Proverbs 05

Lesson 5 of 28

ADVICE HOW TO LIVE , Chapter 4

We have read Solomon’s words of wisdom in Proverbs Chapter 3, verses 27 to 35, and Proverbs Chapter 4 contains more of his instruction. There are three paragraphs:

1. Proverbs 4:01-09 - Solomon’s teaching for his children.
2. Proverbs 4:10-19 - Solomon’s instructions for his son.
3. Proverbs 4:20-27 - Solomon’s words for his son.

1. SOLOMON’S TEACHING FOR HIS CHILDREN, Proverbs 4:1-9

Solomon often spoke to one son as representing all his children. Here he spoke to all his children, also in the following scriptures –

Proverbs 5:7-Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Proverbs 7:24-Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Proverbs 8:32-Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.

Proverbs 4:1-2 - 1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2 For I give you good doctrine, forsak e ye not my law. - The children should pay attention to the father’s teachings; it would help them to understand. He taught them the law of God and it was good. They should never give it up.

Proverbs 4:3-4 - For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. - David and Bathsheba had been very good to Solomon and now Solomon wanted to pass on to his children what he had learned from his own father. In 1 Chronicles 28:9, David advised Solomon to know the Lord and to serve him - And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

Proverbs 4:5 - Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. - Here David told Solomon to seek for wisdom and he would be blessed, verses - Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Proverbs 5:5-9.

Solomon passed this advice on to his children as in Proverbs 2:2-5; and in all these chapters in Proverbs. So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 4:6-7 - Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. - We should get Wisdom and love Wisdom. She will keep us from sin. This is the most important thing, more important than learning anything else. The Word of God gives us true wisdom and also keeps us from sin, - Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psalms 119:9.

Proverbs 4:8-9 - Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. - You should give Wisdom the first place, the place of honour, in all that you do. This will mean that she will also give you a place of honour, perhaps in the sight of men, certainly in God’s sight. Even in this world good men think highly of people with wisdom. In heaven you will receive a reward, a crown, - Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8.

In the Old Testament, however, the reward is said to be –

Prosperity here in this world, The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly. Proverbs 14:24;

Or living to a good old age, The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. Proverbs 16:31; With lots of grandchildren, Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. Proverbs 17:6.

2. SOLOMON’S INSTRUCTION FOR HIS SON, Proverbs 4:10-19

Here Solomon speaks to one son but no doubt he meant his whole family, and God in these words is speaking to us.

Proverbs 4:10-13 - We should know the Lords instruction which will be a great help to us,

Proverbs 4:14-19 - We should not follow the way of wicked men.

Proverbs 4:10-11 - 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. - The father was sure his advice would help his son live a long life. The father really taught his son the way of wisdom and led him in the right way.

Proverbs 4:12 - When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. - With wisdom the young man could walk in the right path, he could run and would not fall, - Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. Proverbs 3:23; But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31.

Proverbs 4:13 - Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. - He should hold fast to what his father taught him, it would bring him life and long life, - Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Proverbs 3:16; She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. Proverbs 3:18; So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Proverbs 3:22.

It is true, by the Word of God we get life, we are born again with new life, - Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 1 Peter 1:23.

Proverbs 4:14-15 - Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. - The wise young man should not go with evil men or walk with them. Keep away from them, do not even come close, and continue to follow the right way. Why take one step in the direction in which you do not want to go?

Proverbs 4:16 - For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. - Wicked men may seem at first to be nice people. They offer to share with you all that they gain, - We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: Proverbs 1:13-14.

But they are really in the habit of doing evil; in fact, they feel they must do something bad every day they cannot sleep unless they have succeeded in making someone fall. This might mean knocking someone down to steal his money, or persuading some foolish person to sin with them.

Proverbs 4:17 - For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. - Their habit is to do something evil every day and they are not satisfied unless they hurt someone. Soon sin and violence are like eating and drinking, they think of these things as their normal way of life.

