Proverbs 7:1-3

Proverbs 7:1-3 "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart."

Because Solomon reminds his son to listen to him yet again, it is clear that there was concern that this son was going to succumb to the powerful temptations that awaited him in life.  Over and over in the Book of Proverbs, Solomon emphasized the word of a father as the best weapon for a son’s battle against temptation.  In this particular instance, Solomon used a phrase that he had not used anywhere else in his writings.  He told his son, “keep my law as the apple of thine eye.”  By using this idiom, Solomon is instructing his son to do more than just remember parental advice.

By telling Rehoboam to make parental law as the apple of his eye, Solomon was telling him to make parental law the pupil of his eye.  Obviously, he wasn’t suggesting Rehoboam see an eye surgeon and arrange surgery to swap out his pupil with something that had Hebrew writings on it.  What then was he suggesting?  How does one make parental law the pupil or apple of his eye?  The answer is simple - he was suggesting that Rehoboam keep his eye fastened on wise counsel for what he looked at would then be reflected in his pupil.  When our eyes reflect that which we look at, that object or person becomes the “apple of our eye.”  What we look at the most is what we care about the most.  Whatever or whoever gets our ATTENTION gets our AFFECTION.  This is the meaning of something or someone becoming the “apple of our eye.”

In Scripture, Israel is described as the apple of God’s eye in Lamentations 2:18 and in Zechariah 2:8.  Moses used the idiom to describe the attention and affection God gave Israel in Deuteronomy 32:10-12, “He (God) found him (Israel) in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eyes. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.”  Israel enjoyed God’s affection because it had God’s attention.  If you could see the pupil of God, you would see the star of David reflecting in it.  God’s eyes are fastened on the Jewish people and it remains the apple of his eye.

For Rehoboam, it wasn’t good enough to just know what his father had to say.  Neither would it be good enough to memorize what his father told him.  If he was going to prevail over the moral obstacles in life, he was going to have to keep wise words in front of him.  If he was going to avoid moral failure, he was going to have to constantly review and refer to those wise words.  A young man whose pupils reflect the wise words of his father is a young man whose apple of his eye will enable him to see the deceptive danger in life.

These verses reflect a more personal relationship than that of Israel’s wise king and young prince.  Based on Hebrews 12:5-6, whenever we read the phrase, “my son” in the Book of Proverbs, we’re reading words intended for those of us who are the sons and daughters of God.  Quoting Proverbs 3:11-12, the author of Hebrews wrote, “and ye have forgotten the exhortation which SPEAKETH UNTO YOU as unto children.”  By Divine Design through the inspiration of Scripture, God is directly speaking to each of His children in these first few verses of Proverbs 7.  If you’re a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12; John 3:3), your Heavenly Father is telling you the same thing Solomon was telling Rehoboam.

Child of God, if you’re going to prevail over the moral obstacles that await you in life, you need to make the WORD of your Heavenly Father the apple of your eye.  It’s not good enough to just know the Bible.  It’s not good enough even to remember it.  It must be consistently and constantly gazed upon so that it is consistently and constantly reflected in our eye.  Without the word of God as the apple of our eye, we will not be able to see the deceit and devilish danger that awaits us.  

Christian, what is the apple of your eye?  What is being reflected in your eye?  To what do you give the majority of your attention?  Are dollar symbols the apple of your eye?  Do your pupils reflect the person in the mirror?  Is media the constant reflection of your eyes – movies, shows, video games, social media posts, etc.?  If your eyes don’t reflect the beautiful pages of Scripture, you will be blind to the spiritual battle that wages war against your soul.  

Remember, whatever or whoever gets your ATTENTION gets your AFFECTION.  Your Heavenly Father wants His word to get your constant attention so that it becomes your lifelong affection.  Make sure your eyes see Scripture every day of your life.  Hear the exhortation that speaks unto you, “My child, keep my word as the apple of thine eye.”