Proverbs 4 - Keeping Hold of Wisdom
Brandon Langley
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Introduction:
If you have your bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Proverbs Chapter 4.
We turn now to another lecture from Father to Son, and while there is overlap to the message, there are also some unique nuances that the father drives home.
We are going to read the whole chapter this morning looking for repeated themes, repeated words, and unique emphases that build upon our understanding of God’s Wisdom.
Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction,
and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
2 for I give you good precepts;
do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a son with my father,
tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 he taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments, and live.
5 Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight.
8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head a graceful garland;
she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”
10 Hear, my son, and accept my words,
that the years of your life may be many.
11 I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered,
and if you run, you will not stumble.
13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
guard her, for she is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of the evil.
15 Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble.
20 My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
Lets Pray
The first thing I want you to notice about this chapter is the format by which God’s wisdom is spreading throughout God’s Kingdom.
The book of Proverbs is a book about God’s Wisdom…
The way we have been defining Wisdom according to the books own teaching Is that Wisdom is both Knowing God and Knowing how to live in God’s World God’s Way.
The Proverbs describe for us ideals for human flourishing in the Kingdom of God.
But there are things to be learned, not only in the words that are said, but also in how they are said and in what format they are said.
In the book of Proverbs we learn wisdom, but we also learn how we learn wisdom.
Turn your eyes to the first few verses again and notice the generational progression.
Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction,
and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
2 for I give you good precepts;
do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a son with my father,
tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 he taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments, and live.
There is a progression here.
The Father instructs his son, not just from a lifetime of experience and study of God’s Word.
But the Father instructs his son, having already been instructed by his own father.
In Proverbs 4, the wisdom of the grandfather is now introduced as the father reflects on how he was taught from a young age to hold fast to the word and to keep the commandments of God and thus find life.
There is a progression here that represents God’s plan for expanding his kingdom on earth.
There is a progression here that models for us how we get and give wisdom.
This leads us to truth #1
Truth #1 God’s Wisdom Spreads Through the Ministry of Discipleship
Truth #1 God’s Wisdom Spreads Through the Ministry of Discipleship
The Father instructs the child what he hopes the child will one day instruct their child with.
No one is born with the knowledge of God.
No one is born with the wisdom of God.
Our children must learn, and they will only learn, if they are taught…
God’s aim for their learning is that it would come through our teaching.
Parenthood Though it doesn’t always feel like it, is glorious work that reflects the work of our God in heaven.
We provide to our children what they need and what only we can provide…,
just as God provides for us what we need, and what only he can provide.
As we disciple our children in love,
we learn more about God’s work in us,
we reflect to others God’s work in us,
and we accomplish the work that God has given to us to accomplish.
We glorify him by molding more image bearers to reflect his goodness to the world.
Proverbs showcases this process of passing down wisdom, because King Solomon knew this was the only way that Israelite society would continue to glorify the one true God.
He knew that this was the mission…
It started in the homes of every Israelite family…,
Let me ask you to do a little home analysis… If the flourishing of God’s Kingdom in St. Rose, LA for the next generation depended on the kind of wisdom that is being modeled and taught in your households, would the future of St. Rose look more or less like the Kingdom of God?
Solomon knew that it started in the homes of every Israelite family..,
but that is not where it stayed.
This process of passing down wisdom through a tender presence and clear teaching of God’s word… is the very same process that God has called every Christian to.
Jesus, himself, did not have biological children during his ministry on earth.
he was not a parent in the physical and conventional sense…
But Jesus modeled the process found here in Proverbs.
He modeled it with his disciples...
Jesus was tenderly present with his disciples teaching, warning, exhorting, and ultimately preparing them to do with others exactly what he was doing with them.
He was expanding the Kingdom by spreading the eternal wisdom of God’s word to and through others.
The Father of Proverbs says this:
That his father was with him and that he taught him to keep the commandments and life.
and Jesus gives this commandment.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The commission of Matthew is a re-iteration of the mission of Proverbs.
We are all called to be wisdom distributors.
We are all called to the ministry of discipleship not only in the ministry of child raising…, but in Every day disciple-making.
This is what the apostle Paul speaks of in his own ministry to the Thessalonians.
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
This is normal every day Christianity.
We are wisdom distributers,
We are spiritual child raisers,
We are image of God multipliers.
Let me ask you this question…
Is there anyone on the planet who can say about you what the Thessalonians could say about Paul.
Have you been a spiritual mother or father to anyone else In the last ten years?
Have you taught someone the words and wisdom of God?
Is there anyone on the planet who attributes their spiritual growth to your intentional and tender presence in their life?
If so, praise God for that incredible grace to be included in the mission of God.
If not, take a hard look at your life and your priorities.
This is our calling.
That is the glory mission of the God of the Universe. That we cultivate more image bearers of God to spread his glory to the ends of the earth.
And it is not as complicated as we make it out to be.
