* The engraving from a book "Het leerzaam huisraad : vertoond in vyftig konstige figuuren, met godlyke spreuken en stichtelyke verzen" by Luiken, Jan (1649-1712) now in public domain is titled "The Writing-Slate".
Just as one bears down hard when writing something intended to endure and not be erased, so one must store deeply in the heart those things that must not be forgotten (Proverbs 4:20-21). This will serve one well at the last judgment. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712), whose initials are at the lower right, was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and wrote the accompanying poem. The attendant scripture text is Proverbs 4:10-11.
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
The motto is "Inscribe". The accompanying poem is:
So that Things to be Viewed,
And necessary affairs,
Would perhaps not escape from memory,
This Tablet has been prepared:
Write on your heart all Things,
That are most important,
So that they will never escape,
From the steadfast memory.
Especially, how thou must one day die,
And stand before the Eternal Judgment,
So as to inherit from the Judge's hand,
According to what thou hast done here.
So that this will not be forgotten,
Through all sorts of occupation,
And thus the very best be thrown away,
For trifles of this time.
Yes, it is so necessary to watch out here,
That thou dost not simply write it down,
But must scratch it deep with a burin,
So that no one rubs it out;
For it is the concern of all your concerns,
If someone is mistaken therein,
He may do and make, what he makes
But all his strokes will have failed.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
>1. What does the father promise his son in verses 1 and 2?
* Proverbs 4:1-2 "Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching."
* "my sons" -A father addressing his sons is repeated many times in the first nine chapters (the intoduction to the book) of Proverbs. (1:8, 10, 15, 20, 2:1, 3:1, 11, 21, 4:1, 10, 20, 5:1, 6:1, 20, 7:1, 24, 8:32)
* "a father's instruction"
* "pay attention and gain understanding"
* "I give you sound learning"
* "do not forsake my teaching." -See also Ecclesiastes 12:11-14.
* See also Psalms 34:11; Proverbs 23:22; Ecclesiastes 12:1; Mark 7:10; and Ephesians 6:1-3.
>How did he identify with his sons? (3-4)
* Proverbs 4:3-4 "When I was a boy in my father's house, still tender, and an only child of my mother,
4 he taught me and said, "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live."
* "When I was a boy in my father's house"
* "still tender"
* "an only child of my mother"
* "he taught me"
* "Lay hold of my words with all your heart"
* "keep my commands and you will live."
>What can we learn from Solomon's life decision when he obeyed his father David? (1 Chronicles 1:10)
* "Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. (1)" The relationship between parent and child is echoed through the first nine chapters of Proverbs as if the Father were standing on the roof of a tall building and shouting into empty streets (1:8, 10, 15, 20, 2:1, 3:1, 11, 21, 4:1, 10, 20, 5:1, 6:1, 20, 7:1, 24, 8:32) The younger generation does not listen to the wisdom of generations before, and generations before give conflicting messages to the younger when their lives do not follow the wisdom they came to know. So here is a great example of when the younger generation obeys the wisdom of generations before. God the perfect Father of all gives sound life direction (2).
Solomon in his later years remembered how he was when he was his sons' ages (3). His father, David taught him what would be best (4). "Get wisdom, get understanding" (5). So when his father, David died Solomon went to the Lord and asked the Lord God for a gift as his father instructed, "Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead these people..." (1 Chronicles 1:10) Thus when Solomon obeyed his father David, he made the wisest act in his entire life.
Solomon personifies wisdom. Wisdom is a wise mother. She protects and watches over her children (6) Therefore, older women should be reverent in the way they live, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but good. (Titus 3:3) Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, busy about the well-being of their family, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands. (Titus 2:4) Fathers are not to exasperate nor embitter their children of they will become discouraged. Instead, they are to bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21)
Since parents want their children to succeed in life, then we need to show them in deed more than word what it means to live by faith and obedience in the Lord Jesus. If what we teach is wisdom, then we need to show them that we believe it is wisdom by living according to the Bible. Shout into the streets with our acts (8,9).
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 4:1-9.
* 1 Timothy 4:6-8 "If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
>2. What are we encouraged to do in verses 5 and 6?
