Proverbs 4:1 - Meaning and Application

Here Solomon invites his children to come and learn from him (Proverbs 4:1, Proverbs 4:2). He says, “Listen, children, to a father’s instruction.” In the first place, he means his own children should pay close attention to the lessons he gives for everyone else’s good. Those who lead large groups, like rulers and ministers, must take special care to teach their own families well. Public duty does not cancel family duty. Charity should begin at home, though it must not end there.

If a man does not keep his children under control with dignity, or work for their good upbringing, how can he rightly care for God’s church? (1 Timothy 3:4, 1 Timothy 3:5). Children of wise and useful parents ought to grow in knowledge and grace, since they have such advantages. At the same time, it may comfort parents whose children do not turn out as hoped that Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, was neither very wise nor very good. Many people have gained more from Solomon’s proverbs than his own son seems to have done, even though they may have been written with him in mind.

Solomon also speaks to all young people. Childhood and youth are the best years for learning, because the mind is still being formed. He does not say, “My children,” but, “You children.” He had only one son of his own, yet he was willing to be a teacher to other people’s children. At that age there is often the most hope of success, because a young branch bends easily. So all who want instruction should come with the spirit of children, even if they are grown. They should lay aside prejudice, be teachable, and receive the word as from a father.

That means they should hear it as coming from God, their Father in heaven, from whom they ask for blessings. It also means they should hear it from their teachers as from loving fathers who want their good. So even when instruction includes rebuke and correction, we should welcome it. To make it attractive, Solomon says it is not only a father’s instruction, but understanding. Religion has reason on its side, and it is taught by sound argument. It is also a law (Proverbs 4:2), but a law built on true doctrine. If we accept the doctrine, we cannot rightly refuse the law.

Solomon also tells us how to hold onto this instruction. We should receive it eagerly, learn it fully, and not let it go by rejecting the teaching or disobeying the command. Then he shows where he got these lessons. He had them from his parents, and now he passes them on to his own children, just as they passed them on to him (Proverbs 4:3, Proverbs 4:4).

His parents loved him, and that is why they taught him. He says, “I was my father’s son.” David had many sons, but Solomon was his special son, as Isaac was called Abraham’s son in a special covenant sense (Genesis 17:19). God had a special love for Solomon, and David likely loved him in the same way, since David was a man after God’s own heart. If parents ever show special love to one child above another, it should only be when it is clear that God does so first. His mother also regarded him with special tenderness. In both parents, there was a clear reason for this distinction.

We can see their love in the way they raised him. They taught him carefully, kept him to his lessons, and held him to firm discipline. Even though he was a prince and heir to the throne, they did not let him grow up without restraint. In fact, they trained him that way because of his rank. David may have been especially strict with Solomon because he had seen the harm caused by too much indulgence in Adonijah, whom he had not crossed in anything (1 Kings 1:6), and also in Absalom.

What his parents taught him, Solomon now teaches others. When he became grown, he not only remembered their good lessons, he enjoyed repeating them. He did not forget them, because they had made deep marks on him. He was not ashamed of them, and he did not treat them as childish things to be set aside when he became a man and king. He certainly did not mock them, as some wicked children do, using their parents’ serious words to amuse their friends and boast that they are free from restraint.

Even though Solomon was wise and inspired by God, he still thought it proper to quote his father when teaching wisdom. Those who want to learn and teach well in religion should not chase after strange new ideas or new phrases that look down on older teaching. If we are to stay in the good old way, why should we despise the good old words? (Jeremiah 6:16). Since Solomon was well taught by his parents, he felt bound to give his own children the same kind of training. That is one way we repay our parents for their care, by showing piety at home, that is, honoring God within the family (1 Timothy 5:4). They taught us not only for our own learning, but so we could teach our children the knowledge of God too (Psalm 78:6). If we fail to do that, we are unfaithful to the trust placed in us, for the deposit of sound teaching was given to us to pass on faithfully to those who come after us (2 Timothy 2:2).

Solomon also strengthens his appeal with the authority of his father David, a man honored in his generation for many reasons. This is a credit to religion, because the wisest and best people in every age have been most eager, not only to practice it themselves, but also to spread it to others. So we too should keep holding to what we have learned, remembering from whom we learned it (2 Timothy 3:14).

He then begins to explain what those instructions were (Proverbs 4:4-13), starting with commands and encouragement.

David, in teaching his son, was earnest and urgent, even though Solomon, his child, had a quick mind and great ability. He repeated the same lessons again and again to make them sink in. This is how children should be taught. Deuteronomy 6:7 says, “Teach them carefully to your children.” David, though busy with public duties and even though his son had tutors, still took the trouble to teach him himself.

He points Solomon to his Bible and catechism, that is, to the truths and lessons he had already given him. These are called his father’s words, the words of his mouth, and his sayings (Proverbs 4:4, 5, 10). He may especially mean the book of Psalms, many of which are teaching psalms, and two of which are directly for Solomon. Solomon was to pay attention to all of them. He had to hear and receive them with care, like dry ground that drinks in rain often sent to it (Hebrews 6:7). God asks for that same attention from us: “Hear, my son, and receive my sayings.”

