1My son, don’t forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
2for they will add to you length of days,
years of life, and peace.
3Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you.
Bind them around your neck.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4So you will find favor,
and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in Yahweh with all your heart,
and don’t lean on your own understanding.
6In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
7Don’t be wise in your own eyes.
Fear Yahweh, and depart from evil.
8It will be health to your body,
and nourishment to your bones.
9Honor Yahweh with your substance,
with the first fruits of all your increase;
10so your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will overflow with new wine.
11My son, don’t despise Yahweh’s discipline,
neither be weary of his correction;
12for whom Yahweh loves, he corrects,
even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.
13Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gets understanding.
14For her good profit is better than getting silver,
and her return is better than fine gold.
15She is more precious than rubies.
None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.
16Length of days is in her right hand.
In her left hand are riches and honor.
17Her ways are ways of pleasantness.
All her paths are peace.
18She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her.
Happy is everyone who retains her.
19By wisdom Yahweh founded the earth.
By understanding, he established the heavens.
20By his knowledge, the depths were broken up,
and the skies drop down the dew.
21My son, let them not depart from your eyes.
Keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22so they will be life to your soul,
and grace for your neck.
23Then you shall walk in your way securely.
Your foot won’t stumble.
24When you lie down, you will not be afraid.
Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
25Don’t be afraid of sudden fear,
neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes;
26for Yahweh will be your confidence,
and will keep your foot from being taken.
27Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in the power of your hand to do it.
28Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again;
tomorrow I will give it to you,”
when you have it by you.
29Don’t devise evil against your neighbor,
since he dwells securely by you.
30Don’t strive with a man without cause,
if he has done you no harm.
31Don’t envy the man of violence.
Choose none of his ways.
32For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh,
but his friendship is with the upright.
33Yahweh’s curse is in the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.
34Surely he mocks the mockers,
but he gives grace to the humble.
35The wise will inherit glory,
but shame will be the promotion of fools.
Don't Look at the Waves!
Peter Sinking in the Waves
We get into big trouble when we take our eyes off of Jesus. We each face so many temptations and trials, and if we rely solely on our own knowledge and understanding, we’ll end up sinking into the problem. Much has been written about Peter and this whole incident on the Sea of Galilee. If you’re among those who look down on Peter and his failed attempt to walk on the water, it might be good to remember that he was the only one of all the disciples who got out of the boat and stepped onto the water. In that moment, Peter was willing to do ANYTHING that Jesus commanded him to do. Would that we were all so obedient.
We’ve all heard that Peter was okay until he took his eyes off of Jesus, but there’s something much deeper going on here (no pun intended). Peter became focused on something else. Not only did he take his eyes off of Jesus, but he leaned wholly on his own understanding. Remember that nagging directive in Proverbs 3:5-6? 5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Peter was an experienced fisherman well acquainted with the severe storms that would spring up on the Sea of Galilee. He knew that water was dangerous. He knew that the risk of drowning, once in the sea, was a real possibility. Peter was fine when he kept his eyes on Jesus, but the problem began when Peter focused on what he knew about the water and what he had seen before Jesus came into his life.
Paul would articulate it a bit differently. He would admonish the Corinthian church to “walk by faith and not by sight.” In the moment of his sinking, Peter was “walking by sight” and not “by faith". His trust shifted from Jesus to what he had seen and experienced, and to what he knew in his own life; in his own understanding. Peter was fine as long as he trusted in God's guidance and provision, but when he determined that the circumstances were overwhelming, he became overwhelmed. Reader, when you step “out of the boat” into the turbulent waters of life, fix your eyes on Jesus, and don’t rely on your own knowledge and strength. It’ll get you in trouble every time. Your knowledge and strength are limited by you and your resources. Fix your eyes on Him, and walk to Him. Don’t veer to the left. Don’t veer to the right. Just look at Him and say, “Lord, direct me and hold me up with your mighty arm.” You will walk on water.