My Son

(Proverbs 7:1 KJV)  My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

One of the frequent titles of address in Proverbs is “my son” (1121) [ben].  Most of it is concentrated in the first seven chapters.  I did a word search of the phrase in the KJV.  In the first seven chapters it is used fifteen times.  In the remaining 24 chapters it is used eight times.  Modern translations ignore the Hebrew and substitute “child” or “children.”  I won’t get onto a rant about translators and scholars today.  Just assume that the term is used to remind us that God has a very special relationship with us.

We are not just creatures.  We are not just servants.  Hopefully we are no longer sinners.  We are, however, his adopted children.  “Sons” designates that we are the offspring with all the special privileges given to boy children in that culture.  We are as the old song says, “precious in His sight.”

So?  Sing yourself a verse of “Jesus Loves Me.”  Revel in it.