Proverbs 4

The fourth chapter of Proverbs provides instruction regarding our daily walk with the Lord. The essence of the teaching is that the path we travel may not be easy, but it will always be fulfilling, if we walk in the will of the Father. This walk involves three responsibilities on our part: (1) knowing God’s Word (verses 1-9), (2) trusting God’s providence (verses 10-19), and (3) obeying God’s will (verses 20-27).

We get to know God’s Word by spending time reading and studying it. Also, God has ordained that His Word be taught and passed on from generation to generation. Verse 5 tells us to “Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!” The original Hebrew words suggest the idea of buying wisdom. We buy wisdom through our study of God’s Word, accompanied with prayer for understanding.

With God’s Word and truth in our hearts, He enables us to think wisely and make right decisions. We also must seek and stay on the path of wisdom, while avoiding, at all costs, the path of wickedness. When we are living in God’s will, our path becomes clearer and we can more easily determine the correct way to go.

Obeying God’s will is the final responsibility discussed. We can measure our obedience in this area by simply analyzing what we say, what we hear, what we think about, and what we do with our time. If we are walking in wisdom, God promises to protect our path.

Finally, the key verse in Chapter 4 is verse 18: “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” Just as the full sunlight illuminates the earth around us, God’s Word makes clear our path. The glorious fact is that there is no sunset. We just keep walking into God’s light until we come to the point that “there shall be no night there” (Rev. 22:5).

-- Norm Childers