Lesson 3 for
January 17, 2015
Every person must choose his path in life. That path may
lead to either eternal life or eternal death.
The Law of God is essential to understand the end of
each path.
“My son, keep your father’s command, and do
not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them
continually upon your heart; tie them around your
neck.” (Proverbs 6:20-21)
“Bind them on your fingers; write them on the
tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 7:3)
BIND THEM upon
your heart
• The Law must be within us. It must dominate our
feelings, our thoughts and our motivations.
TIE THEM around
your neck
• The Law must be a precious possession for us.
Therefore we must show we love it and we respect it.
BIND THEM on
your fingers
• The Law must dominate our acts. Every act must be in
harmony with it.
WRITE THEM on
the tablet of your
heart
• The Law must be written on our hearts (Jeremiah
31:33), so we can remember it and meditate on it every
day.
“When you roam, they will lead you; when
you sleep, they will keep you; and when
you awake, they will speak with you. For
the commandment is a lamp, and the law a
light; reproofs of instruction are the way
of life.” (Proverbs 6:22-23)
“Keep my commands and live,
and my law as the apple of
your eye.” (Proverbs 7:2)
Just as the lamp illuminates the path
where we walk, the law will help us stay
on track; that is, when we face moral
choices, it will help us to know what the
right choice is, even if at times reason or
personal expedience would tempt us to
disregard the law.
Furthermore, observing the Law gives
us life. It gives us a better life now and
the hope of everlasting life. We’ll live
forever with Jesus.
“To keep you from the evil woman, from the
flattering tongue of a seductress. Do not lust
after her beauty in your heart, nor let her
allure you with her eyelids.” (Proverbs 6:24-25)
Solomon explained how a person may be
tempted to covet someone. It may be so subtle
that we may not notice we are being tempted.
The tempter or temptress speaks flattering
words. He or she may even use religious reasons
to justify his/her incitement.
Only the Law and the loyalty to God can hold
back that temptation, like in the story of Joseph.
“There is no one greater in this house than I,
nor has he kept back anything from me but
you, because you are his wife.
How then can I do this great wickedness,
AND SIN AGAINST GOD?”
(Genesis 39:9)
“People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he
is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; he may
have to give up all the substance of his house.” (Proverbs 6:30-31)
Sometimes a sin may seem a “fair” or justified
sin. Nevertheless, our motivation can never
justify a transgression of the Law of God.
A sin leads to another one. If we justify a small
robbery, we may finally justify a bigger one, or
lying, or committing adultery.
That’s why Solomon wrote about adultery
again (Proverbs 6:32-35). If a person who steals
to satisfy his hunger should be punished, then
the person who steals somebody’s self-respect
will punished even more. He is causing an
irreparable moral damage!
“Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool
to the correction of the stocks, till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird
hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life.”
(Proverbs 7:22-23)
Solomon is warning us about evil by using the
metaphor of the adulterous woman. Sin “leads
down to the chambers of death” (v. 27 NIV); sin
leads to eternal death.
Nevertheless, we walk that path many times,
being incautious like an ox or a bird.
We can take any of these two paths:
The first path leads to eternal life; the second, to
eternal death. Which one do you choose?
“These things call for your serious reflection and
decided action in accordance with the plainest
directions laid down in the Word of God. Now is
your time of temptation, now is your time of trial;
will you resist the enemy? Or will you place
yourself in a position where his power will be
exercised over you?
It is a life or death question with you, may the Lord
help you to see every snare of Satan and avoid it,
and cling to Jesus with heart and soul and mind
and strength.”
E.G.W. (Letters to Young Lovers, section 4, pg. 84)