#908 Proverbs 4 Fatherly Duty

Hear, O sons, a father's instruction,

and be attentive, that you may gain insight,

2 for I give you good precepts;

do not forsake my teaching.

3 When I was a son with my father,

tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,

4 he taught me and said to me,

“Let your heart hold fast my words;

keep my commandments, and live.

5 Get wisdom; get insight;

do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;

love her, and she will guard you.

7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get insight.

8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will honor you if you embrace her.

9 She will place on your head a graceful garland;

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

10 Hear, my son, and accept my words,

that the years of your life may be many.

11 I have taught you the way of wisdom;

I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered,

and if you run, you will not stumble.

13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;

guard her, for she is your life.

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of the evil.

15 Avoid it; do not go on it;

turn away from it and pass on.

16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know over what they stumble.

20 My son, be attentive to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Let them not escape from your sight;

keep them within your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them,

and healing to all their flesh.

23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life.

24 Put away from you crooked speech,

and put devious talk far from you.

25 Let your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

26 Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.

27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil. Proverbs 4 ESV

A Proverb of Fatherly instruction.

And be attentive, that you may gain insight - Pay attention, he is not talking just to hear his own voice. This is important, and bears long lasting implications. He is tapping the desk to let you know this is going to be on the test.

When I was a son with my father - This is a tradition, father's are to be teachers, David had this talk with Solomon. Providing seed to the egg does not transmit wisdom, procreation is not the end of responsibility. Love demands that we teach our children what is right and correct what is wrong. 

1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel: 2 Hear this, O elders; and give ear, all who dwell in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? 3 Tell it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.… Joel 1: 1-3

Get wisdom; get insight - Have intimate knowledge, a deep understanding. Step by step he shows him the way to this: First hear, be attentive, hold fast and keep. Wisdom does not exist without obedience.

Avoid it and do not go on it - Wisdom is acting upon the truth. Evil is already a born inheritance, wisdom does not feel the need to learn of it through practice, but avoids it because it is a partial truth, and a whole lie. Every "thou shalt not" is warning sign that this is not the way of wisdom.

They are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble - They could have gotten more, robbed more, tricked, lied, and now it is not their conscience that keeps them awake, but lost opportunity at more evil. The blind lead the blind in their world, and they would make you a follower, but a pawn either way. You are not allowed to just pass through, but they will lay something in the path to make you trip, yet what are you doing here in the first place?

For from it flow the springs of life - It is worth guarding for out of it's abundance the mouth speaks. It is the place where action starts, and where we are self deceived. The new heart that arises from regeneration does not arise into a world without test or temptation.