What a Father Passes Down

Observe the layers. A father addresses his sons and tells them to listen to a father's instruction. Then he explains where his instruction came from: when he was a boy in his own father's house, tender and cherished by his mother, his father taught him to take hold of his words and get wisdom. So this is a grandfather's teaching, passed through a father, to sons. Three generations are in the room.

Interpret it. Proverbs is not offering wisdom as a discovery each person makes alone. It is offering wisdom as an inheritance. The father remembers being told that wisdom is supreme, that it will protect you if you love her, that she will exalt you if you embrace her. Now he says the same things, and the repetition is the point. Wisdom survives by being handed on.

Apply it. Some readers had parents who did this. Some did not, and for them the church becomes the household where the handing on happens. Either way, the instruction to get wisdom, and whatever it costs, get understanding, is addressed to you now, and one day you will be the one saying it.

Who first taught you what you know about God? What did they say that you find yourself repeating? And who, this year, is listening to you?