Proverbs 4
1 Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
2 For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
3 When I was my father’s son,
Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
Keep my commands, and live.
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
From "LetGodBeTrue.com"
Are wisdom, knowledge, and understanding as valuable to you as silver or hid treasures? Men pursue silver and hid treasure with excited hearts and at great expense and effort, and Solomon warned that only such desire and work will find the wisdom of God. Unless you have such zeal and diligence, you will miss true knowledge and understanding.
Just a short reading about the mysterious Money Pit of Nova Scotia’s Oak Island will prove the character of men and hidden treasures. At least six lives, millions of dollars, and enormous efforts have been invested, and countless disappointments endured over 210 years, to find the presumed treasure at the bottom of an ingenious manmade shaft.
Wisdom exists, and you must find it and get it, for it is of more value than all riches (Pr 4:7; 16:16; Ps 19:10; 119:14,72,127). You buy wisdom by giving up other things in life to redeem the time and apply the effort to study God’s word; you avoid selling it by refusing any offer of this world to distract you from your pursuit of it (Pr 23:23; 18:1).
Jesus Christ taught that the kingdom of God is life’s greatest priority (Matt 6:33), and He illustrated it by men selling all they had to buy a field or a valuable pearl (Matt 13:44-46). What have you sold, or given up, to pursue this treasure? Or are your treasures on earth?
Wisdom will not fall in your lap, for then the wrong persons could get it. Wisdom is a reward to those who ask and work for it. The just and jealous God will not give its riches for sporadic, lazy, or slight effort, but He will reward zealous seekers (Jer 29:13).
Consider ministers. They must study like workmen (II Tim 2:15); they must give themselves wholly to reading, exhortation, and doctrine (I Tim 4:13-15); and they must do so while enduring hardness as soldiers without worldly obligations (II Tim 2:3-4). If a minister compromises in any of these areas, he and his hearers will lose (I Tim 4:16).
Consider Christians. They must use wisdom or lose it, as Paul told the Hebrews (Heb 5:12-14). If they do not pay close attention to preaching, they will lose all, even the knowledge they presumed they had (Luke 8:18). The Bereans were noble for an obvious reason (Acts 17:11), and you should follow their good example (I Thes 5:21).
Dear friend, do you read the Word of God? Do you read it with passion and effort? Do you study it? Do you crave to hear it taught? Do you meditate upon it day and night? Do you speak of it to others? Do you give up pleasures for it? Do you buy tools to help?
Most men do not make the effort, so they live and die as fools. They are infatuated with the glitter of worldly toys and earthly pleasures. Only a few are ready scribes like Ezra (Ezra 7:6); only a few are fruitful trees (Ps 1:1-3). Only a few keep the words of God, meditate on them, and obey them to have Elihu and David’s wisdom (Ps 119:98-100).
Jesus Christ sought God’s wisdom all night in a mountain (Luke 6:12). And while others slept, He searched for the treasure of God’s favor and will with tears and blood-like sweat (Luke 22:39-46). Was He heard? Indeed! He sits forever as King on Zion’s hill, ruling the universe in perfect wisdom, righteousness, and truth. Seek wisdom today!http://www.letgodbetrue.com/proverbs/commentaries/02_04.php
Proverbs 4- Messiah -- The Way, the Truth and the Life
10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many.
"Hear, my son.. Men have trouble hearing advice, because their own feelings, thoughts, ideas, opinions, preferences, and goals are racing loudly through their... minds. Others are too busy chasing vanity and do not have the time to listen... And receive my sayngs......Men resent correction, instruction, and reproofs, because pride refuses to admit they are wrong. The enslaving power of arrogance and conceit dooms most men to ignorance and failure... They cannot learn, because they will not reject their ideas to admit another is wiser. Only a few have the wisdom to confess ignorance and learn from others (1Ki 3:7; Psa 131:1-3; Jer 1:6; Mat 18:3,4).
And the years of your life may be many... That is, the years of your life will not be diminished as a result of falling into mischief (cp Pro 3:1,2). 'Life' here is literally plural: the use of 'lives' suggests 'both the present life and the life to come' (1Ti 4:8) ... Wisdom will extend your life supernaturally by securing God's blessings and/or avoiding His justice and judgment. The blessed God will cut off the lives of the wicked (Psa 55:23; Ecc 7:17), but He will extend the lives of the righteous (Pro 10:27; Psa 34:11-16; 91:14-16; 128:6; 1Ti 4:8; 1Pe 3:8-12). Remember the reward for obeying parents (Eph 6:1-3). When God is on your side by obedience to His word and teachers, you have done more for your future health and longevity than any vitamin or exercise program!" (The Agora Bible Commentary)
11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.
