College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Proverbs 4:1-9
CHAPTER 4
TEXT Proverbs 4:1-9
1.
Hear my sons, 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 a son unto my father,
Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4.
And he taught me, and said unto me:
Let thy heart retain my words;
Keep my commandments, and live;
5.
Get wisdom, get understanding;
Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;
6.
Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee;
Love her, and she will keep thee.
7.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom;
Yea, with all thy getting get understanding.
8.
Exalt her, and she will promote thee;
She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
9.
She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace;
A crown of beauty will she deliver to thee.
STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 4:1-9
1.
Why the change from the usual son to sons in Proverbs 4:1?
2.
What does doctrine mean?
3.
What does Proverbs 4:3 show to be the way parents should feel concerning their children?
4.
What kind of parent is described in Proverbs 4:4?
5.
How many times is get used in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 4:5)?
6.
Reword Proverbs 4:6.
7.
Connect the thought of Proverbs 4:7 with the author of Proverbs.
8.
What will wisdom do for its possessor (Proverbs 4:8)?
9.
What was a chaplet (Proverbs 4:9)?
PARAPHRASE OF 4:1-9
Young men, listen to me as you would to your father. Listen, and grow wise, for I speak the truthdon-'t turn away. For I, too, was once a man, tenderly loved by my mother as an only child, and the companion of my father. He told me never to forget his words. If you follow them, he said, you will have a long and happy life. Learn to be wise, he said, and develop good judgment and common sense! I cannot over-emphasize this point. Cling to wisdomshe will protect you. Love hershe will guard you.
Determination to be wise is the first step toward becoming wise! And with your wisdom, develop common sense and good judgment. If you exalt wisdom, she will exalt you. Hold her fast and she will lead you to great honor; she will place a beautiful crown upon your head.
COMMENTS ON 4:1-9
Proverbs 4:1. Only three times in the entire book does the author address his material to his sons (plural) instead of to his son (singular): here; Proverbs 5:7; Proverbs 7:24. No reason is easily discernible for the change at this and the other places. Hear is used many times in Proverbs as are instruction and understanding. Similar passages: My son, hear the instruction of thy father (Proverbs 1:8); Come, ye children, hearken unto me (Psalms 34:11); Fathers...nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
Proverbs 4:2. Doctrine means teaching. The father is sure that his teaching is good, for he has been over the road, has experienced much, has observed a lot, and has come to sound and studied conclusions, and he has the welfare of his children at heart. For the most part children normally accept their parents-' teachings as good. Because what he was teaching was good, he insists that they not forsake his law.
Proverbs 4:3. As Solomon instructs his own children, he recalls that he too was once a child, a son of his father David (who picked him to be his successor: 1 Kings 1:32-35) and tender and beloved in the sight of his mother (Bathsheba). Every grown-up should be able to look back upon his childhood days and feel this way about his parents. Our verse reminds us that those who are now fathers were once sons, and those who now teach were once taught.
Proverbs 4:4. David took time to teach and prepare Solomon for the great task that was before him in life. Such a constant, several-years-' task takes a father's time and attention, and it involves a recognition of divine responsibility and a desire to see one's son grow up to be what he ought to be. Fathers should be more than sires and material providers for their children: Fathers...nuture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), The direct quotation begins in this verse, but it is debatable just where the quotation ends. Some say the quotation runs to the end of the chapter; some say through Proverbs 4:9 (where the Hebrew paragraph ends). As a conjecture we would place the end quotation at the conclusion of Proverbs 4:9. David urged Solomon to keep his teachings within his heart, and he assured him of life as a result. Proverbs 7:1-2 is very similar: My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments and live.
Proverbs 4:5. Get is used many times in the book of Proverbs. In English we might make a play on words within this verse by saying, Get wisdom and understanding and forget not what I am teaching you. Good parents are ambitious for what their children will grow out to becomeactually more so than the children themselves at the time.
Proverbs 4:6. That which we love, we do not forsake. Therefore, David called upon Solomon to love wisdom, forsake her not, and his promise was that wisdom would preserve and keep him. Wisdom would keep him from evil, from evil men, from evil women, from mistakes, from sorrows and disappointments, and from a sad ending. And it will do the same for each of us today! The forgetting in Proverbs 4:5 would be unintentional while the forsaking in this verse could be done while realizing what one was doing.
Proverbs 4:7. With all of thy getting of various things in life, be sure to get wisdom, and this Solomon did (1 Kings 4:29-34; 1 Kings 10:1-7). The New Testament would teach that the salvation of one's soul is the principal thing in life, but Proverbs, preceding the Christian age, makes wisdom the principal thing, and yet there need not be a clash, for wisdomtrue wisdomwill cause one to be saved: the wise man builds his house upon the rock of Christ (Matthew 7:24-25); a knowledge of God's Word causes one to be wise unto salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). But how does one go about getting wisdom? First of all it must be sought by prayer (James 1:5; 1 Kings 3:5-12), and then man must constantly sit at the feet of the three great teachers. They are: (1) instruction (learning by listening to what others would teach usProverbs 9:9); (2) observation (learning by keeping one's eyes open, learning from the experiences of othersPsalms 37:25; Proverbs 24:30-34); and (3) experiencelearning from your own experiencesPhilippians 4:10-12).
Proverbs 4:8. The son would exalt wisdom, by making it his chief concern, and his love for wisdom is couched in the words, When thou dost embrace her. If he would exalt wisdom, wisdom would exalt him just as if he turned his back on wisdom, wisdom would turn her back upon him (Proverbs 1:24-31). Learning cannot be over-emphasized unless one learns the wrong thing (Colossians 2:8), unless one fails to add the other essentials to character-development (2 Peter 1:5-7), and unless one becomes conceited over his knowledge (Romans 12:16). Knowledge is power; and it is truly astonishing to see what influence true learning has. Nothing is so universally respected (Clarke).
Proverbs 4:9. Wisdom will (in time) give or deliver to one's head a chaplet (wreath or garland) of grace, a crown of beauty. Similar passages: Proverbs 1:9; Proverbs 3:22. These promotions and honors among men is the exalting referred to in Proverbs 4:8.
TEST QUESTIONS OVER 4:1-9
1.
How many times does the author of Proverbs address his material to sons (plural) instead of to son (singular) (Proverbs 4:1)?
2.
How does the father know that his teaching is good (Proverbs 4:2)?
3.
Who were Solomon's father and mother (Proverbs 4:3)?
4.
What did David take time to do with reference to his Solomon (Proverbs 4:4)?
5.
What word in Proverbs 4:5 is used many times in Proverbs?
6.
What are some of the things David realized that wisdom would keep Solomon from (Proverbs 4:6)?
7.
Does there have to be a clash between salvation and wisdom (Proverbs 4:7)?
8.
What are man's 3 great teachers (Proverbs 4:7)?
9.
What commandment concerning wisdom is found in Proverbs 4:8?
10.
When will wisdom deliver chaplets and crowns to one's head (Proverbs 4:9)?