The Benefits of Wisdom 1:8-9

1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9 For they [shall be] an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

Lane (17): “the chief characteristic of youth is vulnerability; the young are ignorant of the ways of the world and lack the power of self-control. They need first to be protected from falling into disaster before they have hardly begun…”

Typically, except with royalty, polygamy was not tolerated. The family unit was tight with both father and mother assuming responsibility in raising children. Raising children is more than simply providing for material needs of children. It also involves nurturing and instructing in the good and rights ways of the Lord (Jahweh). Two common methods of training are instruction and discipline (rod). It is the wise parent who uses both, not as a form of punishment, but for a mode of instruction in right and good ways, a warning of evil ways, and a communicating the consequences of action. If a child is not taught early in life to obey his parents, neither will he learn to obey God. Certainly if the child despises his human authorities whom he sees, he will not submit himself to an authority he cannot see.

Training, however, never assumes a guarantee that the child will choose the right and good ways. In this verse the father and mother plead with the child to hear and accept their instruction, which indicates choice. If the child neglects to hear, he will face the many consequences of the fool mentioned in this book. If the child listens and heeds the instruction, it will be an ornament of grace around his neck. Lane (18): “the promise is of victory and power, for a garland was placed on the head of a general returning victorious from battle and a chain or necklace hung round the neck of a king on his coronation. So a son or child of God who heeds his heavenly Father’s word will have victory and power in his personal life…”