Proverbs 4:3 (Mini Sermon)

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1.      Pro 4:3 – “For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.”

1. For I was my father’s son,
   1. Solomon was David’s son (Pro 1:1).
   2. He was the son the Lord gave to David after the child he conceived in adultery with Bathsheba died (2Sa 12:22-24).

• David had many sons, but Solomon was chosen to be king in his stead (1Ch 28:5).

1. God loved Solomon (2Sa 12:24), and therefore so did David, being a man after God’s own heart (Act 13:22).
2. David loved Solomon and prayed that God would give him a perfect heart to keep His commandments (1Ch 29:19).

1. tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
   8. Tender adj. – Tender toward or in regard to others. 8. a. Of persons, their feelings, or the expression of these: Characterized by, exhibiting, or expressing delicacy of feeling or susceptibility to the gentle emotions; kind, loving, gentle, mild, affectionate. b. transf. That is the object of tender feeling; tenderly loved; dear, beloved, precious.
   9. Beloved adj. – A. adj. Loved. (Often well-, best-, first-, etc.)

• Only – 1. One, without companions or society; solitary, lonely.

1. Solomon was not the only son of his mother Bathsheba (1Ch 3:5).
   1. But he was the only son who was the object of her tender love and affection.
   2. In other words, he was her favorite.
2. Because of his beloved status, both of his parents taught him the ways of God when he was young and tender (Pro 4:4; Pro 31:1).
3. “If parents may ever love one child better than another, it must not be till it plainly appears that God does so.” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Pro 4:1-13)