"The figure of a road is now used to make a comparison. Living according to wisdom is like walking or running on a safe road, a course that will be free of obstacles, so that progress will be certain (see Pro 3:5,6n). God's way is the best route to take through life. It offers the fewest potholes, detours, and dangers. God's commands are similar to the stripes or lines on modern highways, and the large and well-lit signs. They help travelers stay on the proper part of the road so they do not have accidents, and so that they reach their intended destinations...
I have taught (yarah) you in the way (derek) of wisdom... The verb 'yarah' means 'to teach; to instruct; to guide';... it is from the same root as the Hebrew word for 'law' (torah). 'Way' is 'derek', track and road... The point is not simply to 'teach', in so many words -- but to 'guide' by showing the way; practical demonstration and example is the best method of teaching anything...
I have led (darak) you in right paths (magal)... 'Led' is the verb 'darak', closely related to the word for 'way'. 'Paths' is 'magal' -- the track of a wagon-wheel (see Pro 2:9n). As a wagon-wheel cuts a deep track in a much traversed dirt road, so a person falls into routines and habits that reveal his moral character... 'The idea of straightness or evenness is the primary meaning of the word, and is, of course, appropriate to the image of a path. In the moral view, it suggests how much more simple and easy a course of rectitude is than one of sin. The one goes straight and unswerving to its end; the other is crooked, devious, intricate, and wanders from the true goal. A crooked road is a long road, and an up-and-down road is a tiring road. Wisdom's way is straight, level, and steadily approaches its aim' (Maclaren)."(The Agora Bible Commentary
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble.
"When you walk, your steps will not be hindered (tsarar), ... The verb 'tsarar', 'to be narrow; to be constricted', signifies distress, trouble, and adversity; conversely, that which was wide-open or broad represents freedom and deliverance. It is popularly assumed -- by the masses, and even by some who are themselves religious -- that religion has a hampering or confining aspect, and that it is a 'hard' life... so many rules and regulations and requirements! But the very opposite is suggested by this verse: the servant of Divine Wisdom runs with a joyful freedom on his designated course, at the same time being carefully guarded from misadventure. 'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free' (John 8:32).
On the other hand, 'Foolish men find that life is like a hedge of thorns -- very difficult to get through (Pro 15:19). It is an axiom of human existence that fools will have a hard life (Pro 13:15). Without wisdom, man has no light to direct him, and he will stumble over life's surprises (Pro 4:19)! If a man chooses to be a fool, he is asking for misery and pain (Pro 8:36). Friends may entice him into a crime, and then he is a felon for life. A strange woman, looking ever so good, may ruin his marriage and reputation. A vain talker may deceive him into quitting a real job to purse a business scam. Mooching friends may bankrupt him with cosigned loans' (LGBT). And, of course, these are but a few examples of the 'constricted' way of the foolish man, or woman.
And when you run, you will not stumble (kashal)... The progression from 'walk' to 'run' suggests greater and greater freedom, or deliverance -- going on, so to speak, 'from strength to strength' (Psa 84:7; cp the same idiom employed in Isa 40:29-31). If a man humbles himself before the word of God and his teachers, and if he accepts and applies their instruction, then the great God will guide him, protect him, and prosper him (Pro 10:17; 13:18; 14:27; 15:32; Psa 32:7-11; 34:11-22;
128:1-6).
... We start with 'THE WAY OF WISDOM' (v 11): We really ought to think of this 'Way' as the Faith [of the church fathers],.... Better than speaking of our distinctive Faith as 'the Truth', we might more Scripturally call it 'the Way' (cp Acts 9:2; 19:9; 22:4; 24:22), or -- more specifically -- 'the Way to be saved' (Acts 16:17), or 'the Way of the Lord' (Acts 18:25), or even 'the Way to the tree of life' (Gen 3:24; cf Joh 14:5,6). And here, as elsewhere in Proverbs, that same 'Way' is called the 'Way of WISDOM'. But 'wisdom' is not to be understood in the abstract only, for there is one true 'Wisdom' and that is the 'Word of God', and there is one true 'Word', and that is Christ -- 'the Word made flesh' (John 1:14). And so the 'Way of Wisdom' is, simply put, the 'Way of Christ'."(The Agora Bible Commentary
Proverbs 4 Light or Darkness, Which?
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life.
