Proverbs 4:9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
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 right paths.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when 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 go not in the way of evil men.
Wisdom will be an ornament of grace to the person who receives it. The apostle Paul encouraged Timothy with the fact that there is a crown of righteousness awaiting all those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, not just as an imaginary fire insurance policy, but as their Saviour and Lord.
God’s Wisdom is the only answer to man’s problems.
I was sent a link to a new podcast that is supposed to address our problems from a Christian perspective. The problem is that this person uses the Bible to support his views, rather than letting the Bible dictate what the right position must be. Man does not have the right to manipulate God’s wisdom for his own purposes. God did not give His Word to be used in unjust means. If we are going to live by God’s wisdom, then we are going to live by God’s wisdom. In verse 10 we are further reminded of the need to receive God’s sayings. As we have already stated, we do not have the right to pick and choose which parts of the Bible we like and will consider, and which parts we will discard. The true child of God understands that God is always right, and we need to be transformed to think His way.
In verse 11 Solomon reminded his son that he had taught him in the way of wisdom. We know that Solomon was taught in the way of wisdom. He had wise counsellors with him when he began to reign. He later chose to ignore wise counsel and chose to follow ungodly counsel. God led Him in right paths. He chose to reject that. The result of that was that his kingdom began to crumble and at his death, God split the nation into two parts. The larger part went to godless kings. Only Judah and Benjamin made up the southern nation of Judah. Solomon’s rejection of God’s wisdom cost the nation dearly.
In verse 12 we see that if we will heed God’s wisdom, our steps will not be in distress. God gives liberty, not bondage. Rejection of God brings bondage. Solomon had the opportunity to be at liberty and the nation benefited greatly from the short time he chose to follow God. Rehoboam thought he could ignore God’s judgment upon the land and he found out the hard way that God does not play games. Rehoboam had a greatly diminished kingdom, and he also suffered loss of much of the wealth that God had granted his father. His steps were straightened/restricted. He lost in a major way.
Had he listened to God, he could have run and not stumbled. Since he chose not to listen to God, he stumbled.
In verse 13 we see the imperative of holding fast to instruction. Don’t look at the instructions as a last resort. Start by taking heed to God’s instructions. God tells us how to live successfully. It requires the new birth first of all. Then it requires a daily dose of humility and submission to God’s will. God stated that the wise son should never let instruction go. He needs to keep her because God’s instruction is life. We can see that fact revealed over and over again in the Scriptures. We do not need to experiment and re-invent the wheel. We need to take heed to God’s Word and enjoy His blessings.
In verse 14 there is that all important warning against the path of the wicked. The wicked man has nothing good to offer. What he offers may sound good to the flesh, but the cost of his advice is deadly. God stated that the wise son should not enter into the path of the wicked. He should not go in the way of evil men. If you do not enter their path, you will not be caught up in their wickedness. Once you enter their path, you have already become entangled in their evil schemes. God is gracious and He will show the way to get back on the right path, but there will be pain involved in cleaning up the mess made by compromise.
God honoured Samson in the end. He gave him the strength to take down that building where the celebration of his defeat took place. He was able to kill many Philistines in that last act. However, he had already lost his eyes and his honour. He lost his life among those wicked people. He paid a high price for his rejection of God’s wisdom.
Solomon also paid a high price for his rejection of God’s wisdom. He is mentioned in Hebrews 11. However, he is also noted in the Old Testament as the king who caused the division of the nation of Israel into two unequal parts. He is noted as the king who began with wisdom never before witnessed and wealth that was the envy of many. He ended his reign in shame and as a weak king who could not pass on a strong and vibrant nation to his son. As noted Rehoboam thought the split was a minor thing that he could fix. He learned quickly that the split was not a minor thing, and that neither he nor any other king would bring the nation back into one again.
It will take the Lord Jesus Christ to bring the nation back to God’s design for them. That will happen at the end of the Tribulation when they will repent toward God and acknowledge Jesus Christ as their King and Saviour.
For those who are saved today, we need to take God’s wisdom as our authority. We need to build our lives upon His wisdom at all times. For those who are lost, you need to stop fumbling around, trying to figure things out on your own. You will never succeed. Turn to God and be saved. Then you will see things as they truly are. Then you can build your life in a successful manner.
Pastor Bartel