Proverbs: Wise Words for Wise Living

Sunday June 29^th 2025

Proverbs 4-9

Introduction

Listen, Fear the Lord and Live Wisely

There are a few themes across Proverbs 4–9. I am going to focus on 3 of them. Here are a few to reflect on and study for yourself:

• The Value of Wisdom – It’s more precious than gold, essential for life and honor
• The Value of Moral Purity – Adultery symbolizes unfaithfulness to God and leads to ruin. Single minded fidelity is exalted.
• The Appeal to the Simple – choose wisely, wisdom or folly, life or death

1. Fatherly Instruction

This theme is seen throughout all 9 chapters but really focuses on chapters 4-9!

The phrase ‘my son’ is mentioned 15x in first 9 chapters and 9x in chapters 4-9!

4:1 – “Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight…”

4:10 – “Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.”

4:20 – “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings…”

5:1 – “My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding…”

6:20 – “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching…”

7:1 – “My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you…”

The father’s tone is personal, loving, and passionate. The goal is aimed at persuading his son (and us the reader) to make a life-defining choice between two paths: the way of wisdom (life, honor, and God's favor) and the way of folly (destruction, shame, and death). He warns against the adulterous woman and her destruction!

4:23 – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

1. Two Competing Voices

Chapters 4-9 continually describe personifications of wisdom and folly! Both are described as ladies vying for your attention. Lady Wisdom instructing and giving life, and Lady Folly trying to seduce you and lead you to destruction. Both appeal to the ‘simple’ and call out to them.

7:4 – “Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister’ and call insight your intimate friend…”

7:7 – “…and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense…”

8:12 – “I wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.”

Lady Wisdom says I have some friends, where you find me, you will find them.

9:1-6 – Lady Wisdom – life-giving, open, noble;

9:13-18 – Lady Folly – seductive, secretive, deadly

The choice is yours to make:

8:34-36 – “Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

• The Fear of the Lord

The last theme is ending where we began: the fear of the Lord!

1:7 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Fearing God gives us the wisdom to lead a life of joy and pleasure!

9:10 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

The fear of the Lord gives us the wisdom to love what God loves and hate what God hates:

 8:13 – “The fear of the LORD (Yahweh) is hatred of evil.”

6:16-19 – “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sow discord among brothers.”

1. Conclusion

Listen, Fear the Lord and Live Wisely