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Proverbs 1:23

²³If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

The proverb is pleading with all who will hear to shun evil ways and to listen to wisdom. Rabbinical commentaries equate wisdom to the Messiah, who we know as Christ Jesus. John the Beloved tells us that He was in the beginning (John 1:1-2). Proverbs tell us wisdom was before the creation of the earth (Proverbs 8:23). We can read this as if it was Jesus speaking to us.

To turn at the reproof of the LORD is to receive conviction and repent. To repent means to completely change direction. Hearing the LORD and receiving His word and acting on it is the way of salvation, for Jesus is the Word made flesh. Our verse today is a simplified form of the message of salvation in the Old Testament.

The promise to those who hear and act upon the words of Jesus is the pouring out of His Spirit to them. If you desire the fullness of the Spirit, respond to the voice of the LORD; repent and obey. This is not promoting a works-based salvation, but rather describing what happens in the life of anyone who responds in faith to the grace offered through the Word of the LORD (James 2:18, 26).

There is a further promise. The LORD will make His words known to us. We will walk in relationship with Him so that we hear His voice. The Scriptures do not come alive to us until we are willing to hear and be changed. When we are receptive and obedient, our communication with the Holy Spirit begins to develop, as was written of Enoch and Noah, they "walked with God" (Genesis 5:22; 6:9).

Remember: No one likes to be corrected. When we see His reproof as a path to the fullness of God's Spirit and to know His Word, then we can desire His reproof.