Ch.4

4:1-10

4:11-19

4:20-27

Recap

A. Find out :

1. What does he exhort his son to do? v.1,2

2. What does he say about his childhood? v.3,4

3. What exhortation does he again bring? v.5,7

4. What does he say wisdom will do for you? v.6,8,9

5. What does he say the outcome will be? v.10

B. Think:

1. How does Solomon use his own life as an example?

2. What outcomes to wisdom does he again declare?

3. How is there an urgency in this passage?

C. Comment:

      Solomon moves away from principles to more straight forward exhortation for his son to heed what he is saying and to make the search for wisdom of primary importance. He starts out by telling how his own father had done this, and the implication is that it has kept him in good stead. He says, of all the things you might want, wisdom is supreme (v.7) and therefore it is worth everything you have. But the call is not only to hear what he says and get wisdom, it is also to hang onto it and not forget it or forsake it (v.2,5,6). In the light of Solomon's subsequent history this is a tragic plea because he himself, in his latter years, did forsake wisdom and turned from God to foreign idols!

     Again he pours out the results of having wisdom: you will get life (v.4), you will be protected (v.6), you will be exalted and honoured (v.8), you will be revealed for the person of wisdom that you are (v.9), and you will live long (v.10).

      There is within these verses an urgency. When you can see the truth and know the truth, you long for others to see and know it too. Solomon had known and experienced great wisdom through his years as king, and he wants to communicate the wonder of it to his son. Solomon may have failed later, but for the moment he knows what he knows – that he has been gifted since childhood with an inheritance of wisdom. That was increased by the gift of God and he's known the fruit of it.

D. Application:

1. Have we caught the sense of wonder in wisdom and its fruits?

2. Are we yearning for it and yearning to share it with others?

Chapter: Proverbs 4

Passage: Proverbs 4:11-19

A. Find out :

1. Where is Solomon leading his son? v.11

2. What sort of walk will that become? v.12

3. What is he to hold onto and why? v.13

4. What path is he to avoid, and why? v.14-17

5. What is the path of the righteous like? v.18

6. What is the way of the wicked like? v.19

B. Think:

1. What characteristics of the good path are given?

2. What characteristics of the bad path are given?

C. Comment:

     Solomon now uses the analogy of life being a path along which we travel. He encourages his son to go along the path of wisdom . This he says, first of all will be a STRAIGHT PATH (v.11). Straight indicates simple, straight forward, direct, easy. Second, this will be an UNCLUTTERED PATH, which infers it will be easy to walk on (v.12), there will not be obstacles that will trip you up. Third, this will be an EVER INCREASINGLY BRIGHT PATH (v.18). Light in Scripture indicates goodness or revelation and this path will get bright and brighter until the day we enter heaven. This is indeed a good path.

    Solomon also warns about the bad path that it is possible to take. This is the path that evil or bad people take (v.14). Their objective in life is to look after themselves and get the better of other people, doing them harm as and when it furthers their own cause (v.16,17). This is a way of darkness (v.19) and they are groping and stumbling through what seems a hard life, and then wonder why it is so!

     The heart of the matter is wisdom. Remember that is what Solomon is talking about all the time. It is the person who gets wisdom who walks the good path and the person who rejects wisdom goes down the bad path. Wisdom is the crucial issue but it is essential for us to recognise there are two paths in life that we can walk!

D. Application:

1. Am I walking down the “good path” of life, where I seek wisdom and

    so know security in my walk and have a sense of it getting brighter

    and  brighter as ever day goes by?

          2. Have I understood the vital importance of wisdom in my life?

Chapter: Proverbs 4

Passage: Proverbs 4:20-27   

A. Find out :

1. What, again does Solomon exhort his son to do and why? v.20-22

2. What is he to do with his heart and why? v.23

3. What is he to do with his lips? v.24

4. What is he to do with his eyes? v.25

5. What is he to do with his feet? v.26,27

B. Think:

1. How does Solomon's teaching have a practical outworking in life?

2. How are these things to affect all areas of his son's life?

3. How would you summarise his teaching?

C. Comment:

      Solomon makes yet another plea for his son to listen to what he is saying and to hold onto his teaching. Keep them in your heart, he says, and they will bring health to your whole body (v.21,22). The heart in the Scriptures is seen as the seat of all feelings, emotion and even thinking. It encapsulates who we are. So, he says, put this teaching at the centre of who you are (heart), because all else in your life comes from there. He then gives practical expression to this.

     First of all make sure that what comes from your lips is true and pure. Let your speech be the first thing to be affected after your heart. Then let your eyes look straight ahead, do not let them go looking at wrong things, but keep your eyes focused on the path ahead of you so you will not be distracted by wrong things. Indeed, he goes on, be careful where you put your feet and make sure you do not step out into dubious, unrighteous, unsure ways. Keep on the main path. Keep away from evil and so go straight ahead in your purposes.

     What is he saying? Let the whole of your life we affected by my teaching, by wisdom. These things affect the very heart of your being and will even affect your health. They will certainly affect your behaviour. Wisdom isn't something just for “clever” people or philosophers or intellectuals; it is for every single person who would listen to the Lord, and that must include us!

D. Application:

1. Have I guarded my heart so it is sound and pure?

2. Is God's truth at the very heart of all my life?

RECAP - "The Supremacy of Wisdom" -   Proverbs 4

SUMMARY : 

- a general exhortation to get wisdom (v.1-7)

- the general fruits of receiving wisdom (v.8-13)

- honour (v.8,9), long life (v.10), guidance (v.11),

    an uncluttered walk (v.12), life (v.13)

- a warning against the path of the wicked (v.14-17)

- comparisons of the two ways – light & darkness (v.18,19)

- a further call to listen and respond (v.20,21)

- a call to check all aspects of your life (v.23-27)

- guarding your heart (v.23)

- being careful what you say (v.24)

- looking purposefully ahead (v.25)

- walking on the level & straight way (v.26,27)

COMMENT :

LESSONS?

PRAY:

PART 5 : "Expanded Warnings"

    The next big section of these studies is Solomon's exhortation to avoid being caught up in the folly of adultery. Then, as now, giving way to the temptation of sensual pleasure was a major problem to be countered.