God's Wisdom Teaches Men The Way In Which They Should Go, A Way In Which They Will Not Stumble And Which Leads To Life, They Are Thus To Avoid The Way Of The Wicked In Which Men Stumble And Where Death Is Prevalent (Proverbs 4:10-19).
He has stressed in subsection 2 that his father had taught him the great value of wisdom, (which was connected to his words and commandments), as something that should be loved and cherished like a beloved wife, and which would crown him with spiritual beauty. Now he calls on ‘his son' to hear his sayings, which will lead him in the right paths so that he will not stumble, and so that he will find life. He must therefore avoid the path of the wicked, for such can find no rest until they themselves cause other men to stumble and suffer violence. Thus their way is a way of darkness, stumbling and death, both for others and for themselves. And this in contrast to the path of the righteous which grows ever brighter as time passes until it reaches its climax in the perfect day.
Note the continual emphasis on the two ways (compare Proverbs 2:13; Proverbs 2:18-19), which are emphasised throughout. On the one hand is the way of wisdom, the paths of uprightness, the path of the righteous (what Jesus called ‘the narrow way'), and on the other is the path of the wicked, the way of evil men, the way of the wicked (what Jesus called ‘the broad way'). The one leads to life, and light, and is secure, the other leads to violence and darkness, and is insecure.
This subsection is in the form of a chiasmus:
A Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many, I have taught you in the way of wisdom, I have led you in paths of uprightness (Proverbs 4:10-11).
B When you go, your steps will not be hampered or ‘distressed'), and if you run, you will not stumble, take fast hold of instruction, let her not go, keep her, for she is your life (Proverbs 4:12-13).
C Do not enter into the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil men (Proverbs 4:14).
C Avoid it, do not pass by it, turn from it, and pass on (Proverbs 4:15).
B For they do not sleep unless they do evil, and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to stumble, for they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence (Proverbs 4:16-17).
A But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, which shines more and more unto the perfect day, the way of the wicked is as darkness, they do not know at what they stumble (Proverbs 4:18-19).
Note that in A the years of his life will be many and he will be led in the paths of uprightness, and in the parallel he is in the path of the righteous, and this will shine more and more unto the perfect day, In B he will run and will not stumble, and wisdom will give him life, and in the parallel the wicked are unhappy unless they make men stumble, and they drink the wine of violence (take away men's lives - Proverbs 1:10-12). Centrally in C is stressed the need to avoid the way of sinful men.
‘Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings,
And the years of your life will be many.
I have taught you in the way of wisdom,
I have led you in paths of uprightness.
In the same way as he has retained his father's words, and kept his commandments in order to find life (Proverbs 4:4) Solomon now calls on ‘his son' (those who hang on his words) to do the same with his sayings, for they teach them the way of wisdom, and lead them in the paths of uprightness. They are a source of God's wisdom, passed on from one generation to another. And as a consequence they will enjoy long lives (compare Proverbs 3:2; Proverbs 10:27). In New Testament terms they will have eternal life.
Consonant with the theme of the subsection he speaks of this as walking in ‘the way of (God's) wisdom' and ‘the paths of uprightness'. This is to be their goal and their lifestyle. By determining our goals and choosing our lifestyle each of us chooses the way in which we will go. It is worth noting that ‘paths' have been formed by many treading that way before us. We are not alone. We follow in the train of those who have gone before (consider Hebrews 11).
‘When you go, your steps will not be hampered,
And if you run, you will not stumble,
Take fast hold of disciplinary instruction, let her not go,
Keep her, for she is your life.'
And those who walk in this way of wisdom and uprightness will find that their steps are free and unhampered, and that even when they run they will not trip up or stumble. (It is, of course, when we stray from that way that we stumble). And the way to walk in that way is by taking fast hold of His disciplinary instruction and not letting it go. We are to treasure both God's instruction and his necessary discipline (Proverbs 3:11-12), and keep hold of them, for they offer life, that is, a wholesome and abundant life, life with God. For this promise of life see also Proverbs 3:22; Proverbs 4:22; Proverbs 8:35; Proverbs 2:19; Proverbs 3:18; Proverbs 5:6; Proverbs 6:23
Do not enter into the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil men,
Avoid it, do not pass by it,
Turn from it, and pass on.'
In contrast what they must avoid doing is entering into the paths of the ‘wicked', the unrighteous, those who come short of uprightness. Nor must they walk in the way of ‘evil men', those who do not treat God's covenant seriously, who come short of true goodness. Notice his emphasis on this. They must avoid that way, they must not pass along it, they must turn from it, they must pass on (to the upright way). The constant urging is necessary because of the seductive nature of sin.
