“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. 5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. 10 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. 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. 14 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. 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. 20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:1-27).

     Due to humanity’s corrupt nature, the vast majority of us live our lives somewhere between the black and white of moral right and wrong presented to us in the absolutes commands of Scripture. The majority of professing believers are content with living their lives in what they consider merely morally gray areas of worldliness. They have discovered this gray area is socially acceptable and considered culturally normal by the majority of their peers.

     Most people are careful not to move towards extremes. They are careful about moral taboos that might get themselves categorize as immoral making themselves social outcasts. They are equally careful about being viewed as too strict in their moral codes lest they portray themselves as religious fanatics. The point here is that they are more concerned about their social status and their relationships with their peers than they are about their relationship with the Being they know as God, but Whose reality is ambiguous to them at best. In most cases, these people lack the definitive knowledge of God that removes their ambiguities and establishes their relationship with God as the priority in life.

     In Proverbs 4:1-27, God portrays two pathways of life available to all humanity. These two pathways are the pathway of righteousness born out of true faith in God and the pathway of wickedness born out of unbelief. There is no middle (gray) pathway. Although these two pathways parallel each other, they are going in opposite directions. The pathway of righteousness is the pathway of wisdom. The pathway of wickedness is the pathway of foolishness. God refers to the pathway of wickedness as the “way of death.”

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

     God tells us that the person that lives the Word of God is on the pathway of life. For this person, knowing the Word of God and living the Word of God is the first priority of life.

“16 The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. 17 He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth” (Proverbs 10:16-17).

     Walking in wisdom is “walking in the light” (I John 1:7) and fellowship with God

     God refers to the pathway of wickedness as “darkness” in Proverbs 4:19 and the pathway of righteousness as “shining light” in Proverbs 4:18. The person pursuing wisdom understands the differences between these two pathways. The person pursuing wisdom also understands that, as far as God is concerned, there is no acceptable gray area existing between the two. God’s purpose in Proverbs chapter four is to give us a clear perspective of these two pathways. Obviously, living in ��darkness” is unacceptable to God. However, it is equally unacceptable to try to establish some kind of gray area between these two pathways. God tells us that what men try to establish as gray areas are just different degrees of “darkness.” The wise person confronted by doubt regarding the clarity of “darkness” or “light” (right or wrong) will always reject that which is doubtfully wrong.

     From God’s perspective, the purpose of contrasting righteousness with wickedness and the use of the pathways of “light” and “darkness” metaphors are to define the first point of demarcation when someone no longer is walking in the “light.” The moment a person moves into the shadows, that person is no longer in the “light.” When a person is living righteousness, then that person’s life becomes a source of “light.” Your body (life) begins to cast a shadow the moment your body (life) becomes an obstruction to the “light.” If you are living in a shadowy gray area, your life has become an obstruction to the “light.” If you are living in the shadows, you are already out of the “light.” Sadly, many people confuse their shadows for reality and begin to follow their shadows deeper into the “darkness.” Needless to say, that is not a wise thing to do!

     God’s repeated proverbial contrasts between righteousness and wickedness give us His perspective on many choices in life of which Satan has “blinded our minds” and obscured the pathway to righteousness. Wisdom understands what God is showing us through these contrasts and follows the vision God gives us through them. Wisdom understands there are no short cuts on the pathway of righteousness. We cannot deviate from the pathway God lays out for us to any degree.

     Another great tragedy is to hear believers say they want to walk the pathway of righteousness, but they always seem to be standing at the edge of the “light” peering inquisitively into the ‘darkness.” We do not need to ask why they continue to peer into the “darkness.” Doing so merely manifests their carnality. You will often hear this type of person proclaim, “I don’t know how I could have let this happen. How could I get so far away from God.” It all started by peering inquisitively into the “darkness,” which resulted in straying from the pathway of righteousness.

Keeping our focus on wisdom (Proverbs 4:25-27)

     God tells the person with this inclination, “25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:25-26). It takes concerted concentration and effort to stay on the pathway of righteousness. Staying on the pathway of righteousness will definitely not happen by accident.

