Phylacteries

(Pro 7:3 KJV) Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

On the face of it this seems to refer to a Jewish tradition of phylacteries. That involved tying portions of scripture to the forehead and left arm as a ritual. Verses like this were probably the source of that tradition. The Jews turned it into a literal command. I think God was being figurative in order to get a point across.

We are to “bind” (7194) the commandments to our “fingers” (676). This involves a conscious effort to tie the ideas, meanings, values, priorities and words of the commandments to the actions of our hands. This could imply that everything we do with our hands should be bound by the law of God.

It is interesting to me that binding has a secret aspect to it, just like the word for treasure in the first verse. There is an aspect of following the law of God that we will find impossible to explain to unbelievers and, sad to say, often to believers. It is better not to try.

Notice from this verse and two others that we are told to bind three times to three different places: Neck, heart and fingers.

(Pro 3:3 KJV) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
(Pro 6:21 KJV) Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

We are to “write” (3789) the law on our inner selves also. This is a total approach.

We have a “table" (tablet NASB) (3871) on our “heart” (3820) that we inscribe these laws. We might think of it like the bios of the computer of our life. It determines everything else and sets up the framework on which the software works and how well the hardware does its job.