Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;
pay attention and gain understanding.
2 I give you sound learning,
so do not forsake my teaching.
3 For I too was a son to my father,
still tender, and cherished by my mother.
4 Then he taught me, and he said to me,
“Take hold of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands, and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get[a] wisdom.
Though it cost all you have,[b] get understanding.
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will give you a garland to grace your head
and present you with a glorious crown.”
10 Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
11 I instruct you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evildoers.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;
they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.
20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
If you remember, Proverbs discusses wisdom a lot. By the time we reach the eighth verse, the word 'wisdom' is mentioned four times.
Verse five is something to live by -- "get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them." We are told again to "get wisdom" a few verses later. Clearly, that is a major message in this passage.
Whenever I study the word, I always take notes in my Bible. That way, whenever I go to look over something again or just flip open to it, I see what I was thinking when I first read the passage.
Next to verse 10, I wrote "God is so so wise." Just that phrase kind of struck me. It sends me into this place where all I can do is just be in complete awe. Like the fact that our God is smarter than any scholar, any scientist, anybody. The fact that the most brilliant in this entire universe knows me, know my name, listens to me, and is indeed routing for you and me is the most wonderful thing in the world. Nobody could do or say anything to even come close to amounting to his knowledge and love for us. If that isn't empowering, I'm not too sure what is.
Verse 23, yet another to add to the list of verses to live by. ((maybe I should just make a page for verses to live by??)) "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." This statement has so much power behind it. We are instructed to guard our heart, to keep it safe because it is the center. Everything we do comes or should come from out heart.
The next few verses tell us to keep our eyes ahead, to be careful of our paths, and to not turn from evil.
Safe to say Proverbs holds a special place in my heart.
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Grace