* Proverbs 4:5-6 "Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you."
* "Get wisdom"
* "get understanding"
* "do not forget my words or swerve from them."
* "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;"
* "love her, and she will watch over you."
>What does it mean to obtain them?
*
>3. In what ways do wisdom and understanding cost? (7)
* Proverbs 4:7 "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."
* "Wisdom is supreme"
* "therefore get wisdom"
* "Though it cost all you have, get understanding."
*
>Is it ever hard to esteem and embrace wisdom and understanding?
* Proverbs 4:8 "Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you."
* "Esteem her, and she will exalt you"
* "embrace her, and she will honor you."
*
>Why is this so?
*
>What is promised if we hold onto them even though it is not easy and is costly? (9)
* Proverbs 4:9 "She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor."
* "garland" -Garland translates in modern translations two Hebrew and one Greek term, all referring to wreaths worn on the head often worn by the wife in a wedding cerimony. Garlands symbolized instruction or the benefit of wisdom. (Holman Bible Dictionary)
* "She will set a garland of grace on your head"
* "present you with a crown of splendor."
*
II. Straight Paths (4:10-19)
* The engraving from a book "Des menschen begin, midden en einde : vertoonende het kinderlyk bedryf en aanwasch in eenenvyftig konstige figuuren, met goddelyke spreuken en stichtelyke verzen / door Joannes Luiken ; met het leven van den autheur" by Luiken, Jan (1649-1712) now in public domain is titled "The Novice".
The father, who is with the mother and a small child on the stoop, draws his son's attention to a number of youths playing on the square in the background. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and for the brief poem that accompanies it (below). The attendant Scripture text is Proverbs 4:14-17.
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
The motto is "What stays together, and goes together, Often becomes good or evil together". The accompanying poem is:
O Little Lad, guard thy Heart,
When thou dost grow older;
What is Good, is spoilt by Evil;
Don't consort with wicked Companions,
Who walk on the path to Hell,
Or else thou wilt share their fate.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
>4. What does it mean that wisdom leads along straight paths? (10-11)
* Proverbs 4:10-11 "Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.
11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths."
* "the years of your life will be many."
* "I guide you in the way of wisdom"
* "lead you along straight paths."
*
>What does it mean that our steps are hampered and we stumble?
* Proverbs 4:12 "When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble."
* "When you walk, your steps will not be hampered"
* "you run, you will not stumble."
*
>What can be learned about the life of faith from these facts? (Psalm 142:1-3)
* Psalm 142:1-3 "I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me."
* John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
* John 12:35-36 "Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light."
>5. What is life? (13)
* Proverbs 4:13 "Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life."
* "Hold on to instruction"
* "do not let it go guard it well"
* "for it is your life."
* 1 John 1:5-7 "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
* 2 John 1:4-6 "It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."
*
>How did Jesus personify this? (John 12:44-50)
* John 12:44-50 "Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.
When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.
For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.
I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."
*
>6. What instruction is given in verses 14 and 15?
* Proverbs 4:14-15 "Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way."
* "Do not set foot on the path of the wicked"
* "walk in the way of evil men."
* "Avoid it, do not travel on it"
* "turn from it and go on your way."
* Proverbs repeat yet again the ills of not setting my foot on the path of the wicked or walking in the way of evil men (14). At first, I think in anguish, "Again. Ugh." Then I realize that repetition is needed because I am so inclined to do wrong, even evil. How many times did the apostles argue about who was greatest before they accepted Jesus' humility?
Experience seems to be a better teacher than verbal instruction until I repeat the same sin. If fact, considering all the forms one can learn it seems that in general, it takes an entire warehouse full of education methods for me to learn to reject the bread of wickedness and pour onto the ground the wine of violence. My inclination is to miss the mark of godliness and holiness.
Knowing the depravity of the human soul (as is repeated many times in the Bible) I realize and accept the ever-flowing grace of God. A good thing that Jesus came full of grace and truth because we need it to survive (John 1:14).
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me." (Psalm 51:1-3)
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 4:10-17.
>Why? (16-17, John 8:42-47)
* Proverbs 4:16-17 "For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence."
