Proverbs 4:10-19

TEXT Proverbs 4:10-19

10.

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

And the years of thy life shall be many.

11.

I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

I have led thee in paths of uprightness.

12.

When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;

And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

13.

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.

14.

Enter not into the path of the wicked,

And walk not in the way of evil men.

15.

Avoid it, pass not by it;

Turn from it, and pass on.

16.

For they sleep not, except they do evil;

And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

17.

For they eat of the bread of wickedness,

And drink the wine of violence.

18.

But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,

That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

19

The way of the wicked is as darkness:

They know not at what they stumble.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 4:10-19

1.

Tie Proverbs 4:10 in with the first commandment of the Ten Commandments that contains a promise.

2.

What is the difference between taught and led in Proverbs 4:11?

3.

What does straitened mean (Proverbs 4:12)?

4.

What is the significance of taking fast hold of instruction (Proverbs 4:13)?

5.

What was the practical value of the Horatio Alger, Jr. books for boys years ago (Proverbs 4:14)?

6.

What 4 pointed instructions are given in Proverbs 4:15?

7.

According to Proverbs 4:16 how perverse can some people get?

8.

What is the diet of perverse people (Proverbs 4:17)?

9.

Comment upon beautiful in Proverbs 4:18.

10.

Living in sin is like walking in ............... (Proverbs 4:19).

PARAPHRASE OF 4:10-19

10.

My son, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.

11-13.

I would have you learn this great fact: that a life of doing right is the wisest life there is. If you live that kind of life, you-'ll not limp or stumble as you run. Carry out my instructions; don-'t forget them, for they will lead you to real living.

14-17.

Don-'t do as the wicked do. Avoid their hauntsturn away, go somewhere else, for evil men don-'t sleep until they-'ve done their evil deed for the day. They can-'t rest unless they cause someone to stumble and fall. They eat wickedness and violence!

18, 19.

But the good man walks along in the ever brightening light of God's favor; the dawn gives way to morning splendor, while the evil man gropes and stumbles in the dark.

COMMENTS ON 4:10-19

Proverbs 4:10. If our conjecture is right, the direct quotation of David's words to Solomon ended with Proverbs 4:9, in which case we return to this verse in Solomon's words to his son. Just as Solomon had received the sayings of his father and had passed some of them on in Proverbs 4:4-9, so now he calls upon his son to receive his sayings. While his son Rehoboam did not demonstrate wisdom in 1 Kings 12:13-14, he was probably wise as a rule. Honoring one's parents by listening to them and doing as they teach carry the promise of length of life: here and in Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1-3; Proverbs 3:2. Wisdom itself can be the means of lengthening one's life just as folly can shorten it. The promise of God can of itself lengthen it just as disobedience to His will can nullify the promise. But so can sin enter into the length of one's life: Vice and intemperance impair the health and shorten the days of the wicked; while true religion, sobriety, and temperance prolong them. The principal part of our diseases spring from indolence, intemperance, and disorderly passions. Religion excites to industry, promotes sober habits, destroys evil passions, and harmonizes the soul; and thus, by preventing many diseases, necessarily prolongs life (Clarke).

Proverbs 4:11. As a father he had taught with words, and he had led with example, and unless the latter combines with the former, a father is wasting his words. The inspired Luke was as much interested in what Jesus did as he was in what He said (Acts 1:1). Paul both taught and set an example (Acts 20:20; Acts 20:35). Our verse indicates that the wisdom contained in teaching leads to uprightness of living.

Proverbs 4:12. Straitened means limited. Following the wisdom of parental teaching will lead to a full and not a limited life; life will open itself to a wise person. He may be born in obscurity but become a well known person of renown. He may begin at the bottom and end up on top. Runnest would signify going fast; stumble would signify an abrupt stopping of that progress. Wisdom would keep one from becoming broken and ruined at the height of progress. Psalms 18:36 is a similar verse: Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

Proverbs 4:13. Do not dilly-dally about the matter of learning. Be in earnest about it. The wording of this verse shows how important instruction is. It is about like saying to a man overboard who cannot swim, Take fast hold of the lifeline; let it not go; keep a tight hold on it, for it is thy life. How many of us fully grasp as we should the importance of learning?

Proverbs 4:14. Neither begin (enter not) nor continue (walk not) in the way of the wicked. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked (Psalms 1:1). My son, walk not thou in the way with them; Refrain thy foot from their path (Proverbs 1:15). Clarke: Never associate with those whose life is irregular or sinful; never accompany them in any of their acts of transgression. One will never walk the way of an evil man unless he enters their path; to do so is to prefer their way to God's way. The Horatio Alger, Jr. series of books for boys was good for sounding the same warning, and they were good reading matter for growing, developing minds.

Proverbs 4:15. How can one keep from entering the wrong path? Know that it is wrong, and then avoid itstay away from it, stay as far away from it as you can (like you would a rattlesnake den or a vicious dog). Adam and Eve walked with God as long as they did not go near the forbidden tree. The careful Joseph tried never to be with the wicked wife of Potipher (Genesis 39:10). Proverbs 5:8 says, Remove thy way from her, And come not nigh the door of her house.

Proverbs 4:16. Some are so wicked that they live just as this verse says. Instead of living as a Christian (To me to live is ChristPhilippians 1:21), to them to live is to do evil and to cause some to fall (others to join them in the sin-game). When an older Christian woman was asked about the two men she was caring for, she said, All they do is sit in front of the television all day, smoke their cigarettes, and run down the church of Christ. What a way to live! They know not God, and they are not obedient to the gospel; therefore, they will be punished with everlasting destruction: ...the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Proverbs 4:17. Violence is the only item in some people's diet of lifethis is what they eat and drink everyday. With such perverted appetites, they have no hunger for God and no thirst for righteousness.

Proverbs 4:18. But is set in contrast with the foregoing verse. Besides the way the wicked life, there is also a path that the righteous follow. This good path is illuminated with the light of God. When we begin in that path, it is like beholding the first rays of dawn; as we follow, the day gets brighter and brighter, and we can see the righteousness of God's way more and more; in time this path will bring us to the perfect day (eternity with God). This verse contains a fine metaphor; it refers to the sun rising above the horizon and the increasing twilight till its beams shine full upon the earth (Clarke).

Proverbs 4:19. In this verse about the wicked we are back in darkness. Living in sin is like walking in darkness in which one can stumble and fall to his hurt because he could not see what there was to trip over. Jeremiah 23:12 talks of the wicked walking in slippery places in the darkness (can you think of anything more scary?). Jesus urged men to walk in His light to avoid the darkness that would come upon them if they didn-'t; He also said that he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth (John 12:35).

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 4:10-19

1.

What promise does honoring one's parents and their teachings carry (Proverbs 4:10)?

2.

How important is example in a parent (Proverbs 4:11)?

3.

Comment on runnest in Proverbs 4:12.

4.

What comparison did the comments on Proverbs 4:13 make?

5.

What double prohibition is laid down in Proverbs 4:14?

6.

What young man in Gen. was careful to avoid the way of evil (Proverbs 4:15)?

7.

What will happen to those who are evil and do not know God in their lives (Proverbs 4:16)?

8.

How do the wicked show their perverted appetites (Proverbs 4:17)?

9.

What is the perfect day to which we hope someday to arrive (Proverbs 4:18)?

10.

What did Jesus say about the wicked and darkness (Proverbs 4:19)?