Reading Proverbs 4 in Jesus

Let me offer a few principles on reading Proverbs 4 in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament points us to the fullness of the New Testament’s revealing of Jesus. All reading of the O.T., in other words, should lead us to the N.T. and its unveiling of God’s fullness in Christ His Son.

The O.T. Law points us to the perfection and wisdom of God revealed in Jesus (Matthew 12:42//Luke 11:31; 1 Corinthians 1:24,30; Colossians 2:2,3).

The O.T. promises of long earthly life point us to eternal life in Jesus. O.T. material blessings/promises are sacramental, representing the eternal and spiritual blessings realized in Christ. For example, the “land” promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:1; 15:7,18-21; 17:8) pointed Abraham to the true inheritance they represented: a city built by God Himself in a heavenly country (Hebrews 11:9,10,13-16).

The O.T. passing of God’s wise truth to the next biological generation points us to the New Testament’s passing of God’s wise truth in Jesus on to the next spiritual generation (which includes and surpasses in scope the biological). Life comes through the passing on and receiving of God’s Word (Romans 10:14-17).

The O.T. command to obey and live is revealed in the New Testament to be the fruit and evidence of a life lived by faith in Jesus (Hebrews 5:9).

“Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father,
And give attention that you may gain understanding,
For I give you sound teaching;
Do not abandon my instruction [תֹּֽורָתִי, “my Law”].
When I was a son to my father,
Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother,
Then he taught me and said to me,
‘Let your heart hold fast my words;
Keep my commandments and live;
Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.’

Hear, my son, and accept my sayings
And the years of your life will be many.
I have directed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you will not stumble.
Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
For they cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
For they eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble.

My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.
Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you.
Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.

Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:1-27).

Reading Proverbs 4 in light of the whole Bible requires three levels of meditation:

1. I cannot live Proverbs 4 perfectly and will inevitably “stumble” because I am a son of Adam, inheriting the “spiritual DNA” of rebellion against God. I own it fully. Christ lived Proverbs 4, and all of God’s Law, perfectly. By faith in Christ His perfect righteousness is credited to my account and I am, now and forever, right before God by faith in His Son’s accomplished work alone. I deserve eternal and just punishment from God for my rebellion against His Law; Jesus paid that price in full on the cross in my place. His righteousness in perfectly living Proverbs 4 is credited to my account by faith in Jesus, and He paid the price for my rebellion against the principles of Proverbs 4.

2. The temporal and material promises/blessings of the Old Testament are typological (they point forward to a future reality), leading us to eternal and spiritual blessings in the heavenly land, sharing truth forward with spiritual children in the faith. When I read the promises of long life in Proverbs 4, I know the fullness is eternal life through faith in the Son. The temporal of the O.T. points to the eternal in the N.T. of Christ.

3. By the indwelling power of the Spirit, Who is mine by faith in Christ, I am desirous and empowered to live out the commands of Proverbs 4 as I am being conformed to the image of the Son of God.

Reading Proverbs 4 without the fullness of God’s revelation in the Person and work of Jesus Christ is, at best (and it’s a damning “best”), moralism. At its worst it is a devil-religion, anti-Gospel and conforming to the false creed of the world since the Fall: work hard, do good, and you will be blessed now and forever. Don’t read without the Gospel. Don’t read without Jesus.

Earth to Heaven to Ethic

Once upon a time my pastor told me that Scripture trains the mind to recognize analogies and patterns. In this way, the mind is sharpened and continually grows as we read the Word and meditate on it. I thought of that this morning as I read – over the rim of a coffee cup – Psalms and Proverbs.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains,

The world, and those who dwell in it.

For He has founded it upon the seas

And established it upon the rivers.

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?

And who may stand in His holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood

And has not sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD

And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is the generation of those who seek Him,

Who seek Your face - even Jacob. Selah” (Psalm 24:1-6).

The meditation on creation in 24:1,2 leads to a consideration of heaven (24:3,5,6), the fruit of which is a godly ethic (24:4).