* John 8:42-47 "Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.
43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?
47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."
* "For they cannot sleep till they do evil"
* "they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall."
* "They eat the bread of wickedness"
* "drink the wine of violence."
>7. Does the benefits of righteous living come all at once according to verse 18?
* Proverbs 4:18 "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day."
* "the first gleam of dawn"
* "shining ever brighter till the full light of day."
*
>What irony is found in verse 19?
* Proverbs 4:19 "But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble."
* "deep darkness"
* "they do not know what makes them stumble."
*
* Camping in the wilderness can be a fun time. Over an hour from where I lived, on the Michigan and Ohio line is a campground on a lake that was in a "dark area". A dark area is where no lights are allowed for several miles in any direction. My children and I went there several times. At night around a small fire, we would gaze up at the Milkyway and follow the occasional meteor.
When we wandered too far from the campfire the darkness would wrap around us as we stumbled around hoping not to hit a low tree branch or stumble on a small bush. We hoped it was a bush and not a skunk or a cub bear. We could never tell because it was so dark. The darkness would enhance our imaginations and fears. Quickly we would get lost in the deepest dark nights.
So are the ways of the wicked in the world. "The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." Terror, trouble, and hard times come to all. For the wicked life can be a scary and intimidating stroll in dark areas. Fears and haunted imaginations cause them to go nowhere.
Life for the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. One very early new winter morning on the rim of the Grand Canyon I watch the sun slowly light up the western wall. The display of new colors captured my being in a unique way. Every second the panoramic view changed and danced as the stars winked shut. There is seldom a dull moment in life walking with Christ.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 4:18-19.
III. Health to a Man's Whole Body (4:20-27)
* The engraving from a book titled "Pious addresses of the heart to God wherein is shown its departure from and return to God in forty seven divine emblems illustrated with copper plates" by a Private Hand. This emblem depicts an angel in armor defending a woman and her heart enclosed in a keep from three demons. The image is titled with the Latin CORDIS CUSTODIA, which translates "the keeping of the heart," and accompanied by the text of Proverbs 4:23. This is the thirty-first in a series of 47 emblems published anonymously and adapted from Benedictine writer Benedict van Haeften's Schola Cordis (1629). Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
>8. What does it mean to listen closely?
* Proverbs 4:20 "My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words."
* "pay attention"
* "listen closely to my words."
*
>Since verse 21 repeats the same theme in this chapter what can we learn about human nature when it comes to sound words?
* Proverbs 4:21 "Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;"
* "Do not let them out of your sight"
* "keep them within your heart"
*
>What is promised if we do? (22)
* Proverbs 4:22 "for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body."
* "they are life"
* "man"
* "health to a man's whole body."
>9. What does it mean to guard our heart?
* Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
* "guard your heart"
*
>What is the heart and how is it the wellspring of life?
* "the wellspring of life."
*
* The heart is the wellspring of life (23). A wellspring is an original and bountiful source of something. The original meaning is the source of a spring, stream, or river. The picture given here is that my human heart is the source of my life. The physical heart pumps blood throughout the body supplying needed oxygen and nutrition as well as delivering white blood cells that fight against infections.
The psychological heart is also called the soul. The soul consists of my thoughts, emotions, and will. The psychological heart is related to the human cognitive nature. My soul is concerned with my acts or processes of knowing, perceiving, feeling, and desire.
My Father instructs me to keep his words within my heart (20,21). The word of God is life to my body and my soul. Jesus promised, "If anyone keeps his word, they will never see death." (John 8:51) He also promised that whoever hears his word and believes in him who sent him, they have eternal life and will not be condemned; they have crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24) Jesus is the word of life (Php. 2:16; 1 John 1:1) His words are the wellspring of life.
The words of Jesus are life to those who find them and health to a person's whole body (22). Therefore, each day I digest Bible Daily Bread Devotional (BDBD).
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 4:20-23.
* The engraving from a book "Spiegel van het menselyk bedrijf : in kleuren vertoond met honderd verbeeldingen, van ambachten, konsten, hanteeringen en bedryven, met verzen / Jan en Kasper Luiken." by Luiken, Jan (1649-1712) now in public domain is titled "The Bricklayer: The bad neighbor Demands a wall".