Proverbs 4:18 - But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. - God shows us the way of evil men and their daily life in verses 16 and 17 above. Now He tells us what lies at the end of the way of righteous men as per verse 18 and wicked people as per verse 19. The way of Wisdom is the right way, - I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. Proverbs 4:11.

Righteous people follow this and they receive more and more light as they walk with the Lord, until they reach the full light of heaven. God is Light, - If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:6-7.

Proverbs 4:19 - The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. - We must avoid the pathway of wicked men, - Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. Proverbs 4:14-15.

Their way is darkness and they stumble as they go. They have rejected the light, - Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Proverbs 2:13; so they get only darkness. This will be their end forever unless they repent, - And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:30.

3. SOLOMON’S WORDS TO HIS SON, Proverbs 4:20-27

Proverbs 4:20 - My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. - Solomon now warns his son about his ears, heart, mouth, eyes and feet.

Proverbs 4:21 - Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. - The young man should listen with his ears and pay attention with his mind to the words which his wise father is saying to him. He should be careful to hold them and not let them slip away, - My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: Proverbs 3:21; Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Hebrews 2:1.

We should keep God’s words before our eyes, by reading the Bible every day. We should also keep them in our heart. In the Bible the heart is the part of our nature with which we love. We should love God’s Word: Psalm 119.47,48,97,113,119,127,140,159, 163,165,167.

Proverbs 4:22 - For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. - In a man the heart pumps blood to all parts of the body. Life is over when the heart stops beating. God’s Word in our mind and heart gives us eternal life, - Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. Proverbs 4:13; and helps us to live a good Christian life in this world, - Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. Proverbs 3:16-18.

Proverbs 4:23 - Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. - You can see that it is very necessary to keep your heart filled with God’s Word. What you think is what you really are in life. Satan is always trying to put the world into our hearts but we must not love the world, - Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15.

Sometimes we think about evil things in our hearts and the evil is sure to come out, - Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Matthew 15:11.

We must keep our hearts and thoughts for the Lord. We should keep ourselves in the love of God but only the Lord can keep us from falling, - Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 1:21; Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, Jude 1:24.

Proverbs 4:24 - Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. - A man speaks with his mouth those things which fill his heart, - A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Luke 6:45; so we must keep our hearts pure in order to keep our mouths from saying wicked things and telling lies.

Proverbs 4:25 - Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. - We should not even look at the way evil men live because we might be tempted to follow their bad habits. Our eyes are very important. The Lord Jesus taught it was a sin to look at a woman if it brings evil desires into our hearts, and it would be better to take out an eye if it causes a person to sin, - But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Matthew 5:28-29.

Proverbs 4:26-27 - Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. - We should walk in the right way according to God’s Word and not turn to either side. If you have done anything wrong, confess your sin to the Lord and never do it again. If you have taken a wrong step, back up and start again following the right way. So in this chapter the wise father tries to help his son by giving him true wisdom which will keep him from all kinds of sin.

THE STRANGE WOMAN - Proverbs Chapter 5

We have seen that the father warned his son against evil companions, both men and women. In Proverbs 2:16-19, (To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life), the strange woman may have been a Gentile, a foreigner, who brought her heathen customs and immoral practices with her when she came to live in Israel. But any immoral woman was strange or different from most of the women in Israel.

Today it is said that anyone is free to do what God’s Word says is wrong. But sin is still sin even if everybody says it is all right.

In Proverbs there are warnings against the harlot, the professional prostitute, who earns money by leading men into sin, - A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, To call passengers who go right on their ways: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell. Proverbs 9:13-18; For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. Proverbs 23:27; Who so loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance. Proverbs 29:3.

Men are also warned against a woman who dresses like a prostitute, - And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. Proverbs 7:10.

There are still stronger warnings against adultery, meaning sin with another man’s wife, - To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. Proverbs 6:24-35.

Later in this book we will see what God says about lust, immorality and sexual sin.

