Proverbs 3:1-2

Proverbs 3:1-2 "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee."

Here is a command with a promise. This is where "the fear of the LORD" starts adding wisdom. Do you fear the LORD enough to obey? Is His Word true or not? Do you believe that the opposite may be true? What if we forget God's law and fail to keep His commandments? Will our lives be cut short? Will we lack peace (KJV) or prosperity (NIV)?

"Forget not my law." You can't forget what you never knew. How well do we know God's law? Do we even know the 10 commandments? Do you know that Jesus said that all the laws hinge on loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself?

What about all the other laws? Aren't we under grace and not under the law now?

Yes, but this proverb isn't talking about keeping the law as a means to salvation, it is talking about keeping the law as a means to a long life, peace, and prosperity. Other verses talk about keeping the law, "so that it may go well with you."

God's laws are for our benefit. Jesus said (paraphrased) that the sabbath was made for man - not that man was made for the sabbath. The day of rest is for our benefit, not to cut our productivity by 1/7.

In the 1300's the black plague ravished Europe. In time, the Jews came to be blamed because the Jewish communities did not seem to be plagued like the rest of Europe. It was rumored that the plague was a Jewish plot to exterminate Christians. Jews were tortured and made to confess to this atrocity. What was really going on?

The Europeans lived in filth. They threw their sewage in the streets and rats were everywhere. The rats got infected, the oriental rat flea bit the rats and then the fleas bit the Europeans - thus transferring the plague. If only they had taken the garbage "outside of the camp" like Moses said.

The Jewish people understood God's laws concerning sanitation (this is way beyond the 10 commandments). They feared God enough to meticulously keep these commandments and their "length of days" were increased (they didn't get flea bitten and die).

God's laws protect us.

Before we begin a dissertation on the law of Moses, lets just look at the 10 commandments. Every school child used to know these by heart. Do you? There are pretty easy to remember. You just have to use your fingers as memory aids.

Here is what I have taught my kids.

1. ONLY ONE GOD: "Thou shalt have no other God's before me."
1 finger points up. There is only one God.

2. NO IDOLS: "Thous shalt not make unto thee any graven image...thou shalt not bow down thyself to them"
2 fingers are "bunny ears" behind your head. The bunny ears are really idol horns because all idols have horns.. right? Make your ugliest face while the horns are behind your head.
Alternate: Hold up index finger on each hand. One finger bows to the other "idol" finger.

3. DO NOT TAKE GOD'S NAME IN VAIN
3 fingers coming out of the mouth - a triple forked tongue - (abusing the name of the Father, Son or Holy Spirit). Hiss like a snake.

4. REMEMBER THE SABBATH
4 fingers held together on one hand. Bring other fist to palm - its a church! Go to church on Sunday! Maybe the 4 fingers are a pillow: Rest. Snore as loud as you can.

5. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.
Hold up 5 fingers. There were 5 people in my family - the shorter fingers honor the two tallest fingers. If you don't honor or obey your father and mother, what happens? You may get a swat with the open (5 fingered) hand on your bottom. Swat your other hand as loud as you can and say "WAH WAH WAH" (like a baby crying).

6. DO NOT MURDER.
One finger is a gun. On the other hand, 5 fingers are "held up." Scream, "Don't shoot me mister!"

7. DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
2 fingers (on one hand) are committing adultery. The other hand (all five fingers) swats them and yells, "Shame on you!" "What is adultery", they may ask. It is kissing someone else's wife or husband.

8. DO NOT STEAL
5 fingers "hold a cup." Its really a cookie jar. Be VERY quiet. Look to the left. Look to the right - with your sneakiest look. Then reach into the cookie jar with three fingers and steal a cookie.

9. DO NOT LIE (bear false witness)
Hold up 9 fingers. They all scream "HE DID IT!" The thumb (that is not held up) yells "NO I DIDN'T."

10. DO NOT COVET.
All 10 fingers spread wide. Hold your arms wide apart - bring your hands together and pull them to yourself - as if you were raking everything off the table and bringing it to yourself. Yell "ITS ALL MINE!!!! MUHAHAHAHAA"

For other finger methods, google "ten commandments fingers."

That took about 5 minutes to memorize. The other hundreds of commands will take a lifetime.

As Spock says (while making a V between his ring finger and middle finger - can YOU do that?),

"Live long and prosper."