Jesus condemned the Pharisees and rabbis of His day not because of their praying to God, but because the motives of their prayers were not good.

True wisdom is not denying our talents, but recognizing their source. We are wise in our own eyes if we prefer our own feelings or judgment to that of the Lord. It is acting in independence of Him, knowing better than Scripture. He who is wise will remember that he has no wisdom in himself, but that he gets his wisdom from God.

The higher source of wisdom is the fear of the LORD. That is the true wisdom. When that fear is there, the immediate logical consequence is to turn one’s back on evil. Fearing the LORD can never go hand in hand with doing evil, but brings to hating evil (Psa 97:10).

Listening to the counsel of Pro 3:7 is like a medicine, it has a beneficial or healthy effect (Pro 3:8; Pro 15:4; Ecc 10:4). A baby in the womb receives food through the “navel” [‘body’ is literally “navel”] and grows. The navel is also the center of the body and represents the whole body. The “bones” allow the body to function. If the advice of Pro 3:7 is followed, it has a refreshing effect on the bones. They gain new strength through it.

The word for navel appears only in Ezekiel 16 (Eze 16:4). There is no better example of our dependence on God than that of the fetus in the womb receiving its nourishment through the navel string. This happens as long as he is in the womb. As a result, the child grows until it is born. So what is said in Pro 3:7 is essential to the spiritual growth of the life from God that the believer possesses. Without fear of the LORD on the one hand and turning away from evil on the other, it is impossible to grow spiritually healthy.