We simply look around with prayerful eyes, for people who could use some help understanding and applying God’s word to their lives… we invest time into that relationship, inviting them to discuss God’s word together and inviting them to apply the word to our lives together.
Paul gives this responsibility to every Christian in the church at Colossae
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
If you are a Christian…, you are called to be a learner and a teacher of God’s wisdom..
a parent in the faith to others.
What a blessing.
What a privilege.
Truth #1 God’s Wisdom Spreads Through the Ministry of Discipleship
we see this process occurring throughout the proverbs…,
but how is the Father discipling his son particularly in this chapter.
What aspect of God’s wisdom is he highlighting that is unique to lectures we have already walked through?
In chapters 1-3, We have already seen teaching on the value of wisdom, and the pursuit of God’s wisdom…,
But in this chapter, I think we see a new nuance on the need for our perseverance in wisdom.
Truth #2 Wisdom Requires Perseverance
Truth #2 Wisdom Requires Perseverance
Notice that the language of this proverb is not so much about getting wisdom, but its about keeping it.
Proverbs 4:4 (ESV)
4 he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.
The language of “holding fast” here paints the picture of you grasping tightly to something.
Imagine water skiing behind a boat. Other than keeping your balance and navigating the waves…, one of the most important things you can do is hold on tightly to the one thing that keeps you from falling into the water.
As time goes on or perhaps you hit rough water, your grip may loosen or your hands grow weary.
The father is urging his son to grasp something with all of his might no matter what may come along the path.
He wants his son to Grasp tightly the words and commandments that his father taught him from the beginning.
He says the same thing in verse 13.
13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
Again the emphasis is a holding on to the instruction, but this time he adds another verb… to “guard”
Its only sensible to give this instruction if the father knows that the wisdom he has taught his son will one day need to be guarded due to some kind of enemy attack.
His wisdom will need to be protected.
It will need to be guarded.
He knows that his son will need to learn his words, and hold his words, as if enemy forces will one day try to take them away.
This is certainly true for every disciple of Jesus.…
The spiritual war we fight…, is a war of words whether spoken or thought.
Every day we wage a war of words…. Which ones to believe… which ones to hold on to… which ones to remember.
I know this personally… There were certain things in God’s word that I was overwhelmingly passionate about in the early days of pastoral ministry.
There was a pure an undefiled zeal that marked my ministry and my preaching… I thought it was a kind of untouchable grasp of God’s instruction....
But over the years, at times, I have felt my wearier hands grow tired of grasping some of my most fundamental convictions.
This is true for every Christian.
There must be an active struggle to remember what our souls tend to forget.
We persevere by remembering.
Proverbs 4:5 (ESV)
5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Proverbs 4:6 (ESV)
6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
Proverbs 4:21 (ESV)
21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart
King Solomon knew that forgetfulness was a devastating trait of God’s people.
He knew this because he knew Israelite history.
Even after having seen God do such incredible works in the deliverance from slavery in Egypt…
the parting of the red sea,
the presence of God by pillar of smoke and fire....
even after all of that,
the primary message of Deuteronomy that Moses had to preach to the people of God was… “DO NOT FORGET”
9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—
10 how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’
11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today,
12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them,
13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied,
14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,
King Solomon knew that Israel had been quick to forget
But even with that Knowledge, Solomon himself would do the same.
This was true of Israel…, but this would also prove true for King Solomon himself.
He, himself, after all this teaching, did not keep his heart with all vigilance.
He let his affections grow for all the wrong things, and he abandoned his covenant with his God who had given him wisdom.
Solomon’s example in Scripture stands as a warning sign to all generations.
No matter the depth of wisdom in God’s word that you attain, wisdom requires perseverance.
let me pause here and ask…
Do you remember?
Do you remember when you first fell in love with the Lord Jesus?
Do you remember when you heard the big story of the Bible and really understood it for the first time?
Do you remember leading someone to Christ or seeing darkened eyes open to the truth of the gospel for the first time?
The proverbs remind us that our memories are bad…, and that the fight for wisdom is not just a matter of gaining wisdom for the first time…
Its a matter of keeping it until the end.
It is a matter of perseverance in holding on to the truth we once knew...
But its not just about holding on to the truth we once knew… its about holding on to the truth we once loved.
Its not just our minds we fight for… its more specifically our hearts.
notice the language of verse 23.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
We persevere by paying close attention to our hearts.
We persevere by playing close attention to what brings us joy, and what our hearts adore.
its what the church in Revelation is warned of by King Jesus himself.
4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
we will inevitably deviate from the path unless we keep our hearts with vigilance.
WE must never be satisfied with intellectual knowledge of God rather we must always be pushing deeper into an affectionate relationship with God.
He is the prize at the end of the path.
He is the goal of the journey.
He is the essence of life eternal.
Its toward an eternal enjoyment of his goodness that we put one step in front of another.
As with other sections of Proverbs, this chapter likens our life to that of a journey along a particular path Toward a particular destination.