A bricklayer is in the process of putting a brick into the wall he is building around a house. A worker, known as a hod-carrier, brings more mortar; in the background is a cement mixer. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing this emblem and composed the poem that accompanies it. The etching was executed by Jan Luiken or his son Casper Luiken (1672-1708), who had used this image in an earlier work. The attendant scripture text is Proverbs 4:25-27.
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
The motto is "The Bricklayer: The bad neighbor Demands a wall". The accompanying poem is:
Man puts a wall around his temporary life,
To be surrounded in case of danger,
And the eternal part lies often exposed,
Like a border town without walls,
To be plundered by enemy's attacks,
And threatened by eternal death.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
>10. What is perversity?
* Proverbs 4:24 "Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips."
* "perversity"
* "keep corrupt talk far from your lips."
*
>How is verse 25 like Hebrews 12:2-3?
* Proverbs 4:25 "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you."
* Hebrews 12:2-3 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
* "Let your eyes look straight ahead"
* "fix your gaze directly before you."
*
>What does verse mean practically?
* Proverbs 4:26 "Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm."
* "Make level paths for your feet"
* "take only ways that are firm."
*
* Life goals and life plans are good. Setting milestones that are needed to reach those life goals are needed too; considering that just because I have goals and plans doesn't guarantee everything will go as I plan. I spent much of my life making plans that never happened or turned out not as we had hoped. Yet, life goals and plans are needed if I want to do well in this world. "Let my eye look straight ahead, fix my gaze directly before me (25)."
Several types of plans need to be set concerning each aspect of human living involving mental, emotional, social, physical, financial, and especially spiritual well-being. Each requires effort and will to overcome obstacles that will need to be dealt with. I will need to "make level paths for my fee and take only ways that are firm in order to arrive at each milestone (26)."
A steadfast will with a humble recognition of God's sovereignty and love must always be on my mind and heart. I should not swerve to the right or the left from this good path (27). I need to keep my foot from the evil aspects of pride and hubris. Otherwise, I will become an obstacle that cannot be overcome.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 4:24-27.
* The engraving from a book "Beschouwing der wereld : bestaande in hondert konstige figuuren, met godlyke spreuken en stichtelyke verzen" by Luiken, Jan (1649-1712) now in public domain is titled "The Sand: It Is Clear".
Two men walk through a desert, their gaze fixed on the footprints in the sand of those who passed ahead of them. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing this emblem and composed the poem that accompanies it. The etching was executed by Jan Luiken or his son Casper Luiken (1672-1708), who had used this image in an earlier work. The attendant scripture text is Proverbs 4:25-27.
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
The motto is "Much depends on the right paths". The accompanying poem is:
The sand accepts the footprints,
And shows the meaning publicly,
A trail where someone has passed,
As comfort, to gain the right path.
We find, while we traverse the land,
The sandy desert of temporal things,
Where so many animal feet are,
A trail of true human footprints.
Raise high the good of this discovery!
Let others praise fortunes,
This is salvation; that someone, before our eyes
Came to mark the path home.
That fulfills the wish of one who strayed,
So that he may follow the prepared path
The path of an experienced man,
Because so often the wrong path goes astray.
O Jesus! Who trod before us,
So that thou dost alleviate our grief,
Thou art the man I mean,
And the path of salvation is from thy feet.
Thou art the Word become flesh,
The true man, and the image of God,
Thou hast marked the path of salvation,
And offered the eternal life.
The words of thy wise mouth,
Are, besides the high deeds, and life,
Footprints in the soft ground,
Given us as the correct path.
Our human animal nature,
Fallen away from the right road,
Has tempted us so long and broadly,
Through tracks of animal steps.
We went to, we went fro,
Where robbery and murder awaited us,
We wandered and remained far,
From the house of rest, for foreign guests.
He who then hates the dangerous wandering,
And would rather get safely across,
See to it, that he takes the holy path,
That Jesus Christ laid down for us.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
>Consider how to obey verse 27 in your life today.
* Proverbs 4:27 "Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."
