The Bible: Your Guide, Guardian, and Companion (Proverbs 6:20-22)
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Proverbs 6:20-22
My son, keep your father's commandment,
and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
On the surface, these verses seem to be encouraging us to heed our parents' instruction.
And that’s true. Don’t forget that… and there is deeper meaning here.
These verses are talking about what the parents should be instructing and teaching their children about: the Word of God.
Oh, and what I love is that these verses give us an incredible picture of what the Word of God is like to those who bind it on their heart, meditating on and memorizing it, letting it be to them like a garment they put on each and every day.
And that picture I’m describing of the Word of God is given in verse 22. It says:
‘When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.’
Charles Spurgeon eloquently categorizes the Word of God pictured here into three kinds of figures to us: a guide, a guardian, and a companion.
First, the Word of God is to us a guide. ‘When you walk, they will lead you…’.
That to me just echoes Psalm 119:105, which says:
‘Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.’
God’s Word serves as a guide for us as we navigate the craziness that is life. In this life we’re all blind men walking down roads full of potholes. But through His Word our eyes are opened to the Savior that is Jesus Christ, and His Word continues to serve as a guide in navigating all of life’s dangers.
And not only does the Word serve as a guide, it serves as a guardian.
‘When you lie down, they will watch over you;’.
God’s Word, like our Lord who wrote it, never sleeps. And it protects us. And oftentimes that’s through the guidance it gives us.
And last but certainly not least, God’s Word is a companion. It’s a friend. That last line from verse 22 saying God’s Word ‘will talk with you’ is my absolute favorite part of these verses. It reminds us God’s Word is personal. ‘To talk’ symbolizes and expresses familiarity and fellowship. It doesn’t say ‘to preach’ or even ‘to teach’, although it can certainly do those things as well, but ‘to talk’ with you.
The Bible is not merely a historical text. It’s not talking AT you, it’s talking WITH you. It engages with you and is ‘living and active’. It laments when we lament, it rejoices when we rejoice. I mean, it really does. Have you ever experienced that? Like God’s Word just knew exactly what you were feeling and presented what you needed to hear. That’s because the Bible is personal! Again, I like Spurgeon’s wording… he calls it from these verses a ‘Talking Book’.
The Bible is like your favorite person to go on a walk with. It walks with you, talks with you, and you can never outrun or outgrow it. Again, to quote Spurgeon, ‘nobody outgrows Scripture. The book widens and deepens with our years’. Isn’t that awesome?
The Bible is like a lifelong friend you’ve known your whole life. When you were a toddler in your faith it was like a toddler to you, and as you’ve grown up it grows up with you. It always meets you where you are. And it’s always pushing you one step closer to Him. The Bible is the living, breathing definition of X+1, baby, c’mon.
The Word is your guide, your guardian, your companion. It leads, protects, and talks with you.
But let me remind you – back to verse 21 – the Word plays these roles only if you keep it close. Only if you ‘bind it on your heart, tie it around your neck’.
That’s the personal application from these verses. Let’s do just that. Keep the Word close. Keep it close. Bind it on your heart. Tie it around your neck. Let it guide you, guard you, and talk with you – because the closer you keep His Word, the closer you’ll walk with Him.
Let’s pray in reflecting on that.
