The Book of Proverbs
Week 3
Zach Trimble
Part of Community Groups
November 8, 2023

The Book Of Proverbs

WCC Community Group Study

The Text

Proverbs 3:5-8 (ESV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.

Insight & Breakdown

If you’ve been a christian for any length of time, you’re probably familiar with Proverbs 3:5-6. These verses are loved by so many people for good reason. We aren’t perfect and there is so much we don’t understand. Sometimes we feel we are in a dry desert of a confusing life, with no landmarks to guide us, no water for our thirsty souls in sight. We are grasping for direction, and the promise that God will direct our path if we acknowledge him brings incredible peace.
Unsurprisingly these are some of the most memorized verses in the Bible. People often boil this passage down to simply be a formula for decision-making. Does this passage teach something very usable for decision-making? Absolutely! But, I believe these verses are much more than just a highly quotable saying for that purpose. I believe the author is also trying to teach us something about a posture we need to have towards God and ourselves. Let’s dig in deeper to see what that posture is.
Have you ever noticed that we aren’t as familiar with verses 7 & 8 as we are 5 & 6? It’s a strange, because the author very clearly seems to have mated all of these verses up together. Did you know that verses 5-8 form a parallelism that is very common in Hebrew poetry and wisdom literature? The command in verse 5, “trust in the Lord with all your heart” corresponds with the command in verse 7 to “be not wise in your own eyes”. The command “and do not lean on your own understanding” in verse 5 corresponds with the command in verse 7 to “fear the Lord, and turn away from evil”. Likewise, the promise of verse 6 of “and he will make straight your paths” corresponds to the promise of verse 8, “It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones”. This parallelism is clever because these statements are all related but not redundant. They are all part of a greater package to teach us something: humility. It teaches a right view towards God, that we need to trust in him. It also teaches a right view towards ourselves, that we are not as wise as we assume. Both of these things are a part of the humility package that ultimately brings the “healing” and “refreshment” that we so deeply desire. The author knows how seductive and deceptive pride can be and continuously warns about it in this chapter. Ultimately these ideas culminate at the end of the chapter in verse 34 which states that God gives favor to the humble. So, in all of our ways, in all of our thinking, in all of our decision-making, in all of our interpretations of what people, events, and actions mean in our lives, let’s trust in Him and let humility be our posture.

Application

Do you have a decision to make? Do you have a conflict going on? Are you experiencing a hardship? Perhaps
you are on the other side of the coin and you are experiencing a victory. Whether it is positive or negative -
whether you are in a valley on top of a mountain, think of the one thing that is rising to the surface of your life this week. Below, write a prayer, just from you to God, in which you take that one thing and acknowledge God. If you need help or direction, ask him for help. If you are celebrating a victory, thank Him for his providence and turn away from the temptation to say that it was all because of you.

Questions For Reflection And Discussion

  1. If you could put the big idea of this passage into one sentence what would it be?

  1. Think of a time when you made an endeavor and did not acknowledge God. and a time when you made an
    endeavor in which you did acknowledge him. What were the outcomes? What was the biggest difference?

  1. What factors lead to it being so easy to forget to acknowledge God in our lives?

  1. What does our culture teach about this week’s subject? Is it in line with this scripture?

Notes