Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs. Let’s pick up our study today in Proverbs 4:1-27. 

And what I want to address this morning is the legacy of God-fearing that can be passed down from generation to generation. Parents, there’s a wonderful opportunity you have to pass on your faith to your children. I would even say that this is the most important task that you have as a parent. 

And there’s this really sad moment in Israelite history when the faith of the parents wasn’t passed down to the children. It takes place in the first few pages of the book of Judges. And the Bible says that the nation of Israel took the Promised Land, and they worshipped God. They conquered the land, and they settled the land. 

But after Joshua and his generation died and were gathered to their fathers (that’s a euphemism for death), it says, “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10). 

The parents came in singing, “Our God is an Awesome God!” But their kids said, “never heard of him.” They did not know the Lord or the work that he had don for Israel. And this is a cycle that repeats itself throughout the book of Judges.

Now this doesn’t mean that we blame the parents for the forgetfulness and disobedience of their children. Each individual will have to give an account of himself or herself before the Lord. But it does mean that we have a task, as parents, and even as grandparents, as we’ll see in a moment, to pass on God-fearing and wisdom to our children. 

Dads, let me emphasize this with you especially. Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” The KJV reads, “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Moms and dads, you’ve got to own this responsibility as a parent and pass on God-fearing and wisdom to your children. 

And children, let me exhort you for a moment. Don’t ever veer off the path of God-fearing that your parents put you on. It’s not just about how you start; it’s about how you finish. And it’s about how you pass on that legacy to the next generation. You grow up, and you teach your children to not veer off the path of wisdom either. 

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“Why, Tony? Why is it so important to stay on that path?” I’ll give you three reasons today. You can see the structure of chapter 4 very easily. Each section starts with a “my son” statement. Verse 1 says, “Hear, O sons.” Verse 10 says, “Hear, my son.” And verse 20 says, “My son.” That’s the three-fold structure of this passage.

And the emphasis on that first section is this. Write this down. 

1. The way of wisdom has been generationally tested and approved (4:1-9)

Why is it so important to stay on the path of wisdom? Because The way of wisdom has been generationally tested and approved.

One of the things that we notice in the first few verses of Chapter 4 is that Solomon references his own father. Grandpa David makes a cameo here in Proverbs 4. Solomon says essentially this, “Father knows best, but grandpa knows even better.” Do we have any grandpas in the room this morning? You should “amen” that statement: “Grandpa knows even better!” Solomon says, “Son, wisdom has served me well, but not just me. It served your grandfather, David, well too. And great-grandfather Jesse too.”

Let’s get into this. Look at verse 1.

1 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,

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

Notice in verse 1 that there is a plural “sons” and an indefinite “father.” “Hear, O sons, a father’s instructions.” The appeal here is general for all sons of all fathers. If you are a son (or daughter) this morning, heed the wisdom of your father. If you are a father this morning, be the kind of father that espouses wisdom to your children. You can’t teach what you don’t have. You can’t bless your children from a place of ignorance. This father, in Proverbs 4, has good precepts and good teaching to supply his children with. Dads, you be that kind of father too! I wish today was Father’s Day, because this would be a great Father’s Day message. 

Solomon says in verse 3,

3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, 4 he taught me 

Notice fathers in this room, that the father began teaching his son when he was tender. In other words, the son was young and impressionable and vulnerable. He didn’t wait till he was a teenager. He didn’t wait until he went off to college. He did it early in life. Dads don’t wait with your kids. Start early.

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

Grandpa has some things to say, and when grandpa talks, people listen. By the way, in this culture, Hebrew culture, elders were revered. Proverbs 16:31 says, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” Gray hair was a sign of nobility. Nobody dyed their gray hairs in Israel! Gray hair was considered a crown. And so when grandpa spoke, people listened. And when Solomon was a little boy, his father spoke wisdom to Solomon and Solomon listened.

Fathers, let me give you a quick word of encouragement here. David was not a perfect father. I know that’s not a shocking statement to most of you. David had feet of clay. In fact, he made some really stupid, boneheaded mistakes, not the least of which was committing adultery with another man’s wife. He was severely chastened for that action, by the way. 

