'Tie My Commandments Upon Your Fingers'

The king begins with the fatherly advice:  "My son, keep my sayings, and may you treasure up my own commandments with you. Keep my commandments and  continue living, and my law like the pupil of your eyes." -Proverbs 7:1, 2.

Parents, particularly fathers, have the God-given responsibility of teaching their children God's standards of good and bad.  Moses exhorted fathers:  "These words that I am commanding you today must prove to be on your heart; and you must inculcate them in your son and speak of the when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up."  (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7) And the apostle Paul wrote:  "Your fathers, do not be irritating your children, but go on bringing  them up in the  discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah."  (Ephesians 6:4) Hence, a parent's instructions that are to be treasured up, or highly valued, certainly include the reminders, the commandments, and the laws found in God's Word, the Bible.

Parental teaching may also include other regulations-family rules.  These are for the good of the family members. True, depending on the needs, the rules may vary from one family to another.  Parents, though, have the job of deciding what is best for their own family.  And the rules they make are usually an expression of their genuine love and concern.  The counsel to young ones is that they abide by these rules along with the Scriptural teachings received from their parents.  Yes, there is  a need to teach such instructions  "like the pupil of your eyes"-guarding them with utmost care. That is the way to avoid the deadly effect of ignoring Jehovah's standards and thus  to "continue living."

"Tie them [my commandments] upon your fingers," continues Solomon, "and write them upon the tablet of your heart." (Proverbs 7:3) As fingers are prominently before our eyes and are vital in carrying out our purposes,m the lessons learned from a Scriptural upbringing or the gaining of Bible knowledge are to be a constant reminder and guide in everything we do. We are to inscribe them upon the tablet of our heart, making them a part of our nature.

Not forgetting the importance of wisdom and understanding, the king exhorts: "Say to wisdom: 'Your are my sister';   and may you call understanding itself 'Kinswoman.' " (Proverbs 7:4)  Wisdom is the ability to put God-given knowledge to proper use. We should have affection for wisdom as for a dearly beloved sister.  What is understanding?  It is the ability to see into a matter and get the sense of it by grasping the connections between its parts and the whole. Understanding must be as close to us as an intimate friend. 

Why should we adhere to Scriptural training and cultivate closeness and wisdom and understanding?  So as "to guard  [ourselves] against the woman stranger, against  the foreigner who has made her own sayings smooth."  (Proverbs 7:5)  Yes, doing so will protect us from the smooth and persuasive ways of a stranger, or foreigner-an immoral person.

Next time: The Young Man Meets 'a Cunning Woman'

The Watchtower, 2000