The Way of Wisdom Proverbs 4:10-27

4:10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. 4:11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 4:12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. 4:13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

4:14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. 4:15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. 4:15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. 4:16 For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall. 4:16 For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall. 4:17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 4:17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. 4:19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. 4:19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

4:20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 4:21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 4:22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

4:24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 4:26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 4:26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 4:27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. 4:27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

 Proverbs was originally written by King Solomon (1:1) as an instruction manual to be used by parents in the nation of Israel to teach their sons wisdom:  Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. (Proverbs 1:8 cf. 4:1,10,20)  God eventually included the Book of Proverbs in His special revelation, the Bible, in order to give wisdom to all those who read it (cf. 1:1-7)

 Wisdom is the skill that gives us the ability to successfully deal with the realities and complexities of life.  If you have wisdom, you will make the best of the opportunities that God gives you in life. Without wisdom, you will make a total mess of your life!  Wisdom teaches us to do what is morally right and helps us to avoid falling into sin – but wisdom does more than that.  Most of the decisions that we make in life are not a matter of moral or immoral, but a matter of wise and unwise.

Wise versus Unwise Moral versus Immoral

 In our last lesson (Proverbs 2-3) we saw how to go about seeking wisdom:  Value wisdom and diligently search for it (2:4)  We should trust what God has to say above what we might naturally think based on our own understanding or background (3:5-8)  And we saw that as you gain Biblical wisdom, it will protect you from those who might otherwise lead you astray (2:11-19)

 In our passage today (Proverbs 4), we are told that wisdom is like a “way” or a “path”.  In fact, our passage talks about two ways or paths:  “the way of wisdom” (11a) also known as “the path of the righteous” (18a)  “the path (or way) of the wicked” (14; 19a)

 The Bible frequently describes life as walking on a path – even in the New Testament:  I … urge you to walk [NIV – “live”] in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called… (Eph 4:1 ESV)  …you must no longer walk [NIV – “live”] as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. (Eph 4:17b ESV)  This is because the main way that we make progress in life is though a series of small, seemingly insignificant daily decisions and activities – like taking steps as you walk down a path.

 Attaining wisdom is like walking on a path: the main way that you grow in wisdom is through a series of small steps over the course of a long period of time.  It takes time and continuous effort to become wise – more on this when we get to verse 18.

 Wisdom is like a good road – travel is generally smoother and you are likely to go much farther than you would on a bad road:  Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. (10-12)

 Like staying on the good path, living a life of wisdom requires deliberate effort:  Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. (13)  Along the way you will have choices to make (like when you come to a fork in the road):  Do not set foot on the path of the wicked … Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. (14-15)

 If you ever do set foot on the wrong path and cease to live according to godly wisdom, you may soon find yourself entrapped and consumed by your own evil desires:  Do not set foot on the path of the wicked … For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall. They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. (14a;16-17)

 The attainment of wisdom is not instantaneous, it is very gradual – like taking steps on a path or gradual emergence of sunlight at dawn:  The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (18)  Because we are part of the “microwave generation”, we often are unwilling to invest the time and effort required to learn wisdom and we settle instead for cheap substitutes that don’t work!

 If you settle for a cheap substitute in place of wisdom you are choosing by default to go on the way of the wicked – and if you stay on that path, you will end up in such darkness that you won’t even know how much trouble you are in or why you have the trouble that you do.  But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. (19)

 If you are going to walk in the way of wisdom, your first priority must be to allow wisdom to take root in your heart (in Hebrew, the word translated “heart” refers to the inner you – your thoughts, beliefs, desires, priorities, affections, and feelings)  My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (20-23)

 The evidence (to yourself and those around you) that you have truly taken wisdom to heart, is that you will begin to live out that wisdom:  Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (24-27)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me… And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1, 4-6)