SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Proverbs 3

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you.” The great blessings of seeking and knowing God are displayed in very practical terms in this 3rd chapter of Proverbs. The study of truth leading to wisdom is commended to all. This pursuit of God is commended to the reader in light of the destinies of the wicked and the just.

Wisdom is Rooted in Sound Teaching
Proverbs 3.1-4
The wise Solomon longs to direct his reader to the wisdom he has gained through God’s blessing, God’s Word, and God’s providential care. This wisdom is found in the commandment which Solomon is teaching. The commandments of Solomon carry authority because they are from God (Titus 2.15).
The teaching is seen to be Heavenly by its benefits. Submitting to God’s path leads to a long life (symbolic physical blessing describing the true spiritual blessing), and peace (peace with both God and man).

Wisdom Rests in Trusting God
Proverbs 3.5-6
Heavenly submission leads to the Heavenly destination. This key verse of the chapter admonishes the reader to trust in the Lord and to put the Lord first in every decision. Yielding to God’s will in precept and principle will keep us in the safe way of wise Christian living.

Wisdom Rewards Those Who Trust in God
Proverbs 3.7-10
Investing ourselves in Heavenly treasures results in physical folly. The wisdom of the world is often foolish in the eyes of God. We are fool’s (in the purely physical mindset) for Christ’s sake–1 Corinthians 4.10. 1 Corinthians 1.26-31 presents God as using true spiritual wisdom to make the world’s wisdom known as true foolishness. However, those who are wise in the world’s wisdom will scoff at spiritual wisdom.
Entrusting ourselves to God demands yielding our possessions to God’s service (Prov. 3.9-10). Our trust in God is demonstrated by our willingness to worship Him through giving, our eagerness to further His Kingdom financially, and our desire to serve Him by serving others.

Wisdom Reproves in order that Submission Can be Perfected
Proverbs 3.11-26
God helps us to be more like Him through discipline. This verse is cited again in Hebrews 12.5. It is also alluded to in Job 5.17 and in Revelation 3.19. This is a very powerful principle that helps us understand the appropriate response to God’s actions and Words so that we can grow in faithfulness. God disciplines us so that it may “yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12.11). Peter said, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1.6-7).
Wisdom may be costly, but wisdom is the only true foundation for life (3.19-26). Although no discipline seems pleasant at the moment, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Proverbs 3.19-26 reveals that perfect peace which God supplies to those who yield to spiritual wisdom.

Wisdom Rescues her Neighbors
Proverbs 3.27-35
As we strive to walk in wisdom, we must do unto others as Christ would do to them. “We have beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1.14). When Jesus, the embodiment of wisdom walked the earth, the hurting were healed and the outcasts were brought in. The wise are helpers.

We might start a new verse to the old song “Trust and Obey”: Trust and obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in life, but to trust and obey.