Solomon also had to hold these words in his heart (Proverbs 4:4). If God’s word is not hidden in the heart, held in the will and affections, it will not stay there. He was to obey these commands, because obedience is the way to grow in understanding (John 7:17). He was also to stay with them and not turn away from them (Proverbs 4:5). He was not to fear that they would restrict him, but to take firm hold of instruction (Proverbs 4:13) and never let go. Good training may cling to a person for a long time, even if he tries to shake it off, and it is a sad case if it does not.

David also urges Solomon to seek wisdom and understanding as the goal of all these means. He must get that wisdom which is first in importance, especially the fear of God (Proverbs 1:7). A religious principle in the heart is the one thing needed. So he says, “Get wisdom, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:5, 7). Pray for it, work for it, and use every appointed means to gain it. Wait at wisdom’s gate (Proverbs 8:34). Get control over your corrupt desires, which are your follies. Gain wise principles and the habits that belong to wisdom. Above all earthly gains, pursue this. If you must choose what to care about most, care most about this.

True wisdom is God’s gift, yet we are still commanded to get it, because God gives it to those who labor for it. Even so, we must never say, “My own strength and power won this for me.” Those who have gained this wisdom must also be careful not to lose it by going back to folly. Wisdom is a good portion, and it will not be taken from us, but we can throw it away by carelessness, by forgetting it, by letting it slip from our minds, and by turning aside from its good ways. Whatever good thing is entrusted to us, we must keep it. We must not let it drop, let it be forced away, or let ourselves be talked out of it.

He also says to love wisdom (Proverbs 4:6) and embrace her (Proverbs 4:8), as worldly people love their wealth. Religion should be precious to us, dearer than anything in this world. If we cannot become great masters of wisdom, we should at least be true lovers of it. Whatever grace we have, we should welcome it with sincere affection, admiring its beauty. “Exalt her” (Proverbs 4:8) means to think highly of religion at all times, and do all we can to give it a good name among people. We should join God in his purpose, to make the law great and honorable, and do what we can to serve that purpose. Wisdom’s children should not only defend wisdom, but lift it up and prefer it above whatever is dearest to them in this world. When we honor those who fear the Lord, even if they are low in the world, and when we respect a poor wise person, we are exalting wisdom.

David also gives reasons why Solomon should work for wisdom and submit to it. First, wisdom is the main thing, the chief concern of every person in this life (Proverbs 4:7). Other things we chase after are nothing beside it. It is “the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). It recommends us to God, beautifies the soul, helps us live for a good purpose, and leads us to heaven in the end. That is why it is the principal thing. Second, wisdom is right and reasonable (Proverbs 4:11). David says, “I have taught you the way of wisdom,” and that way will prove true in the end. He led Solomon, not in crooked paths of worldly cleverness that do wrong while pretending to be wise, but in straight paths that agree with God’s eternal rules for right and wrong. The straightness of God’s nature shows itself in the straightness of his laws. David did not only teach with good words, but also by a good example and by applying general lessons to specific situations. Nothing was lacking on his part to make Solomon wise.

Third, wisdom would be greatly for Solomon’s own good. If he were wise and good, he would be so for himself. It would be his life, his comfort, and his happiness, something he could not live without (Proverbs 4:4). Jesus agrees with this when he says, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). We are called to religion on pain of eternal death, and in hope of eternal life. “Receive wisdom’s sayings, and the years of your life will be many” (Proverbs 4:10), as many in this world as Infinite Wisdom sees fit, and in the next world a life with no end. “Keep her, for she is your life” (Proverbs 4:13). All true satisfaction is found in her, and a soul without true wisdom and grace is really a dead soul.

Fourth, wisdom will be a guard and guide, a safe escort through all the dangers and hard places of this wilderness journey.

Love wisdom and stay close to her, and she will preserve you, she will keep you (Proverbs 4:6) from sin, the worst evil and the worst enemy. She will keep you from harming yourself, and if you are kept from that, no one else can truly harm you. As people say, “Keep your shop, and your shop will keep you.” In the same way, “Keep your wisdom, and your wisdom will keep you.” It will keep us from tight places and stumbling blocks in the way we manage ourselves and our affairs (Proverbs 4:12).

First, it keeps our steps from being cramped when we walk. It keeps us from bringing ourselves into the kind of trouble David was in (2 Samuel 24:14). Those who make God’s word their rule will walk freely and feel settled in their own hearts.

Second, it keeps our feet from stumbling when we run. If wise and good people are pushed into sudden decisions, the sure rule of God’s word will still keep them from stepping into something harmful. Integrity and upright living will protect us.

Third, it will be your honor and reputation (Proverbs 4:8). Exalt wisdom, do what you can to support her, and though she does not need your service, she will richly repay it. She will raise you up and bring you honor. Solomon was to be a king, yet his wisdom and goodness would be more honorable than his crown or purple robe. That was what made his neighbors respect him so much. And surely, in his reign and David’s, wise and good men were most fit for advancement.

Still, religion will, sooner or later, bring honor to all who truly embrace her. They will be accepted by God, respected by all wise people, recognized in the great day, and will inherit lasting glory. Solomon presses this point in Proverbs 4:9. Wisdom will place on your head “an ornament of grace” in this life. She will recommend you to God and to people, and in the life to come she will give you a crown of glory, a crown that will never slip and never fade. That is the true honor that belongs to religion. As the old saying goes, “Virtue is the only true nobility.”

Since David recommended wisdom to his son in this way, it is no surprise that when God told him to ask for anything, he prayed, “Lord, give me a wise and understanding heart.” We should show by our prayers how well we have been taught.