PROVERBS 4 (NRSV)

¹ Listen, children, to a father’s instruction,
and be attentive, that you may gain insight,

² for I give you good precepts:
do not forsake my teaching.

³ When I was a son with my father,
tender and my mother’s favorite,

⁴ he taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments and live.

⁵ Get wisdom; get insight: do not forget nor turn away
from the words of my mouth.

⁶ Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.

⁷ The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom,
and whatever else you get, get insight.

⁸ Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.

⁹ She will place on your head a fair garland;
she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

Admonition to Keep to the Right Path

¹⁰ Hear, my child, and accept my words,
that the years of your life may be many.

¹¹ I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

¹² When you walk, your step will not be hampered,
and if you run, you will not stumble.

¹³ Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
guard her, for she is your life.

¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of evildoers.

¹⁵ Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.

¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸ But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what they stumble over.

²⁰ My child, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹ Do not let them escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.

²² For they are life to those who find them
and healing to all their flesh.

²³ Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.

²⁴ Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.

²⁵ Let your eyes look directly forward
and your gaze be straight before you.

²⁶ Keep straight the path of your feet,
and all your ways will be sure.

²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.

KEY POINTS FROM READING

Wisdom is the practical ability to succeed at life.

Fear of the Lord is like respect for fathers—it is not the opposite of love.

Fear of the Lord is demonstrated by obedience to his commands.

FOR REFLECTION

Who is the wisest person you have ever met? What made them wise?
How do you define biblical wisdom or how have you heard it defined?
How do we become wise?
If James 1:5 tells us we just need to ask for wisdom, do we receive it immediately? What is the process of gaining it if it is not immediately given?
If Jesus is wisdom, how do we “get Jesus” as Mark Moore suggests?
What made Solomon so wise? What faults did he have and how can these faults exist within the wisest man to ever live?
How can we both fear and love God?
If we are to fear only God and nothing else, what fear are you holding onto and thus needlessly sacrificing energy, time, and attention?
If you were to suddenly fear only God, how would your life be different?

DAILY JOURNAL

WEDNESDAY
Read the essay. “List three things from this essay that could put you on the path to becoming wise.

THURSDAY
Memorize Proverbs 1:7.

FRIDAY
In 1 Kings, read chapters 3, 10, and 11. List three things from Solomon’s life that could put you on the path to becoming wise.

MONDAY
Identify one principle from each of these passages that could put you on the path to becoming wise: Deuteronomy 10:12, Ecclesiastes 12:13, and James 1:5.

TUESDAY
Pray for wisdom where needed:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” —James 1:5

OVERACHIEVER CHALLENGE
Memorize James 1:5.