But Solomon here remembers not his father’s failures. He remembers instead the wisdom David espoused to his son. Think about that for a second, sons and daughters in this room. Solomon remembers not his father’s failures, but the wisdom that he passed on to him. 

I had a conversation with an old friend once who started mercilessly denigrating his father. He was consumed by all his dad’s vices and ignored all of his virtues. And it really aggravated me. Because I knew his father. His father was a good dad and passed on a lot of wisdom to this son. And all this guy could do was fixate on the few mistakes that his dad made. And he was using that to create all kinds of weakness in himself. But how’d you like to have David as your father? I should have asked him that question. Well Solomon doesn’t fixate on his father’s failures; he remembers instead the wisdom that David passed down to him.  

Listen, true wisdom is not found in being perfect. We can’t be perfect. That’s why Jesus had to die a brutal death upon the cross for our sins. True wisdom is found in learning from our mistakes, fearing God, and not repeating those mistakes. The truth is that sometimes we learn more from our failures than we learn from our successes. The fool keeps going back to the well of stupidity, like a dog that returns to its vomit (Prov 26:11). The wise man says, “Enough!” He admits his mistakes and he doesn’t repeat them.  

Look at verse 4. David told Solomon as a boy, when he was “tender… in the sight of [his] mother.” 

“Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. 

5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

David might have even added an anecdote here for Solomon. “Here’s something I did, son. I paid dearly for it. Don’t make that same mistake.”

Look at verse 6.

6 Do not forsake her [that’s Lady Wisdom again personified as a woman], and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. 

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

Verse 7 is really quite interesting. David tells Solomon, “The beginning of wisdom is this…” “What is it? What is it, dad?” “Well it’s this, son: ‘Get wisdom!’” “Oh, Okay. That’s a bit anticlimactic. That’s kind of circular isn’t it—the beginning of wisdom is get wisdom.” 

But here’s what he’s saying. The beginning of wisdom isn’t talk. Talk is cheap. Don’t just talk about wisdom. Don’t just espouse its virtues. Don’t just pontificate on how great wisdom is. Go get it! I can tell you about insight and discernment and knowledge and understanding all day. But if you don’t go after those things, if you don’t assimilate those virtues into your life, than it doesn’t mean squat.

When I was younger, I remember hearing people talk with such grandiose language about the value of the Bible. They would praise God’s Word publicly, but then they would rarely access it privately. It would just sit on their shelves all week, and then they would carry it to church like some kind of superstitious trinket. Let’s not make that mistake as believers! Don’t just talk about the truths of God’s Word. Go get them. Receive them, believe them, and apply them into your lives. 

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

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

The word for “prize” here could actually be translated “hug” or even “cuddle.” And the Hebrew word for “embrace” is the same word used in Song of Solomon for the erotic affection displayed between husband and wife. Now this is metaphorical language, so don’t make too much of this. But here is what Scripture is saying, “Woo lady Wisdom. Take her out to dinner. Prize her highly. Embrace her! Cuddle up with her! Snuggle up to her!” Are you feeling the metaphor here? Cause if you do these things, Lady Wisdom will bless your life.   

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

Lady Wisdom is a volatile creature as we saw in Chapter 1. You don’t want her to be angry with you. “Hell hath no fury as Lady Wisdom scorned!” But if you woo her and embrace her, she will bless your life abundantly.    

Notice at the end of verse 9 there are quotation marks. Does everyone see that in your ESV Bibles? Same thing if you have an NIV Bible or an NASB. This is an interpretational decision by the English translators. There are no quotation marks in the original Hebrew. And what they are saying here, and I agree with them, is that the words of Solomon’s father began in verse 4 with “he taught me and said to me, ‘Let your heart hold fast my words…’” And that continues all the way to verse 9. In other words all of these statements in verses 4–9, were passed down from grandfather to father to son. The way of wisdom has been generationally tested and approved (4:1–9). For that reason and others, we are told to embrace her. 

