Proverbs 4:1-27--A Father's Wise Instruction

Proverbs 4
English Standard Version

A Father's Wise Instruction
4 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.

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Solomon now speaks as a father to his sons (plural).  Though he had many sons, he is probably speaking to all of Israel at this point--all this that look to him for wisdom as a child looks to a father.  They should listen to him because his wisdom came from the LORD, not from earthly sources.  He gives them the same advice that David gave to him when he was young, "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.  Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.  Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.  The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.  Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.  She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."  In some ways you could say that makes David a solid contributor to this particular Prover, but maybe even more so to the entire book of Proverbs if Solomon is repeating the wisdom of his father (who was a man after God's own heart) to his own sons, hoping they would do a better job of listening than Solomon himself did.

Solomon says he has taught his son the paths of wisdom and righteousness, now he must follow in those footsteps (and don't follow in the footsteps where he gave a bad example).  Again, there are promises of long life, peace, prosperity and certainty where to take the next step that come by pursuing the path of wisdom.  Solomon tells him once again to stay on the right and true path and not to get on the path of the wicked.  Don't even go investigate it or become curious about it.  It is not worth your time--focus on the things that are of God that will bring goodness, righteousness and blessing instead of the things that are snares that will drag you down to the pit with those who have given their lives and souls to them.  The difference between wisdom and evil is like the difference between light and darkness.  Wisdom exposes the truth, but the evil one tries to hide in the shadows and darkness of night because they wish to conceal the evil they do and their identify, hoping they will escape punishment.  The LORD sees clearly through the darkness though, and He will one day bring all people and all thoughts and actions into the Light.  The wicked cannot sleep, for they are afraid justice will catch up to them.  Their guilt and their conscience torment them.  Since they walk in darkness, they stumble over the snares and traps that were laid for them that they cannot see (often times traps they thought they were laying for someone else which they themselves are caught up in), but the righteous and wise person is protected by the LORD from all the snares and traps of the wicked.  The LORD brings their evil plans back on their own heads.

The word that Solomon speaks are the very words of the LORD, and these are the words of life.  Jesus' disciples realized the same thing about the words He spoke because He was the Word of God and God in the Flesh.  Therefore, we should guard them and keep them safe.  Do not let anyone steal them away from you like Satan tries to do with the hard-hearted man.  The lies on the hard path where the birds steal it, or it is trampled underfoot because there is no value given to the life-giving seed of the Word of God.  It is like a spring of life-giving, living water (something very rare and valuable in the desert culture.  Most water was collected in cisterns that could be contaminated easily if something dead or diseased fell into the water supply.  Streams and springs of living water always had a fresh and clean supply of water as long as you were upstream close enough to the source).  Solomon also speaks of these words being healing to all flesh--another picture we see of the Tree of Life alongside the River of Life in the book of Revelation and that its leaves and fruit are for the healing of the nations.

Solomon tells his son to put away all evil and crooked speech.  He should engage in devious talk (gossiping, plotting, scheming, and so on that are meant for the destruction of others).  Keep your eyes trained on the LORD and the path that He has set for you, for your feet will follow your eyes.  If you look away to the ways of the wicked, you will start to walk in their paths.  Be intent about walking in the straight and narrow path.  Do not take any step that takes you away to the right or to the left.  In this way, we will always keep our feet from evil