Proverbs 6:21 Study Bible: Bind them continually on your heart. Tie them around your neck.

◄ Proverbs 6:21 ►

Bind them always upon your heart; tie them around your neck.

Bind them always upon your heart
The phrase "Bind them always upon your heart" calls for a deep, internal commitment to the teachings and wisdom of God. The Hebrew word for "bind" is "קָשַׁר" (qashar), which implies a strong, secure fastening. This suggests that the teachings should not be loosely held or easily discarded but should be firmly attached to one's innermost being. The "heart" in Hebrew thought is not merely the seat of emotions but the center of one's intellect, will, and moral character. By binding wisdom to the heart, the verse emphasizes the importance of internalizing God's commandments so that they influence every decision and action. Historically, the heart was seen as the core of a person's identity, and thus, this binding is a call to make God's wisdom an integral part of who we are.

tie them around your neck
The phrase "tie them around your neck" uses the Hebrew word "קָשַׁר" (qashar) again, reinforcing the idea of a secure attachment. The neck, in ancient Near Eastern culture, was often associated with one's life and breath, symbolizing vitality and the visible expression of one's inner beliefs. By instructing believers to tie wisdom around their necks, the verse suggests that God's teachings should be evident in one's outward behavior and interactions with others. This imagery evokes the idea of wearing a precious ornament or necklace, indicating that wisdom is not only to be cherished internally but also displayed externally as a testimony to others. In a historical context, wearing something around the neck was a sign of honor and status, thus highlighting the value and esteem that should be given to divine wisdom.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Solomon
Traditionally considered the author of Proverbs, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. He wrote Proverbs to impart wisdom and understanding.

2. Israel
The nation to whom Solomon originally addressed his writings, emphasizing the importance of wisdom and obedience to God's commandments.

3. Father and Mother
In the context of Proverbs 6, the parental figures represent the source of wisdom and instruction, urging their children to adhere to their teachings.

Teaching Points

Internalization of Wisdom
The verse emphasizes the importance of internalizing God's wisdom. Just as one would bind something precious to their heart, believers are called to keep God's teachings close and central to their lives.

Visible Commitment
Tying wisdom around the neck suggests a visible commitment to God's commandments. It serves as a reminder to live out one's faith in daily actions.

Continuous Remembrance
The use of "always" indicates that adherence to God's wisdom is not a one-time event but a continuous, lifelong commitment.

Heart and Action
The heart represents the inner life, while the neck symbolizes outward actions. This dual imagery calls believers to align their inner convictions with their external behaviors.

Bible Study Questions

1. How can we practically "bind" God's wisdom upon our hearts in today's world?

2. In what ways can the imagery of tying wisdom around our necks influence our daily decisions and interactions with others?

3. How does the concept of internalizing God's commandments in Proverbs 6:21 relate to the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure that God's wisdom is a continuous presence in our lives?

5. How can we teach and model the importance of God's wisdom to the next generation, as suggested by the parental context in Proverbs 6?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Deuteronomy 6:6-9
This passage emphasizes the importance of keeping God's commandments close to one's heart and teaching them diligently to one's children, similar to the binding and tying imagery in Proverbs 6:21.

Proverbs 3:3
This verse also uses the imagery of binding mercy and truth around one's neck, reinforcing the idea of internalizing and living out God's wisdom.

Colossians 3:16
Encourages believers to let the word of Christ dwell richly within them, paralleling the concept of binding wisdom to one's heart.