Some people might object to that with this statement, “Well my grandfather never passed those things down to me.” Well then, be that type of grandfather! You might say, “Well, neither my father nor my grandfather passed wisdom on to me.” Okay then be that type of father or grandfather or mother or grandmother. Be the change that you want to see in other people. You might not be the recipient of any great spiritual heritage in your family, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pass on a spiritual heritage to your children or to others that God has given you influence over. 

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Write this down as a second point from our text today. The way of wisdom has been generationally tested and approved. And also, #2.

2) The way of wisdom requires tunnel vision (4:10-19)

When I played basketball as a kid “tunnel vision” was a bad thing. I’d have these coaches who put together these elaborate offensive schemes and we’d practice for hours to perfect them. But then we’d get in the game, and we’d just immediately forget about them. We’d get the ball, and we’d fixate our eyes on the basket, and with absolute tunnel vision we’d drive to the hoop. It didn’t matter whether we got a good shot or not. The important thing was to get a shot. And it would make my coaches furious. They’d yell at us, “Pass the ball! Run the offense. Don’t have tunnel vision!” 

Well coach Solomon, unlike my basketball coaches, is all about tunnel vision. He says in verses 10-19, “Keep your eyes fixated on wisdom! Don’t get distracted. Don’t get off track. Don’t get hoodwinked into thinking that there is a better path. Put your feet on wisdom’s path and keep them there until you die.”

Why is this so important to Solomon? Why does he communicate this with such passion? Well it’s because the other paths aren’t just bad for you, they are actually hazardous to your health.    

Look at verse 10 with me.

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

We’ve talked about this already. On average, wise people live longer and better lives than foolish people. It’s just a fact of life. God has hard-wired our world to function that way. 

I was reminded this last week about a famous Dallas Cowboy named Mark Tuinei. Anyone remember him? He won three Super Bowls in the 90s with the Cowboys. He retired with millions of dollars in the bank. He was married to a supermodel wife. He had the whole world in front of him. After retirement, he was set to move back to Hawaii and just coach high school football for fun. Well one night he injected heroine into his system, and immediately stopped his heart—dead at age 39.

From what I understand, his wife had just recently gotten saved, and he was sniffing around the gospel. He was intrigued. But then he did one stupid thing, and his life was gone.

Solomon says, 

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

And certainly there are eternal ramifications to that statement as well. Right? People who fear God and accept his free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ live forever in a state of eternal bliss. How’s that for a long and happy life!

Look at verse 11.

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

Are you doing that, parents in this room? Can you read verse 11 with a clear conscience to your kids? Are you trusting the school system to teach your children and lead them on the paths of uprightness? Are you trusting the U.S. Government to do that? Are you trusting YouTube to do that? Let me just say, parents, that the moral instruction of your children before God is your responsibility. 

Look, I don’t care if you home school your kids or put them in private school or put them in public school. You, parents, are the primary educator for your children! 

And let me get really practical with you about this. Dads, listen up for a second. When it’s time to put children to bed… that’s not ladies’ work. Dads, turn off the TV, turn the computer off, turn off your cell phone, and help put your children to bed and read God’s Word to them. Sanja and I worked through multiple children’s bibles multiple times with Alastair when he was little. We made a lot of mistakes as parents, but we did that right. 

For those of you who have older kids or grown kids or have blended families, I know that that is going to look a little different for you. You are going to have to nuance the application of this passage for your particular family situation. But take some time and think that through. What are some ways that you can teach your children the way of wisdom and lead them in the paths of righteousness?

Solomon says, as a father to a son, in verse 11.   

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. 

I think there is some hyperbole here with this last statement. Instruction is your life! Wisdom, grounded in the fear of the Lord, is your life. Don’t let go of her. Don’t ever wander off of her path.  

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

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

Here’s another thing, parents. You can’t forcibly keep your children off the paths of wickedness forever. You just can’t. I don’t care if you home school them, private school them, or public school them. They eventually will discover on their own the path of wickedness. Your job as a parent is not only to protect them from those wicked paths when they are young and vulnerable, but to prepare them to steer clear of those paths when they are older. 