1. Proverbs 5:1-2 - Here we have the father’s appeal to his son to listen,
2. Proverbs 5:03-06 - The strange woman is like a trap.
3. Proverbs 5:07-10 - The father warns all his children of the danger.
4. Proverbs 5:11-14 - They would be very sorry at the end.
5. Proverbs 5:15-19 - They should early learn to control themselves.
6. Proverbs 5:20-21 - better still, let God control.
7. Proverbs 5:22-23 - If they refused they would be judged.

1. THE FATHERS APPEAL, Proverbs 5:1-2

Proverbs 5:1-2 - My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. - The wise son should listen to his father’s wisdom and obey him. This would help him to do and say the right things.

2. THE TRAP, Proverbs 5:3-6
Proverbs 5:3-4 - For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. - The strange woman can say very nice things and her lips appear to be very attractive. But in the end she is very bitter and will cut like a sharp sword. She acts at first like a friend but later she becomes a great enemy. The Word of God is said to be sweeter than honey and sharper than a two-edged sword, - More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Psalms 19:10; For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.

Satan uses the sinful woman to keep us from God’s Word, but God’s Word will keep us from sin.

Proverbs 5:5-6 - Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder  the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. - This sinful woman will be judged by God for her own sin and for leading others into sin. She may not understand her own way and we should try to help her spiritually.

3. THE FATHER’S WARNING, Proverbs 5:7-10

Proverbs 5:7-8 - Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: - Again he asks his children to listen to him and not give up his teaching. Stay away from the strange woman, never enter her house. 

Proverbs 5:9 - Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: - If you do, you give up your honour, you will be ashamed of yourself, just because you gave in to a strange woman. God promised long life and honour to those who get wisdom, - Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Proverbs 3:16; She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Proverbs 4:9, but sin will rob you of both.

Proverbs 5:10 - Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; - You give your money to the strange woman and so strangers get your wealth which you have earned.

4. SAD AT THE END, Proverbs 5:11-14

Proverbs 5:11 - And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, - You lose your wealth and also your health. Terrible disease may be spread by immoral women.

Proverbs 5:12-13 - And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! - You will be very sorry you did not obey your father and those who taught you the Word of God but by then it will be too late.

Proverbs 5:14 - I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. - You gave up your honour and people in the church and the town will despise you.

5. LEARN TO CONTROL YOURSELF, Proverbs 5:15-19

Proverbs 5:15-17 - Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. 17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. - It is natural to be thirsty and good water is a gift from God.

In many homes there was a well of water right in the owner’s courtyard, - Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man's house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down. 2 Samuel 17:18.

Here the father is saying that the son should be satisfied with his own wife and she should be satisfied with her own husband. Neither husband nor wife should go out to seek pleasure and satisfaction with anyone else.

Proverbs 5:18-19 - Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. - God will bless the married couple who stay faithful to each other. The husband should remember how beautiful his wife was when they were first married, like a graceful animal in the bush. Solomon’s first wife thought of him in the same way, - My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. Song of Solomon 2:9; Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether. Song of Solomon 2:17; Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices. Song of Solomon 8:14).

She should continue to love her husband and he should always be satisfied with that, - Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Colossians 3:18-19.

6. GOD KNOWS ALL, Proverbs 5:20-21

Proverbs 5:20-21 - And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings. - Why should a man seek pleasure with a strange woman, not his own wife? [He may think she is very attractive but he should remember that the Lord knows his thoughts and sees everything he does. David knew this truth and we can be sure he taught his son Solomon, - Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Psalms 139:3-4.

7. THE RESULTS OF SIN, Proverbs 5:22-23

Proverbs 5:22-23 - His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. 23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. - People think that one little sin will not do any harm but it always makes you want to do it again. Soon it becomes a habit and it is always hard to get out of a trap, - Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Jeremiah 13:23.

This foolish person refused the instruction, - And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; Proverbs 5:12; and will be lost forever.