“My son, eat honey, for it is good,

Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;

If you find it, then there will be a future,

And your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 24:13,14).

As in Psalm 24, the meditation on creation (yummy honey) in Proverbs 24:13 leads to a consideration of heaven (“...a future...your hope,” 24:14) and a godly ethic (“wisdom”).

As we walk the world this day seeing, touching, eating, drinking, smelling, feeling, enjoying, molding, making, wrestling, and resisting, let us not stop there, but lift our considerations to the Presence of the Maker of it all. Desire Him above all He has made, and seek conformity through His Son with His will (as it is revealed sufficiently in His Word by His Spirit).

Good day to you. I'm going to go work honey into breakfast. With another cup of coffee.

Obey Instead of Manipulate, Parents

If you were to look through the journal I use to keep prayer requests for the congregations I serve, a common petition would be for children and grandchildren not following the Lord. We are – by practice, not by official polity – family-integrated congregations. Does this guarantee that our children will stay in the Lord? No. In fact, nothing will. Not AWANA. Not family worship. Not the latest program or curriculum. Nothing guarantees that the children of the covenant family will grow up to be faithful confessing members of the covenant family.

From the repeated prayer requests and my own heart’s desire, I can guarantee one thing: we would do anything if we could guarantee their future faith. But we can’t. How can we make sense of this frustrating state of affairs? I’ve been wrestling with it recently, and connected – by the Spirit’s light in His Gospel – the dots yesterday on a 5K struggle of a run (it gets harder when you don’t do it every day - both running and keeping the Gospel front-and-center of everything).

“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6, NASB). “See?! See?!” We’re tempted to force the Sovereign’s hand by our consistent efforts to train them in the faith, thereby manipulating Him by our works to keep the next generation in the faith. This is my definition of magic, or witchcraft: doing things in the physical realm to influence the spiritual realm. This does not honor God. Proverbs 22:6 (or the rest of Proverbs, for that matter), is no cause-and-effect contract between God and His people.

“So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. Then I said to myself, ‘As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?’ So I said to myself, ‘This too is vanity.’ For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die! So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind. Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 2:12-19). Wisdom (as in Proverbs) is better than folly, but it doesn’t make any promises. Despite what pop culture’s wisdom says, our destiny is not up to us. But, the Preacher of Ecclesiastes tells us, wisdom is still better. Why? If the results aren’t guaranteed, what’s the point of being wise in the rearing of future generations? All of our “labor under the sun,” be it in business or child-training, may be passed onto fools who will deny the existence of God. Is it time to hate this grievous life? Well, if we keep pursuing wisdom as a means of a religion of works (witchcraft), then yes, go ahead and start hating. That’s where you’ll end up in your bitter frustration. I know. I have longed to change the hearts and minds of those who leave the faith more times than I can tell. It does hurt.

But that’s not why we train up our children (and grandchildren) in the way they should go (the way of the Lord). We train our children because God has commanded us to, regardless of the results. Before we can expect our children to obey Him by faith, we must obey Him by faith (as opposed to evangelizing them in an effort to manipulate them or God).

"Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:1-9).

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Beloved, there are promises attached to obeying by faith, but we are not the executors of the estate! We teach them because we have been commanded to do so, not as a part of a religion of self-effort, but as a Gospel obedience to the King Who has saved us and given us commandments.

Back to the prayer-journal I keep for our little congregations (I just remembered getting a question about prodigal children from a mother at a Q&A in the Philippines – this is a universal heart-break). It is right to pray for the lost: “Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation” (Romans 10:1). At the same time, we proclaim the Gospel to them; both those who know it already (Romans 1:15) and those who don’t yet (Romans 10:8-15,17). Teach them every day of the Lord, His wise ways, and His gracious Gospel. Pray for them. Worship with them.

And trust that God is in charge, even when things aren’t as we wish they would be (or feel, in the works-religion that we must crucify every day in our hearts, that God must make them be because of our efforts).