Several years ago, I was at a Gospel Coalition conference in Chicago. And there was this panel with all these different pastors answering questions. And one of the pastors made this statement. He said, “I’ve raised all five of my kids in the inner city of Chicago, and all of them have attended public schools for their entire childhood.” When he said it, there was this collective gasp in the room like “You did what?” All these conservative Christian parents were just kind of shocked that he did this. Even I was a little taken aback by his statement. I’m not sure I would have chosen that path for Alastair if we lived in Chicago. 

But he said something really profound afterwards. Two things, in fact. He said first: “The greatest dangers to our children are not external. They’re internal. If you love your children and if you teach them the power of the gospel, then you have the freedom in faith not fear to release them into the world!” Wisdom is not isolating yourself from the pitfalls of this world. It’s navigating your way through them.

The other profound thing that that pastor said that day is this, I’ll never forget it. He said, “We don’t want to raise good kids in our churches, we want to raise gospel kids.” I’ve been wrestling with the application of that statement ever since I heard it.

Parents, we’re the ones responsible for raising our children to fear God. And we’re the ones responsible for preparing them for the pitfalls of this world.  

Young people in this room, let me talk to you for a second. Look at verses 14-15 with me:

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

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

Don’t go down the paths of easy sex. Don’t chase after ill-gotten gain. Don’t look to get high on drugs or alcohol or romantic non-marital relationships. Is sin fun? Yes, it is. You better believe it is. But the consequences are devastating. Remember the story of Mark Tuinei. One bad decision ended his life.

15 Avoid it [the path of the wicked]; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 

16 For they [that’s “the wicked” from verse 14] 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. 

Are there people like this in this world? Is Solomon exaggerating here? Are there really people who can’t sleep until they’ve committed evil against another person? You better believe there are people like that in this world. One of the greatest mistakes philosophically that I see a lot of young people make is thinking that everyone down deep is inherently a good person. It’s not true. Some people think that all bad people need is the right coaxing or the right recipe of kindness or the right opportunity to come around and they’ll come around. It’s not true. Depravity is alive and well on planet earth! 

The Bible tells us that “folly is bound up in the heart of a child” (2:15). We are made in the image of God, yes, but we are also marred by sin and depravity, and some people on planet earth have so seared their consciences… they have so perverted the image of God that they were made in, that they crave wickedness as food, and they thirst for violence.

  Don’t go down there path, young people. There’s a better way. Here’s the two-path theology that Solomon has been preaching since chapter 1. Look at verse 18.

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 over what they stumble.

There are two paths. Choose wisdom or choose folly. Choose the fear of the Lord or choose stupidity. Choose light or choose darkness. Choose clarity or choose confusion. Solomon says in verse 19 that the wicked person gropes around in the darkness, and they don’t even know what they stumble on. 

I remember several years ago, in 2012, there was this story that circulated about the great San Antonio Spur, Tony Parker. Parker went into a New York City nightclub. And according to this story there was an altercation that broke out between two hip-hop artists and their entourage. And during this fight, bottles were thrown, and people were injured. And Parker took a bottle to the eye, and it scratched his cornea. And all of us Spurs’ fans were sweating bullets because we thought we were going to lose our starting point guard when the Spurs were knocking on the door of another championship. 

And from what I read, Parker sued that nightclub for $20 million for allowing a dangerous environment where he was injured. But here’s my advice for Tony Parker and for the rest of you. Stay away from dangerous nightclubs. Millions of dollars can buy a lot of stuff. But it can’t buy wisdom. 

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Here’s the last point from our message. The way of wisdom has been generationally tested and approved. The way of wisdom requires tunnel vision. Fix your eyes on the target, and don’t let anyone steer you off course. Here’s the last point from our message today.  

3) The way of wisdom guards your innermost being (4:20-27)

Let me just show you something interesting in verses 20–27. Notice how many body parts show up in this passage. This is Solomonic poetry at its finest. 

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

21 Let them not escape from your sight [literally eyes]; 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 [literally “mouth”], and put devious talk [literally lips] far from you. 

25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze [literally the “eyelids” or the “pupils” of your eyes] be straight before you. 