     As a bug is attracted to the light, sinners are attracted to the “darkness.” We might go as far as saying we are enticed by “darkness.” More specifically, sinners are attracted to what goes on in the “darkness” and what the “darkness” provides for them. Sin goes on in the “darkness” and “darkness” provides concealment of sin from the criticism of those living in the “light.” “Darkness” does not conceal sin from God.

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (I Corinthians 4:5).

“Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance” (Psalm 90:8).

“13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

“23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:23-24).

     Jeremiah 23:23-24 reveals the perverted view of God that allowed the Israelites to worship YAHWEH publicly while thinking they could worship their idols and involve themselves in the pornographic, licentious practices of idolatry secretly. One does not need to believe in idols to involve one’s self in the worship practices of idolatry. It was the worship practices of idolatry that enticed the Israelites away from obedience to God into the “darkness.” The very idea that they thought they could get away from God’s chastisement or escape the natural consequences of sin revealed their unbelief in God and their ignorance of the destructive nature of sin. Perhaps the greatest of perversions is to attempt to worship YAHWEH with the worship practices of worldliness. This in its self is a form of idolatry.

Getting a firm grasp on wisdom (Proverbs 4:13)

     In Proverbs 4:13 God says, “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.” Wisdom requires concerted effort to gain. Wisdom is also one of those things that are difficult to retain. Like a freshly caught fish, it will quickly slip from your grasp if not handled very carefully. Perhaps the primary author of most of the Old Testament books of wisdom is the best example of this. Perhaps Solomon’s failures are the very things that make his admonitions regarding wisdom so valuable. He knew firsthand the difficulties of which he addresses. He knew by personal experience and his own failures the subtlety of sin and the human propensity for rationalizing oneself into the “darkness.”

Wisdom assures we will not need correction or fail in our purpose in life (Proverbs 4:10-12)

     God tells us, “10 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. 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble” (Proverbs 4:10-12). God’s Word clearly teaches “the way of wisdom.” Yet, God goes beyond His provision of the inspired Word of God. God personally involves Himself in the believer’s life through the ministry of His Holy Spirit to lead the believer “in right paths.” God patiently continues with us to bring us to spiritual maturity and until we learn self-discipline.

“16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect {artios; complete}, throughly furnished {exartizo; fully equipped} unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16-17).

     This is what God means by the phrase, “thy steps shall not be straitened.” In an ancient culture that traveled by sea and foot, these people understood that a narrow place between mountains or a narrow passageway between two larger bodies of water provided a place for ambush by thieves and pirates. The idea is that wisdom is liberating from fear of disaster. It is the pathway of “darkness” that is dangerous. Satanic deception brings us to focus on the forbidden as we pear into the “darkness.” There are innumerable righteous choices that a person can make in life. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, Satan tries to bring our focus on the few forbidden things in this world. A wise person does not allow that to happened and, therefore, his steps never come into those kinds of dangerous places.

Wisdom avoids the “path of the wicked” (Proverbs 4:14-17)

     This statement follows the context of the previous statement. “14 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. 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.” This is the dangerous pathway. Wisdom not only does not go down this pathway, wisdom avoids it altogether. Wisdom does not even peer into the “darkness” to see where this pathway goes. Wisdom knows where it goes. It is a pathway to destruction. The foolishness of unbelief is well described in Romans 3:10-18. This portion of Scripture is quoted from Psalm 14:3 and Psalm 53:1 where it is particular reference to God deniers and unbelievers.

“10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10-18).

     The “way of peace” (Romans 3:17) is the pathway of “light” or righteousness. The “way of peace” is the pathway of wisdom. The wise person understands that the pathway of wisdom is the ONLY pathway through life that is safe from God’s judgment and safe from the “misery” and “destruction” (vs. 16) of sin. The “way of peace” is the “way of” quietness, rest assurance and reconciliation. If that is not the life you are experiencing, perhaps you are not living on the “path of the just” that is “as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).