What does Proverbs 3:1 mean?

Solomon addresses the reader as his "son." This was a term often used by a teacher to refer to a student. It seems Solomon or others taught students in Solomon's royal court. Or perhaps "my son" refers to a literal son in the home. Either way, the term and setting honor the tradition established in Deuteronomy 6, where the Lord commanded the fathers in Israel to teach His commandments diligently to their children (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).

Solomon commands his pupil to remember his teaching and keep his commandments. This obedience must stem from the heart, which implies a love for the commandments. Unless a person loves God's Word, mere intellectual knowledge of it will not produce obedience. The Pharisees certainly had a head full of Scripture, but their hearts were far from God. On the outside they resembled whitewashed tombs but inwardly they were full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27–28).