26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 

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

If my count is right, I see eight references to body parts or to some aspect of the human body: 1) ear, 2) eyes, 3) heart, 4) flesh, 5) mouth, 6) lips, 7) pupils, and 8) feet. The author of Proverbs is a master-poet, and I see this as one of the artistic poetic features of his writing. But this is more than just poetry. The idea here is that all of us, our entire body, needs to stay on the right path of wisdom. In other words, with all of your being, with all of your “head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,” heed God’s wisdom and stay on the path of wisdom.  

And as part of the poetry of this section, there is a central body part that needs to be especially attentive to God’s wisdom. The central statement of these verses, with reference to that central body part, is verse 23. 

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

The idea here is also that all the other parts of the body affect the heart. Your eye is a gatekeeper to the heart. Your ear, likewise. Your mouth, likewise. Your feet, likewise. Literally verse 23 says “Guard your heart above all other guarding.” You got a security system at your house to protect your belongings? Great! Guard your heart with even greater vigilance than that. You got a security system on your car? You lock your doors at night to prevent grand theft auto? Great! Guard your heart with an even greater measure of vigilance than that. 

“How do we do that, Tony?” It’s really very simple—don’t watch stupid stuff! Don’t listen to wicked stuff. Don’t run after sinful things. Don’t speak perverse things with your mouth. 

And it’s not just about prohibitions. It’s not just about what you keep away from your heart, it’s about what you bring into your heart. Incline your eyes to the words of wisdom. Keep your eyes fixed on the things of God. They will bring healing to your flesh, and they will safeguard your heart.

You know some of the best things I’ve learned in life, I learned in children’s ministry. I’m so thankful for those who sacrificed time and energy to bless me as a kid when I was in children’s ministry. Treasure in heaven is what those individuals deserve! And here’s a song, I learned in children’s ministry that has stuck with me for 40 years.

“Oh, be careful little eyes what you see!

Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see!

For the Father up above, he is looking down in love, 

so be careful little eyes, what you see.”

That’s great theology, right there. That is a truth from God’s Word.

2nd verse: “Oh, be careful little ears, what you hear…”

3rd verse: “Oh, be careful little mouth, what you say…”

That’s great theology! That’s essentially the message of Proverbs 4. And part of the message of Proverbs 4 is that your heart is your innermost being. It’s the most important thing inside of you. The springs of life flow out of it. And God has given you these other parts of your body to guard that heart: eyes, ears, mouth, hand, feet. But instead of protecting our heart with these instruments that God has given us… instead of sending wisdom to our heart through our eyes, ears, mouths, and feet, sometimes we poison our hearts by sending evil. Don’t do that. Guard your heart.

By the way “the heart” is not just the seat of the emotions in Hebrew thought. The Hebrew לֵב represents the center of our whole being. There’s no Hebrew word for “brains.” The לֵב is the brain or the mind in Hebrew thought. So what this is saying is that our mind, emotions, and also our will are all bound up in the heart. So guard it. Keep it with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

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Since this passage is not just about guarding one’s heart, but also parenting, let me close with a statement concerning both. Because some of you with small children might ask, “Yes, Pastor Tony, guarding the heart is so important. How do I help my son or daughter guard their heart?” Well if you have a daughter, there a several things you can do. You can direct her affections to the Lord and away from you as she ages. That’s not easy. You can show her, through your own relationship with God, how important God is. You can help her guard her eyes. You can help her guard her ears. You can help her guard her feet so that she doesn’t stumble into evil. And then when some boy comes a-courtin’ … when she’s a little older, dads, you can show that boy your impressive gun collection. That’ll help guard her heart. 

If you have a son, the situation is not that different. You help him place his affections on the Lord and not the other false idols in this world. And ultimately, what you want to do, is share the gospel with both daughter and son, so that their hearts not only fix on the right things but are ultimately renewed by their faith in Christ. 

Jesus said something about this in John 7:38. Jesus may have even been alluding to Proverbs 4:23 with this statement. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Whoever believes in me, says Jesus, the Savior, the Redeemer, the King of hearts. Whoever believes in [Jesus]… “Out of his heart [and her heart] will flow rivers of living water.” What’s the best way to guard your heart, Pastor Tony? Put your faith in Christ. Believe in him and trust him with all your heart.