We continue our series on Proverbs by turning our attention to Chapter 4. I lay out some key takeaways below.
1. Cultivate a Loving, Loyal Relationship With Wisdom. I'm currently reading In Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer and he speaks about cultivating a relationship with Jesus Christ (who is wisdom itself). Proverbs commends us to do the same with Wisdom (I capitalize wisdom in this section because she is personified in the referenced verses herein). "Prize her highly," "Do not forsake her," "love her" (Proverbs 4:8,6 ESV). The reward for doing so is that she will keep you, guard you, exalt you and honor you (Proverbs 4:6,8 ESV). It is helpful to think of Wisdom as one would your wife or husband (or if you do not have one, how you would treat them if you did). We are to give her the due value she deserves, we are not to be adulterous with her and go in with foolishness (or fools for that matter) and we should love her (I would argue we should love her as our own flesh). If we do these things she will protect us and reward us.
2. Get Wisdom First Before Anything Else. "Get wisdom; get insight" (Proverbs 4:5 ESV); "The beginning of wisdom is this; Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight" (Proverbs 4:7 ESV). We see there is an order established here. We must first learn the general principles of the application of knowledge (wisdom) before the knowledge can be of much use to us (see David Guzik commentary). I think in this day and age where we are inundated with facts and information is so readily available we sometimes go in search of information before really contemplating its merits or whether the acquisition of such information is germane to the inquiry at hand (I will at least confess to doing this). So we should think before we go off trying to get an answer and make sure we know what the real question is and think about what the consequences of having a desire or perceived need fulfilled before going out to fulfill it. We may end up realizing it's not worth the trouble or there are other more fruitful options available that we had not considered.
3. Avoid Evil. Again Proverbs 3:14 and 15 remind us not to join with sinners and to avoid their paths. Matthew Henry's Commentary has some helpful discussion on this but basically we don't want to get started on the wrong path when we can avoid all that trouble and choose the right path in the first place (tying into the necessity of wisdom discussed above).
4. Wickedness Afflicts The Wicked. This may seem obvious that the wicked do not go unpunished but we see in Proverbs how the wicked "cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble" (Proverbs 4:16 ESV). For those who have read Macbeth they see what the negative effects of crime are on one's conscience; they can give a man or woman no rest. Henry's commentary has some more interesting discussion on this but it's worth noting that the wicked are driven to drag others into their wickedness and make them stumble. Why? "For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence" (Proverbs 4:17 ESV). My contention is that the wicked are actually sustained by their evil deeds, they are their "bread" and their "wine," such deeds nourish their malignant souls. And so we must be careful lest they make a meal of us. "Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread..." (Psalm 53:4 ESV). Wickedness also blinds the wicked for "[t]he way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble" (Proverbs 4:19 ESV). Because of their calcified consciences the wicked have lost their moral judgment and hence may not even be aware (or less aware anyways) that they are doing wrong and so we should not keep company with them for if the blind lead the blind both will end up in the ditch (Matthew 15:14 ESV).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------End of part 1
*ESV=English Standard Version
1. Cultivate a Loving, Loyal Relationship With Wisdom. I'm currently reading In Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer and he speaks about cultivating a relationship with Jesus Christ (who is wisdom itself). Proverbs commends us to do the same with Wisdom (I capitalize wisdom in this section because she is personified in the referenced verses herein). "Prize her highly," "Do not forsake her," "love her" (Proverbs 4:8,6 ESV). The reward for doing so is that she will keep you, guard you, exalt you and honor you (Proverbs 4:6,8 ESV). It is helpful to think of Wisdom as one would your wife or husband (or if you do not have one, how you would treat them if you did). We are to give her the due value she deserves, we are not to be adulterous with her and go in with foolishness (or fools for that matter) and we should love her (I would argue we should love her as our own flesh). If we do these things she will protect us and reward us.
2. Get Wisdom First Before Anything Else. "Get wisdom; get insight" (Proverbs 4:5 ESV); "The beginning of wisdom is this; Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight" (Proverbs 4:7 ESV). We see there is an order established here. We must first learn the general principles of the application of knowledge (wisdom) before the knowledge can be of much use to us (see David Guzik commentary). I think in this day and age where we are inundated with facts and information is so readily available we sometimes go in search of information before really contemplating its merits or whether the acquisition of such information is germane to the inquiry at hand (I will at least confess to doing this). So we should think before we go off trying to get an answer and make sure we know what the real question is and think about what the consequences of having a desire or perceived need fulfilled before going out to fulfill it. We may end up realizing it's not worth the trouble or there are other more fruitful options available that we had not considered.
3. Avoid Evil. Again Proverbs 3:14 and 15 remind us not to join with sinners and to avoid their paths. Matthew Henry's Commentary has some helpful discussion on this but basically we don't want to get started on the wrong path when we can avoid all that trouble and choose the right path in the first place (tying into the necessity of wisdom discussed above).
4. Wickedness Afflicts The Wicked. This may seem obvious that the wicked do not go unpunished but we see in Proverbs how the wicked "cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble" (Proverbs 4:16 ESV). For those who have read Macbeth they see what the negative effects of crime are on one's conscience; they can give a man or woman no rest. Henry's commentary has some more interesting discussion on this but it's worth noting that the wicked are driven to drag others into their wickedness and make them stumble. Why? "For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence" (Proverbs 4:17 ESV). My contention is that the wicked are actually sustained by their evil deeds, they are their "bread" and their "wine," such deeds nourish their malignant souls. And so we must be careful lest they make a meal of us. "Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread..." (Psalm 53:4 ESV). Wickedness also blinds the wicked for "[t]he way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble" (Proverbs 4:19 ESV). Because of their calcified consciences the wicked have lost their moral judgment and hence may not even be aware (or less aware anyways) that they are doing wrong and so we should not keep company with them for if the blind lead the blind both will end up in the ditch (Matthew 15:14 ESV).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------End of part 1
*ESV=English Standard Version