Sermons

Exhortation to Chastity	E. Johnson	Proverbs 6:20-24
Sin and Safety	W. Clarkson	Proverbs 6:20-35

People

Solomon

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Always, Bind, Continually, Fasten, Folded, Forever, Hanging, Heart, Neck, Round, Tie

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Proverbs 6:21

     5017   heart, renewal
     5574   tablet
     7410   phylactery

Proverbs 6:20-21

5170 neck
5507 rope and cord

Proverbs 6:20-22

8330 receptiveness

Proverbs 6:20-23

5218 authority, in home
7797 teaching

Library

The Talking Book
A Sermon (No. 1017) Delivered on Lord's Day Morning, October 22nd, 1871 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee."--Proverbs 6:22. It is a very happy circumstance when the commandment of our father and the law of our mother are also the commandment of God and the law of the Lord. Happy are they who have a double force to draw them to the right--the bonds of nature, and the cords of grace. They sin with a vengeance who sin both against …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

An Appeal to Children of Godly Parents
A sermon (No. 2406) intended for reading on Lord's Day, March 31st, 1895, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, on Lord's Day evening, March 27th, 1887. "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Talking Book
In order that we may be persuaded so to do, Solomon gives us three telling reasons. He says that God's law, by which I understand the whole run of Scripture, and, especially the gospel of Jesus Christ, will be a guide to us:--"When thou goest, it shall lead thee." It will be a guardian to us: "When thou sleepest"--when thou art defenceless and off thy guard--"it shall keep thee." And it shall also be a dear companion to us: "When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." Any one of these three arguments …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

How Sowers of Strifes and Peacemakers are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 24.) Differently to be admonished are sowers of strifes and peacemakers. For sowers of strifes are to be admonished to perceive whose followers they are. For of the apostate angel it is written, when tares had been sown among the good crop, An enemy hath done this (Matth. xiii. 28). Of a member of him also it is said through Solomon, An apostate person, an unprofitable man, walketh with a perverse mouth, he winketh with his eyes, he beateth with his foot, he speaketh with his finger, …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

A Jealous God
I. Reverently, let us remember that THE LORD IS EXCEEDINGLY JEALOUS OF HIS DEITY. Our text is coupled with the command--"Thou shalt worship no other God." When the law was thundered from Sinai, the second commandment received force from the divine jealousy--"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863

How Subjects and Prelates are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 5.) Differently to be admonished are subjects and prelates: the former that subjection crush them not, the latter that superior place elate them not: the former that they fail not to fulfil what is commanded them, the latter that they command not more to be fulfilled than is just: the former that they submit humbly, the latter that they preside temperately. For this, which may be understood also figuratively, is said to the former, Children, obey your parents in the Lord: but to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Preface to the Commandments
And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God,' &c. Exod 20: 1, 2. What is the preface to the Ten Commandments? The preface to the Ten Commandments is, I am the Lord thy God.' The preface to the preface is, God spake all these words, saying,' &c. This is like the sounding of a trumpet before a solemn proclamation. Other parts of the Bible are said to be uttered by the mouth of the holy prophets (Luke 1: 70), but here God spake in his own person. How are we to understand that, God spake, …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

"Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." As man is naturally given to boasting and gloriation in something (for the heart cannot want some object to rest upon and take complacency in, it is framed with such a capacity of employing other things), so there is a strong inclination in man towards the time to come, he hath an immortal appetite, and an appetite of immortality; and therefore his desires usually stretch farther than the present …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Heavenly Footman; Or, a Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven:
TOGETHER WITH THE WAY HE RUNS IN, THE MARKS HE GOES BY; ALSO, SOME DIRECTIONS HOW TO RUN SO AS TO OBTAIN. 'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.'--Genesis 19:17. London: Printed for John Marshall, at the Bible in Gracechurch Street, 1698. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. About forty years ago a gentleman, in whose company I had commenced my …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

"And Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"And watch unto prayer." "Watch." A Christian should watch. A Christian is a watchman by office. This duty of watchfulness is frequently commanded and commended in scripture, Matt. xxiv. 42, Mark xiii. 33, 1 Cor. xvi. 13, Eph. vi. 18, 1 Pet. v. 8, Col. iv. 2; Luke xii. 37. David did wait as they that did watch for the morning light. The ministers of the gospel are styled watchmen in scripture and every Christian should be to himself as a minister is to his flock, he should watch over …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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