You will see repeated language such as way or path throughout the proverb.
See verses 25-27
25 Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
There are important keys to perseverance here.
Perhaps you are here and you feel your grip loosening on the truth you once loved.
Perhaps you are here and you feel strong temptations to swerve off the path.
Drew O’Neal always says this about sermon application… Everyone in the room is struggling with either sin, suffering, or self-reliance… or perhaps a mixture of all three.
How do you persevere in Godly wisdom when these types of things confront you along the path?
When sin causes you to swerve, self-reliance cause you to deviate, or suffering causes you to stumble.
The simple advice of this text is this.
Persevering wisdom consistently looks to the most ultimate goal of our faith.
Persevering wisdom keeps its eyes on the path forward…, and actively ponders the path.
The fight for the Christian faith on life’s very long journey is a fight to keep our eyes fixed on the right prize.
We don’t walk through life lackadazically expecting that nothing will distract us, and that nothing will cause us to stumble…
No we regularly, daily, weekly, give thought to the path we are on
and where it is we are ultimately going
and what kind of pitfalls, distractions, or temptations might confront us along the way.
We keep our eyes on the prize… and Christian, there is a glorious prize.
There is a great reward which lies at the end of our journey.
There are glimpses of that reward here and now, but its the fullness of that reward toward which we trek every day.
This leads us to truth #3.
Truth #3 There is Eternal Reward in Wisdom’s Embrace
Truth #3 There is Eternal Reward in Wisdom’s Embrace
Notice how how we are urged to hold on to wisdom… but notice how wisdom is not described as an impersonal thing.
As we hold on to wisdom…, wisdom in turn holds on to us.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”
22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
God’s wisdom is personified as a someone who will protect us, exalt us, honor us, embrace us, and bestow upon us a crown.
To embrace God’s words of wisdom is to embrace true life.
To embrace God’s words of wisdom is healing to the soul so much so that springs of life will flow from our hearts!
That phrase should sound somewhat familiar to us.
Jesus himself claims to be the one whom you should embrace and believe in for such springs to flow from your heart.
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
The proverbs is all about the necessity of embracing God’s wisdom.
The proverbs use analogies and word pictures to help us understand God’s wisdom as a lady calling out in the market place, or as a tender father instructing his son.
But its in the gospels that we are introduced to wisdom in the flesh.
Jesus is the wisdom embodiment of everything we are supposed to pursue in our daily lives…, and he is the source of all wisdom’s rewards.
The proverbs tell us to keep our eyes on the straight path.
Jesus says, “i am both the path and the destination”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Proverbs says that wisdom will crown us if we embrace her.
The apostles tell us that it is Jesus himself who will crown us on the last day. .
4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Proverbs tell us that to to embrace wisdom is to embrace healing to our flesh.
Peter tells us… that to embrace Jesus is to embrace an eternal healing made possible by the tearing of his flesh.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Church family, there is eternal reward in wisdom’s embrace....
That is true for every single word of God’s wisdom revealed to us in the Scriptures...
But that is especially true of THE word of God’s Wisdom revealed - Jesus of Nazareth who walked the perfectly straight path until his dying breath on a cross.
And who purchased for us the way into God’s heavenly presence.
We turn our eyes to him and as we persevere through this treacherous path called life in a broken world, we get a little closer to wisdom’s reward every day.
I wan to close with this verse tucked away in verse 18 that speaks of wisdom’s final reward.
I hope it is as much of an encouragement to you as it was to me this week.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
Solomon likens our journey like a long walk that begins on a dark path…
We can see the path in front of us because we are walking toward the little light that we see coming up over the horizon.
Its as if we see every so slightly the light of the sun rising in the east and we are walking on a narrow path toward the light.
As we begin, its dark all around, but as we progress, the light gets a little brighter with every step, with every passing moment, we see a little clearer then we did through the last few steps....
Until finally, at some point the Sun shows itself in the fulness of day, and the once dark and treacherous path is no longer a path of stumbling… there are no more enemies who can lurk in the darkness…
no the sun’s light has chased away all those dangers, and then and only then do we walk freely in the fulness of day.
IF you turn to Jesus, you are invited to walk the righteous path which shines brighter and brighter until the fulness of day.
Its that future light that we keep our eyes fixed upon so that we do not stumble and we do not swerve, rather we hold tightly the words of the promise, we refuse to forget what lies at the end of the path, and we press forward toward the light of Christ’s promises.
I’ll close with the words of pastor Ray Ortlund’s commentary on this verse:
“There might be only a glimmer of light on your horizon right now. But the sun is rising, the darkness cannot stop it, and Christ will bring his good work in you to noonday brilliance: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). That bright gospel confidence is how you keep going, step by step, moment by moment, on the right path.” - Ray Ortlund
#1 God’s Wisdom Spreads Through the Ministry of Discipleship
#2 Wisdom Requires Perseverance
#3 There is Eternal Reward in Wisdom’s Embrace