Reproof --Proverb 15"31-33

Proverb 15:31-33 "He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility."

A dead plant doesn't need pruning. A good plant needs lots of pruning, constant pruning to stay healthy and flourishing. Often when we receive something from the Lord, over the time the thoughts can be contaminated, and the Lord will send reproof along our way to help us stay on the track.

Like Abraham, before he received the full blessing of the promise(honor), he had to put Isaac on the altar and be willing to kill him as a sacrifice(humility). To me that's not a test to see if he's good enough, the Lord already knew if he's good enough. It's a reproof, so that Abraham's own selfish thoughts toward Isaac could be pruned, and once his thoughts were cleaned and pruned, the Lord could release the full honor to him.