‘For they do not sleep unless they do evil,
And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall,
For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.'
This is, of course, exaggeration. It is underlining how intensely people love sin. They cannot even sleep until they have sinned, and they are restless until they have dragged others down with them. Whilst not literally true the points are poignant. They love their sin, and there is that in them which loves causing others, especially the upright, to sin. For wickedness (coming short of righteousness) is their daily bread which they avidly consume. And they follow it up by drinking the wine of ‘violence' (which includes violating truth). They are unrestrained in what they do. And in many cases it leads to literal violence. Sin is food and drink to them. They have chosen the broad way (Matthew 7:13-14).
‘But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,
Which shines more and more unto the perfect day,
The way of the wicked is as darkness,
They do not know at what they stumble.'
The discourse ends with the regular contrast between the upright and the sinful (compare Proverbs 1:32-33; Proverbs 2:21-22; Proverbs 3:33-35). On the one hand is the path of the righteous, which commences as a dawning light, and continues to grow brighter and brighter until it reaches the ultimate. The idea is of a perfect day, which dawns with the rising of the sun and grows brighter and brighter until it reaches its zenith in the glory of the midday sun. The idea may be of a growing in righteousness, but more probably it indicates a growing in the light of God's wisdom, for ‘the commandment is a lamp and the torah is light' (Proverbs 6:23). More and more of God's wisdom brings more and more light. But this would clearly be seen as accompanied by such a growth in righteousness (otherwise they would not be growing in wisdom). Thus the picture is of a life blossoming as a consequence of responding to God's wisdom until it attains ultimate knowledge of God. To put it in another way, as on their journey they grow closer and closer to the light of God, knowing Him more and more as time goes by, His light will also shine forth in their lives. And this will go on until they attain the ultimate light, the presence of God Himself. For He is the One Who is light and in Whom there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
In those days the time of light was the time during which men could truly live as a consequence of the light that God had given them (the sun). This was in stark contrast with the time of darkness in which they were left to struggle on as best they could, at the best enjoying the dim light of a full moon (the world's wisdom). Thus for them light was the time in which they ‘lived'. And Solomon has taken over this idea as pointing to a life lived in the light of God's wisdom. They walk in the light of God's commandment and torah, for His word is a lamp to their feet and a light to their path (Psalms 119:105). And as they grow in wisdom so the light grows brighter. Furthermore, as we consider the idea of reaching the perfect day, when the knowledge of God and His wisdom is complete, and His light shines at its brightest, we cannot doubt that Solomon's words here were pointing to the hope of a glorious life beyond the grave. David himself had spoken of the path of life as leading to His presence resulting in fulness of joy and everlasting enjoyment (Psalms 16:11), and had declared that at that time, we will behold His face in righteousness, and awake in His likeness (Psalms 17:15). So whilst the idea of eternal life with God had not been theologically worked out at this stage, it was clearly instinctive in the hearts of true believers.
In Scripture God regularly promises light to His people. In Psalms 43:3 the Psalmist cries out for God's light to lead him and bring him into the presence of God. In Job 29:3 Job declares, ‘by His light I walked through darkness'. In Isaiah 9:2 the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, a light which dawned on them, the light of the coming King. In Isaiah 42:16 God's promise to His people was that He would make darkness light before them (as He had with the flaming fire by night at the Exodus), and the crooked places straight, with the guarantee that He would not forsake them. And most importantly of all Jesus Himself declared that He had come as a light into the world to lead us out of darkness into the light of life (John 8:12).
In contrast is the way of the wicked. This is a way of darkness so that they cannot see where they are going (Deuteronomy 28:29), so much so that when they trip up and stumble they do not know what has caused them to trip up because they ‘walk in the ways of darkness' (see Proverbs 2:13 and compare especially John 8:12; John 12:35; John 12:46). Sinful man, without God's wisdom, will blame his problems and his mortality on many things, but he will never blame it on his sin. That recognition is a consequence of God's light. Thus he is puzzled by suffering, not recognising that he has, along with all mankind, brought it on himself. And he is puzzled when life goes wrong and he stumbles and falls. And this is because he walks in darkness, and cannot see the connection between sin and suffering. After all, he reasons, as he rebels against God, I am not such a great sinner. Like the woman Folly, he knows nothing about what really matters (Proverbs 9:13).