Believe and obey, commanding others to do the same, starting with our families and going throughout the world. Train them because you’ve been commanded to by the One Who loves you and has saved you, not because you’re trying to force the King to obey your will. This is the Great Commission. It is built upon faithful obedience to the One Who is King over heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18-20).

Wise Words

“A soft answer putteth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools babbleth out foolishness. The eyes of the Lord in every place behold the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue is as a tree of life: but the frowardness thereof is the breaking of the mind” (Proverbs 15:1-4, Geneva Bible). Verses 1,2, & 4 speak of how we use our words with others, but verse 3 seems to break the pattern, reminding us that God sees everything. Is verse 3 misplaced? Is Proverbs as random as it sometimes seems? Or does verse 3 get thrown into the mix to show us that a wise life here is not the final act, but that “it is appointed unto men that they shall once die, and after that cometh the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27)? As the Lord Jesus said, “a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of an evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that of every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof at the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:35-37).

Wise speech today and forever is the confession and proclamation of the risen Jesus as Lord and a life under the watchfulness of heaven that bears testimony to those words. “For if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart, that God raised Him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth man confesseth to salvation...for whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord, shall be saved. But how shall they call on Him, in Whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him, of Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:9,10,13,14).

Holy Spirit, consecrate our words today, for “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3). May our words be the link between the new hearts You have given us in Christ, inscribed with Your Law (Jeremiah 31:33), and those around us whom You are drawing for the Father's great glory.

He Preserves Through Hearing in the Gathering

“When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge delighteth thy soul, then shall counsel preserve thee, and understanding shall keep thee...and it shall 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. Surely her house tendeth to death, and her paths unto the dead. All they that go unto her, return not again, neither take they hold of the ways of life. Therefore walk thou in the way of good men, and keep the ways of the righteous” (Proverbs 2:10,11,16-20, Geneva Bible).

The connection between hearing (2:10,11) and doing (2:20) is found in the assembly of the saints in Christ: Wisdom, knowledge, counsel, and understanding are to be found in fellowship with “good men” and “the righteous.” Gather with the Church today, friends, and hear of Him Who alone saves you from the one(s) who will only lead you away from Him (2:16-19). He preserves and keeps you through hearing in the gathering.

* * * * * * *

“My son, if thou wilt...cause thine ears to hearken unto wisdom...then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom, out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:1,2,5,6).

Discipline yourself to hear the Word of the Lord as it is proclaimed in the gathering of the saints. He speaks His wisdom in Christ through the Scriptures by the teachers He gives His Church: “My son, if thou wilt receive my words...” (2:1; cf. Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Timothy 3:2; 2 Timothy 2:2,24). This is the only means of His grace by which we “understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

* * * * * * *

“...He preserveth the way of His Saints” (Proverbs 2:8). Notice that though there are many “Saints,” there is only one “way.” Walk together.

Sisters, Be Maidens of Wisdom

“Wisdom hath built her house, and hewn out her seven pillars. She hath killed her victuals, drawn her wine, and prepared her table. She hath sent forth her maidens, and crieth upon the highest places of the city, saying, ‘Who so is simple, let him come hither,’ and to him that is destitute of wisdom, she saith, ‘Come, and eat of my meat, and drink of the wine that I have drawn. Forsake your way, ye foolish, and ye shall live: and walk in the way of understanding’” (Proverbs 9:1-6, Geneva Bible). Women of God in Christ, may you be maidens of God’s wisdom this day in your words.

• “...a virtuous woman...openeth her mouth with wisdom, and the law of grace [תורת־חסד, the “Law of covenant-love” – one of my favorite phrases in the Bible] is in her tongue” (31:10,26).
• “...every woman that prayeth or prophesieth...ought...to have power [εξουσία, or authority given from another] on her head, because of the Angels. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord...follow after love, and covet spiritual gifts, and rather that ye may prophesy...he that prophesieth, speaketh unto men to edifying, and to exhortation, and to comfort” (1 Corinthians 11:5,10,11; 14:1,3).
• “The elder women likewise, that they be...teachers of honest things. That they may instruct the young women to be sober minded, that they love their husbands, that they love their children” (Titus 2:3,4).

