He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
Wisdom: The Gift Of A Loving Father Prov 4:1-4
1) Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know
understanding.
2) For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
3) For I was my father's son, tender and only [beloved] in the sight of my mother.
4) He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my
words: keep my commandments, and live.
INTRODUCTION:
Proverbs now turns our
attention to several aspects of wisdom that will encourage us to desire to gain
wisdom throughout our lifetime…
EXPOSITION:
1) Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know
understanding.
Solomon,
the author of these proverbs, pictures our loving heavenly Father who is the ultimate
source of these words of wisdom. How is
this?
Just
as Solomon, out of love and concern for his students, took the time and effort
to share with them these truths; so too, our Heavenly Father, by grace
motivated from love, has handed down these instructions to each of His children. He does this as a display of His love and
concern for their welfare, motivating His people to the apply His Word to their
lives, thereby keeping them from harm.
If
His people recognize that the Proverbs are given out of love, with their
ultimate welfare in mind, surely they will be motivated to …
1. receive the warnings (instruction) of God and
,,,
2.
grasp the true meaning (understanding)
of them.
As
they come to these, they will find ourselves motivated to apply God’s Word to their
lives showing themselves to be wise children of the Lord.
“As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and
charged every one of you, as a father [doth] his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom
and glory.” (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
2) For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
The
Heavenly Father (through Solomon) gives to His children beneficial, valuable
teaching, therefore they are to not walk away or ignore His instruction.
“My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my
speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as
the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the
name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. [He is] the Rock, his work
[is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without
iniquity, just and right [is] he.” (Deuteronomy 32:2-4)
3) For I was my father's son, tender and only [beloved] in the sight of my mother.’
As
a young man, Solomon was in the place of the son who was in dire need of
instruction. He knows what it is like to
young, inexperienced and very vulnerable to the sinful ways of the world. It was through the love and concern of his
parents (David and Bathsheba) that he received many of the principles that he
can now share with those whom has his love and concern.
What
a gracious act of God, raising up others more experienced and wise to share His
Word to those who are the spiritually vulnerable of His people. Every one of His people are in need of His
wisdom, those who are more spiritually mature are given the obligation to share
the truths they have received to those placed under their care, while continuing
to listen to those who are more mature than they.
“And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and
went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name
Solomon: and the LORD loved him. And he sent by the hand of
Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.” (2 Samuel 12:24-25)
Note in the above verses (2 Sam 12:24-25), we are
told that Solomon was not only loved by His parents, but loved by God as
well. As a matter of fact, the name
given to Solomon by Nathan, Jedidiah, means “to be loved and at peace with God”. Here we can see that Solomon held a special
place in the heart of God. He would be
used of God to build the temple of God and hand down the wise sayings of God to
all who would hear.
4) He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my
words: keep my commandments, and live.
David’s
desire for Solomon was to permanently imprint the Word into Solomon’s desires. This would lead Solomon to obey the Word and
live a fulfilling life of service to the Lord, culminating in entering into
everlasting life with God, Himself. These
same blessings can only be received through the wisdom that proceeds from our
Loving, Heavenly Father.
“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.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
SUMMARY:
May
we all recognize the motivating force at work in the lives of God Himself, our
physical parents and our spiritual mentors who share with us the wisdom of God
as found in the Holy Scriptures. May we
all give due diligence to their teachings, realizing they love us and are sacrificing
for us so that we might be wise and useful servants of the Lord, who will enjoy
the blessings of eternal life in this world and the world to come.
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
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