"Feeble, indeed, is our hold when connected merely with the excitement of novelty (Mat 13:20,21), temporary convictions (Psa 78:34-36; 106:12,13), [or] unestablished knowledge (Gal 3:1-4)... Truths received only in the understanding, not becoming our daily spiritual nourishment, never fix on the heart. We must exhibit an intense interest, 'continuing in the things which we have heard and been assured of' (2Ti 3:14). As Jacob detained the angel (Gen 32:26-29); as the spouse held fast to her beloved (Song 3:4); as the disciples 'constrained the Savior to abide with them' (Luk 24:28,29), so must we not let her go..." (CPro)... 'We do not need to do anything to lose instruction. If we will only do nothing to keep it, the world and our own hearts will make sure that we lose it. And if we lose it, we lose ourselves; for 'she is thy life,'..." (Maclaren)....'Grab the lifeline, and don't let go! You can make it! You can live!' If you were drowning at sea, would you obey these words from a sailor in a rescue boat? You would, for the consequences of not obeying would be certain death. You would, for holding a line is a very cheap price to pay, and easy effort to make, to save your life....You may never face drowning at sea; but you will face drowning in the sea of life, when the storms of a sinful world come against you. Only by keeping instruction will you be able to survive the storm.... Have you grabbed hold of... [the Torah of the Bible, the Wisdom of Messiah, yea the Person of Messiah] to save your life (Pro 3:18,22; Ecc 7:12; Deu 32:45-47)?..."(The Agora Bible Commentary)
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
This "refers to the 'first gleam of dawn' ( NIV) -- the early morning light (BDB). Figuratively, the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is bright, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe (cp 2Sa 23:4).'Light will shine on your ways' (Job 22:28). It is exactly the opposite of what darkness represents. [As the day goes on, it] shines ever brighter unto the perfect day... It is not a FUTURE day that is being described here; instead it is the 'full light' (NIV) or the 'full day' (RSV) -- ie, the noon-time sunlight of the SAME day that had witnessed the 'first gleam of dawn'. In other words, the first bright light of early morning grows ever brighter and brighter, until it comes to the full light of the noon-day sun. So is the path of the righteous: it starts out in the light, but even that light grows progressively brighter the further the traveler continues his journey." (The Agora Bible Commentary)
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble
This "describes... perhaps a collosal sandstorm... that overwhelmed Egypt in Moses' day (Exo 10:22), when 'no one could see anything or leave his place for three days (Exo 10:23). It occurs again in Pro 7:9: the 'dark of night'. They do not know what makes them stumble.. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead (Isa 59:10; cp Psa 82:5; Job 18:5,6; Joh 11:10; 12:35,36)... ...Isaiah foretold Israel's day of distress when they would 'look to the north, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish' (Isa 8:22). Also Jeremiah: 'Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein' (Jer 23:12). When a man's powers of moral discernment are gone, he is blind to any understanding of sin, and he will not know what makes him stumble. Jesus said, 'He that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth' (John 12:35); also, 'If a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him'...
They do not know what makes them stumble, [BUT WE KNOW!]..'Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another... Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones... Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done' (Rom 1:24,26,28). 'They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness' (2Th 2:10-12)." (The Agora Bible Commentary)
Proverbs 4 - Your Issues of Life
20 My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet,and let all your ways be established.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.
"We are to pay attention to what the author says (v. 20). We are not to let his words depart from our eyes but let them penetrate deep within our HEART (v. 21). They will bring life to anyone who discovers their meaning (v. 22). Our HEART is to be kept with all diligence (v. 23). We are to guard our heart with all diligence, 'for out of it spring the issues of life.' The HEART is enclosed in a sac embedded in the lungs and protected by the ribs. Just as the creator provided physical protection for our HEART, we must guard our thoughts. The HEART includes more than an emotional or mental capacity but it encompasses one’s values. Therefore the HEART is to be protected because out from it comes our actions, our values our goals and our desires. It is only when the HEART is controlled by Scripture that a person can be assured of being able to walk in the truth. That is the reason each believer should have his eyes (v. 25) focused on the path (v.11) which comes from God and His Word.
[Then good speech and actions will manifest themselves.]...Our eyes should focus on the goal just as a farmer opens a field and makes a straight furrow as he plows toward a distant point. Our feet should not turn to the right or the left but straight forward in the paths of righteousness (vv. 26-27).
Application-- Proverbs 23:7 declares that as a man 'thinketh in his heart, so is he.' This is why it is so important that I have control over my thought life."
http://www.family-times.net/commentary/proverbs-420/ "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."(Col 3:1-4)