Proverbs 4

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Proverbs 4

A Father's Wise Instruction

1 Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, 2 for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. 3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, 4 he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. 5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. 7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. 8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. 9 She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

10 Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. 11 I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. 12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. 13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Devotional

Introduction

I wonder if you have ever needed encouragement in order to do something - a project, or a hard job, or maybe even a workout. In Proverbs 4, it seemed like an encouraging letter you might read from Paul in the New Testament to continue in the faith. Except, of course, Solomon is arguing that this son should continue in wisdom. In a foolish world, Solomon knows that his son needs to hear this from his father in order that he might endure to be wise and to follow the Lord.

I'm sure, if you're anything like me, in your Christian walk, you need encouragement in order to continue on. To endure. It's similar to how we must endure in becoming wise. And know this, that you are enduring whilst you are being changed by God. It's not your work, it's God's sanctifying work. Well, how does Solomon try to encourage his son?

Study

1) Solomon passes on some wisdom from David, his father, to his own son (vs.1-9)

David says much of the same things Solomon has already told his son, and will continue to encourage his son. There are three main things David had said to Solomon about wisdom:

1. If you love wisdom, she will protect you (vs.6)

2. If you prize wisdom, she will bring honour to you (vs.8)

3. If you embrace wisdom, she will give you a "beautiful crown" (vs.9) - the crown was presented at a joyful occasion. You could infer that she makes your life joyful.

I think by passing on such words from the son's grandfather, he demonstrates that the acceptance of wisdom is a generational thing, almost traditional for the family. Not only that, but each individual must choose to accept wisdom for themselves. Solomon shows that this acceptance of wisdom is an age-old tradition which is so valuable to the individual, should they choose to partake.

Even more so, the son might be convinced to endure as he sees that it is wisdom that has stood the test of time, unlike its counterpart - foolishness. It is the wise and righteous man who prospers, not the wicked. And the passage even explores this idea. Solomon wishes to elucidate this contrast between the two paths in order to encourage his son.

2) The path of the foolish and wicked is no good (vs.14-17; 19)

Solomon warns his son to "not enter the path of the wicked" (vs.14). He says to "avoid it; do not go on it" (vs.15). He even explains why. The wicked will tirelessly endeavour to be a stumbling block to the wayward man (vs.16). They will pursue evil - so to travel with them is to tempt yourself to do the same. In fact, you will do the same. In verse 17, he says that the wicked thrive on their wickedness and violence. They are fed by their actions. They are dangerous.

If he hasn't made this point clear enough for his son, if he hasn't encouraged his son enough not to travel along this path, he makes the imagery more vivid.

 "The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble" (vs.19)

He portrays the wicked as blind. And his son, as well as us, should be frightened by the prospect. It is a piece of persuasive, poetry that should encourage his son to not stray along this path. But to where should his son turn?

3) The path of the righteous and wise is great! (vs.10-13; 18; 20-23)

Solomon shows his son that he has led him in the right path (vs.11). Because of this, because the son has been trained to be a wise man, he will not stumble, unlike the wicked (vs.12). It was one of the reasons I saw this passage as an encouragement. The son, being already trained in wisdom, has the option now of continuing on that path. His father can only take him so far, and now the son must turn to his Heavenly father. So Solomon, in his prelude to a bunch of proverbs that are sure to come, wishes to encourage his son to chose the path of wisdom. And in verse 13, 22 and 23, he calls wisdom "life". In verse 18, he calls it "the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day".

I want to note that "springs of life" mentioned in verse 23 are synonymous with Jesus' words in Matthew 12:34: "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks". With a wise heart, continually being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, whatever we do, say or think, will cause our heart to overflow with good things. Solomon encourages his son by not only pointing out that the path of wisdom will bring life, but it will sanctify us in such a way that we will endure in good things, and even desire to do good things.

Conclusion

Solomon wants his son to choose the right path. In verse 24-27, he gives his son practical tips in how to do that. "Put away crooked speech..." (vs.24), "...look directly forward [not at worthless things]..."(vs.25), "Ponder the path of your feet [and remove any moral obstacles]..."(vs.26) and "...Do not swerve to the right or to the left..."(vs.27). I would love to go into the intertextuality (darn literature term :) ) of all of the these verses, but I feel like it would stray from my main point: Solomon encourages his son to continue on the path to wisdom in various ways - introducing King David into the subject, and the vivid contrast between the path of the righteous and of the wicked.

And throughout this book, he is going to give his son practical tips on how to continue in such righteous ways. He does not promise it will be easy. But he hopes what he has pointed out will be of some encouragement.

I hope for all of your reading this, that you will feel encouraged to continue on. You might stray at points - come back to God. You might be hurt by the violent actions of the wicked - ask God for guidance. But what is constant is the light and hope that the righteous path offers. Through Jesus, all our sin and temptations can be laid at his feet. We can seek forgiveness for our sins, and he will always forgive. Be encouraged to continue to endure in the laborious and onerous task of becoming ever wise through God's work in you.

Have a wonderful day, seek wisdom, and I will see you tomorrow for Day 5 of #31daysofproverbs!