Proverbs 4

Father Says get Wisdom

Proverbs 4:1 "Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding."

Proverbs 4:2 "For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law."

Proverbs 4:3 "For I was my father's son, tender and only [beloved] in the sight of my mother."

Sometimes in the Proverbs, it seems as if we are covering the same ground all over again. Whether this is to drive home a lesson, or whether we are picking up extra fragments of truth and that is the reason for repetition is not clear.

Avoid the Wicked

Proverbs 4:14  "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil [men]."

Proverbs 4:15 "Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."

Four verbs identify aspects necessary in urgently dealing with sin at its start.

1.      Avoid the sinful situation

2.      Pass as far from it as possible

3.      Turn away from the sin

4.      Pass beyond or escape the sin

Proverbs 4:20  "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings."

 Proverbs 4:21 "Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart." 

Proverbs 4:22 "For they [are] life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."

 How many times have we told our children over and over to listen to what we have to say?

We find in His Word God seems to tell us over and over things and are we heeding His Word!

Keep Your Heart

Proverbs 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life."

Proverbs 4:24 "Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee."

We can either have a pure heart or it can be desperately wicked. It will be one or the other. God will judge our heart. The heart controls the moral structure of our lives. A pure heart brings pure words.

Proverbs 4:25 "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee."

Proverbs 4:26 "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established."

Proverbs 4:27 "Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."

 "ponder" means think about the path you are launching out on. Make sure that the path you are heading out on leads to righteousness. Don't despair of the path you have chosen. Make your path straight. Things of the world must not attract you off of this path. Stay on the straight path that will lead you to heaven.