THE PROVERBS Chapter 4"Wisdom Calls" This
Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location When God's wisdom calls out by the instructions within God's Word, that knowledge you obtain is telling us individually that God does not want you to be deceived. However once you have tasted and come to the understanding of Father's love for you, and you refuse that grace and inheritance, God will not be pleased with you. Don't expect God's blessings to be showered down on you. Sure, we all fall short of God's perfect standard from time to time, however, when we do, that is the time to repent and come back into God's graces. God will bless you if you will humbly serve Him. Proverbs 4:1 "Hear, ye children, the instructions of a father, And attend to know understanding." We are to seek after the instruction given within God's Word, even when God has to do a little correction within our lives. When you come to the knowledge of God's Word, many times it requires the changing of our old ways, and pattern of our lives. If you don't seek to do it on your own accord, He will still correct you for your own benefit. Any father corrects his child because he love his child, and that is his responsibility. Proverbs 4:2 "For I give you good doctrine, Forsake ye not my law." "Good doctrine" are all the truths from God's Word, from Genesis to Revelation. God's law is God's advise and counsel to each of us. Sure, some blood ordinances are filled through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, however, God's law remains complete. Before you throw out any part of the law, think on what Jesus told us in Matthew 5:17-18. Matthew 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matthew 5:18 "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. " The law is God's advice and counsel to each of us as we live on this earth in our flesh and blood bodies. It governs all parts of our lives, and even the health laws are kept intact, for God created these flesh bodies that we live in, and He sent word to us as to how we can live a healthy life. So what did Jesus say about those that would break His laws or teach others that the law was of no affect? Matthew 5:19 "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. " Wisdom and understanding for living your life is all given within God Word and His Law and set of instructions. Proverbs 4:3 "For I was my father's son, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother." Solomon is calling attention that at one time he also was just a young child. Proverbs 4:4 "He taught me also, and said unto me, "Let thine heart retain my words: Keep my commandments, and live." As a child he learned to place God's Words and instructions in his mind, and follow them in his life. When you keep God's commandments, you have a better life. "Life" as used here, can also apply to eternal life. Proverbs 4:5 "Get Wisdom, get understanding: Forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth." Hang on to those Words of wisdom and understanding, focus on them and don't let those Words slide from your memory. The order of obtaining is to get wisdom first, and then get understanding. God's wisdom brings to pass the understanding in your mind, or heart. Wisdom tells us how to get understanding. We are to learn to be wise in our ways. Remember that all wisdom comes from God; He created all things and He knows how all things should be, and He has told us so in His Word. Proverbs 4:6 "Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: Love her, and she shall keep thee." The "her" in this verse is "wisdom". Learn to love and seek wisdom, and we do that in our study of God's holy Word. When you learn of God's advice and counsel, follow that wisdom. God's wisdom gives stability to our daily lives, even when thing are just not going our way. Wisdom will allow you discernment in your decisions, and sets the standards for your life, and when those unforeseen things come, God takes care of them for you. God's wisdom brings prosperity to your life. Proverbs 4:7 "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: And with all thy getting get understanding." Did you get that?, "Wisdom is the principle thing:" you have to have wisdom first. In the Hebrew text it reads: "Beginning-wisdom-get-wisdom". Without wisdom there is no understanding. With wisdom comes good common sense and good judgment. The one brings on the other. Within wisdom includes both civil and religious law, as it applies to not only your family life, but your own business. Proverbs 4:8 "Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: She shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her." As you learn wisdom from God's Word, put that wisdom to use in your daily life. In time look back and see what a difference God's Word makes in yours life. Proverbs 4:9 "She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: A crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." When you place wisdom from God's Word in your mind, it is an ornament of grace added to your life. A crown is a diadem, it is what other see in you, and brings their respect to you and what you say. Of course it is God that gets the glory through your discernments and judgments of life, when you act upon the wisdom. The knowledge that it brings is passed on through your counsel to other people. Wisdom changes lives. "The fear [reverence] of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction." Wisdom is the first step. Proverbs 4:10 "Hear, O my son, and receive my saying; And the years of thy life shall be many." This verse applies to maturity in your wisdom and judgments as you grow older. As you see more and experience more in your life, and apply the things of God's Word to your decisions, you see the results of those instructions that God has given you. Proverbs 4:11 "I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths." When you seek counsel from God's Word, He will lead you in the right paths for your life. God promised each of us in Hebrews 13:5: "Let you conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: and be content with such thins as ye have: for He hath said, "I will never leave the, nor forsake thee." Proverbs 4:12 "When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble." From the Companion Bible notes, it states; "As though walkest; i.e. however a hedge in our path seems, it opens out as we walk forth." That is how we are to walk our Christian lives, by faith, faith that Christ goes before to straighten out hard spots in the road of our life. Forget luck, to one walking in wisdom, we should expect those things to be taken care of when we walk in the light of His Word. It is a promise from God to you when you do His work; yes work. God blesses and rewards those that work faithfully for Him. Practice wisdom in your life and give God a chance to bless you. Proverbs 4:13 "Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life." As you place God instructions from his Word into your heart or mind, and you focus on them and practice them in all that you do and say. Use that set of instructions