PROVERBS 4 (KING JAMES VERSION)

PROVERBS 4  (KJV)

  1) Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2) For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.  3) For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.  4)  He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words:  keep my commandments, and live.

   5) Get wisdom, get understanding:  forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.  6)  Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee:  love her, and she shall keep thee.

   7) Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:  and with all thy getting get understanding.  8)  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee:  she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.  9)  She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace:  a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

   10)  Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.  11)  I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.  12)  When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.   13)  Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:  keep her; for she is thy life.

wallpaper photo courtesy of Adam Dachis

   14)  Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.  15)  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.  16)  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.  17) For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

   18) But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.  19) The way of the wicked is as darkness:  they know not at what they stumble. 

   20) My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  21) Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  22) For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.  23)  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

   24) Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.  25) Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.  26) Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.  27) Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:  remove thy foot from evil.

COMMENTARY

   The definition of the word "froward" as defined on wiktionary.org:  disobedient, contrary, unmanageable; difficult to deal with; with an evil disposition.

   Verses 1 - 4:  The author of this Proverb, King Solomon, is the son of King David and Bathsheba.  King David was "a man after God's own heart" and he taught Solomon God's ways.  Solomon passes his teaching, his belief, his doctrine along to us.  As a parent, we, too, teach our children; but what are we teaching them?  Let us be diligent in teaching them wisdom.  When King Solomon took his place as king over Israel, God asked him what he wanted from God.  King Solomon answered that he wanted wisdom, since he was charged with such an enormous responsibility.  As parents, we, too, are charged with an enormous responsibility.  Raising children is not for the faint of heart.

   Verses 5-9:  King Solomon was trying to teach his son how to treat wisdom, much like he should treat his wife:  1) pursue wisdom like it is the most important thing in your life;  be unrelenting, focused.  2) Do not abandon her and she will keep you safe, protected.  Love her and she will keep you.  3) Make it a priority to obtain wisdom.  First of all, ask God for it.  Then, study His Word, the Holy Bible.  Finally, practice to understand it.  God will reward those who seek His wisdom.  4) Exalt her and she will bring you honor.  The wisdom of this world is folly and leads to death.  Seek God's wisdom.  5) Wisdom is a prize.  She will adorn your head with a crown of glory.

   Verse 12:  the word "straightened" is translated to mean "to be hemmed in".  What this means is that even though Christians do tend to walk a narrow path according to the world's standard, in the end, the path widens to infinite dimensions of eternity.  Just look at what God has created in this world, how creative, how colorful, how abundant.  Expect eternity to be a great adventure exploring all God will provide to His delight! 

   Where will you spend eternity?  You are encouraged to visit our "Pathways to Salvation" page to learn how to spend it with our Lord. Just click here:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html).

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