Proverbs 4:1-4
The passage adopts the tone of a father who is genuinely concern for the well being of his children. He beckons his children into an understanding relationship and promises to give them good doctrine. The father also encourages his children retain his law.
To retain is to keep; that is to hold in position for an extended period. When the heart retains words it absorbs those words into the thought patterns. These thought patterns take control of the mind making the words apart of itself. As a result ownership is established and understanding increased. In this passage the heart is the retainer for the words of the father.
The heart has the ability to take what is said and turn it into a human characteristic (personify). By retaining words the heart not only keeps those words, it also take ownership and uses them at will. The heart as a retainer takes words and turns them into action. It takes thought and turns them into behaviors. It takes what is heard and turns it into what is seen. It takes the linguistic and turns them into an experience. The heart is a retainer.
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