Wisdom & Folly from Garden to Gospel

A timeless tale:

“Wisdom...calls from the tops of the heights of the city: ‘Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!’ To him who lacks understanding she says, ‘Come, eat of my food and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding’” (Proverbs 9:1,3-6).

• The Gift In the Garden: “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:16,17).
• The Gift in the Gospel: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand...those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1,2,17).

“The woman of folly...[is] calling to those who pass by, who are making their paths straight: ‘Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,’ And to him who lacks understanding she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet; and bread eaten in secret is pleasant’” (Proverbs 9:13-17).

• Rejecting the Gift in the Garden: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).
• Rejecting the Gift in the Gospel: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:1-4).

Hear in the City, Go to the House

Hear in the City: “Does not wisdom call, and understanding lift up her voice? On top of the heights beside the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates, at the opening to the city, at the entrance of the doors, she cries out: ‘To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men...’” (Proverbs 8:1-4).

Go to the House: “Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; she has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table; she has sent out her maidens, she calls from the tops of the heights of the city: ‘Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!’ to him who lacks understanding she says, ‘Come, eat of my food and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding’” (9:1-6).

There's Just Something About That Name

“The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: Surely I am more stupid than any man, and I do not have the understanding of a man. Neither have I learned wisdom, nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know! Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him” (Proverbs 30:1-5).

Hear and believe:

• Learn wisdom, understanding, and knowledge through a Person: “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God...Christ...in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 2:2,3).
• Learn of the One Who has descended and ascended: “Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He Who descended is Himself also He Who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:9,10).
• Learn of the One Who controls the wind and sea: “They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’” (Mark 4:41).
• Learn of the One Who is the tested Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being...He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called ‘The Word of God’” (John 1:1-3; Revelation 19:13).

Know His name, called by His relationship to His Son (and by His Son His name describes His relationship to us through the Spirit): He is Father (Matthew 6:9; John 20:17; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). Know the name of His Son: Jesus.

• “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
• “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
• “...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved...” (Romans 10:9).
• “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).

Be ignorant no longer.

The Righteousness of Christ, Foundation of Wisdom

Proverbs 10 begins a new section (1-9 being introductory). It’s easy to see the LORD’s foundation or priority in teaching wisdom: “The proverbs of Solomon...ill-gotten gains do not profit, but RIGHTEOUSNESS delivers from death. The LORD will not allow the RIGHTEOUS to hunger [see Matthew 5:6], but He will reject the craving of the wicked...blessings are on the head of the RIGHTEOUS, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. The memory of the RIGHTEOUS is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot...the mouth of the RIGHTEOUS is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence...the wages of the RIGHTEOUS is life, the income of the wicked, punishment...the tongue of the RIGHTEOUS is as choice silver, the heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the RIGHTEOUS feed many, but fools die for lack of understanding...what the wicked fears will come upon him, but the desire of the RIGHTEOUS will be granted. When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the RIGHTEOUS has an everlasting foundation...the hope of the RIGHTEOUS is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes...the RIGHTEOUS will never be shaken, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. The mouth of the RIGHTEOUS flows with wisdom, but the perverted tongue will be cut out. The lips of the RIGHTEOUS bring forth what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverted” (Proverbs 10:1-3,6,7,11,16,20,21,24,25,28,30-32).

Let us gather this day, Church, learning from our Lord and Master, Who is the fullness of the righteousness taught in the wisdom of Solomon (Matthew 12:42):

• “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying...‘But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’” (Matthew 5:1,2; 6:33).
• “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness...so that, just as it is written, ‘LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD’” (1 Corinthians 1:30,31).