in all parts of your life, in your religion or secular life. Proverbs 4:14 "Enter not into the path of the wicked, And go not in the way of evil men." It can be very tempting to go to the place of evil and wicked men, and follow their ways when you see the large profits that they have gained: But their gains are for the very short run. The gains of the righteous are for the eternity, as well in our life in these flesh bodies. Would you swap one for the other? I think not. Proverbs 4:15 "Avoid it, pass not by it, Turn from it, and pass away." Proverbs 4:16 "For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall." This is how the wicked get their thrills, by doing their mischief. They just have to destroy something or some person in order to find their pleasure. That is the mind and order of their father Satan, so why would you want to follow any of their ways. Once you have started down that wrong path, it become almost impossible to reverse your direction, for those around you will drag you right along. Proverbs 4:17 "For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence." Wicked men get their thrills from doing their wicked acts. They become intoxicated with the violence of their own actions. The bread that we partake of is the Bread of Life", it is Jesus Christ. Christ makes our lives so rich that it becomes hard to seek any form of wickedness. Jesus taught us the lesson that we should continue until He comes again in Matthew 26:26-29. Matthew 26:26 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Matthew 26:27 "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye all of it;" Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matthew 26:29 "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My father's kingdom." The bread and the wine that we take at holy Communion is in remembrance of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, and we take it and continue to take it until his return at the seventh and last trumpet. Our cup and bread is completely opposite from the bread and wine of wicked and evil men, as here in Proverbs. Our pleasure is in serving our Father and following the ways set forth by His Son Jesus the Christ. The pleasure of the wicked comes for their violence and results of their wicked acts. Proverbs 4:18 "But the path of the just is as the shining light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day." "The shining light" is the sun, and the sun has a set path across the sky, as it appears here on the earth. As the sun rises swiftly from the coolness of the morning to it's position in at noon time, it becomes hard to tell the path of the sun. The shadows cast by the sun gives us a reference point to the moving of the sun. However, by noon there is no shadows. The point to this verse is that we have reference points in our life, and we should keep our eyes on those reference points. We gain those reference points through knowledge, as our wisdom grows through our study of His Word, and applying them to our lives. They are the reference points that make our lives stable and sets the direction which gives us the "perfect day". Proverbs 4:19 "The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble." The prince of darkness is Satan, and the wicked are in the darkness and simply cannot see where they are going. As they stumble through their lives, ultimately they will stumble right after their prince into hell fire. They will do it because they have found pleasure in their wickedness and spiritual violence. They take pleasure in their acts of flirtation with the ways of Satan and his wickedness. Proverbs 4:20 "My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my saying." You do what my Word's instructs you to do, and you listen to the sayings of my Word. Take the knowledge you have gained and put those instructions into action. Proverbs 4:21 "Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thine heart." You put the instructions from God's Word in your own mind, then let your own eyes witness your carrying out of those instructions. Think about why you have done what you do; is it for God's glory or for your own? Keep things in order in your mind. Proverbs 4:22 "For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh." Do you seek out those truths of instructions for guiding the actions of your life; can you find them? Wisdom is just as important to your health as to your spiritual life. God gave us a set of health laws, and when you violate them, you can expect sickness to come your way. Don't blame God for your disobedience to His health laws when sickness come in your flesh body. God warned you, and you made the choice. Many so-called teachers of today say those health laws are done away, yet, their followers simply cannot understand when diseases pour into their body. When you eat properly, then your body maintains it's health. Proverbs 4:23 "Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life." This verse is not speaking of the mind, but of the heart that pumps life supporting blood throughout your physical body. It is pointing back to the health laws, and form a sound heart come the source of a healthy body to life your life. Proverbs 4:24 "Put away from thee a froward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee." This goes back to Proverbs 2:12: "To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, From the man that speaketh froward things;" The "froward" things, or mouth are the "Perverse and evil" things that come out of that mouth. In other words, don't gossip and repeat nor generate wickedness from your mouth. What is the intent of the things that you say, is it for good or for evil? Paul reminded us in Romans 12:21; "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Proverbs 4:25 "Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee." Avoid even the thought of those crooked paths that the world finds so tempting. Use discernment of the things and people you allow to enter your life. Pay attention to those things and ways spoken of and avoid falling into their traps. Proverbs 4:26 "Ponder the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established." Meditate and think about what you are going to do. Plan your day, and get established in following the ways you know to be righteous and just. Take time to think your day through before you head out the door, and start those daily tasks. Take time to rest, and refresh yourself both spiritually and physically. Proverbs 4:27 "Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil." In other words, keep yourself on the path of wisdom and knowledge, that you know to be true from our Father's Word. A "path" is a way, and Jesus has showed us the way to eternal life. Jesus is the Word, the path and the way. John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, "I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." Jesus is the living Word and He is the one that instructs us as to how we are to life. All wisdom that does flow, comes from the Word, and His Spirit places that wisdom in our minds.
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