Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know intelligence;
Chapter four opens with a father calling his children to listen. Two questions shape everything that follows: who is this voice, and what does a hearer gain by paying attention?
One writer points to the form this appeal takes:
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a lawgiver. So it is not even a catechism of the Ten Commandments. It is a parent's instruction. Attention is called for so that understanding, or discernment, may follow. The same Spirit who took His part in creation, who gave skill for the glory of Jehovah, who worked in all that was good and great and holy, would here draw the young heart to listen.
The difference is not only in tone. It shapes what the father hands down:
It is not law, but wisdom and wisdom's commandments, good doctrine, understanding. There is responsibility, commandment, and counsel. It is divine wisdom about our path, followed in obedience, but it is not law. It is divine knowledge in the middle of evil, which the law is not — the law forbids all evil.
He adds that this knowledge has to be searched out:
Taught in this way, it was to be kept in the heart. It was to be discovered and gained. You could not say that of law. There was nothing to discover.
The father speaking here can point back to his own childhood, and that is part of why the appeal lands.
The one teaching here can speak of the loving care given to him in his own early days, when he was "a son with his father, tender, the only one in the sight of his mother." So the affections are stirred first, to awaken the new duties. The teacher had himself been taught — and saying so made the appeal deeply moving.
Another writer names the father and son behind this, then turns to parents today:
As Solomon grew up, his father David taught him how important wisdom is. He insisted that Solomon get wisdom (Proverbs 4:1-9)… Parents today should also encourage their children to seek true wisdom. They should praise them when they show godly wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we are told over and over.
Listening is not the whole of it. What the father asks for goes deeper than agreement:
Obedience is sought — obedience of the heart. Could Jehovah be content with anything less? Could one of His people want anything else? Self-will is the great and constant hindrance. The enemy would stir it up, and shut God out by the things outside us and the passions within. The need for instruction is all the deeper… Here a father's authority is pressed, and the responsibility of sons is claimed.
This call first went to hearers inside Israel. One writer does not leave it there:
Deliverance, as we all recognize, is not the subject here. The subject is instruction, given to obedient hearts within God's ancient people, as in the rest of the Old Testament. But now the Christian is to profit by it to the full, for "all things are ours."
One writer hears the language of this chapter again in the words of Jesus:
The Sermon on the Mount is simply the sayings of wisdom that are to be kept. So the Lord says, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." "If my words abide in you," says Christ… He takes the place of wisdom in all He says.
A father's teaching can still be ignored. One writer points to Solomon's own family:
How many of Solomon's children paid close attention to this may be a question. But the son who inherited the throne, Rehoboam, was far from wise in his first dealings with the people (1 Kings 12:1-15). The result was a split between the ten tribes and the two, and it has never yet been healed.
- Father — this voice is a father's, not a lawgiver's. It gives instruction, not a catechism of the Ten Commandments.
- Wisdom — what the father hands over is not law. It is wisdom, understanding, good doctrine: divine knowledge for a path through evil, and it must be searched out and gained.
- Taught — the teacher was once a taught son himself, loved and cared for. David pressed wisdom on Solomon, and parents today have the same work.
- Response — a father's authority is pressed, and sons carry the responsibility. Nothing less than heart obedience will do, against the constant pull of self-will.
- Reach — these words were spoken inside Israel. Yet the Christian is to profit by them to the full, and their language sounds again in Christ, who takes the place of wisdom in all He says.
for I give you good doctrine forsake ye not my law.
Proverbs 4 opens with a father calling his sons to listen, and verse 2 gives the reason: what he hands them is worth keeping. He calls that teaching "good," which raises three questions: who is really speaking, what "law" means here, and why a son should hold on to it.
These words come from a home, not a courtroom. The appeal is to understanding, not to bare obedience.
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a legislator. So it is not even a catechism of the Ten Commandments, but parental instruction. It calls for attention, so that the hearer may gain intelligence or discernment. The same Spirit took His part in creation. He gave skill for the glory of Jehovah. He worked in all that was good and great and holy. Here He would engage the young heart to hear. For He surely has good doctrine to give, and would guard against forsaking His law or teaching.
The ESV renders it "teaching"; older translations, which the commentators follow, say "law." Hebrew has several words for law, and the one used in these family appeals means instruction.
A Hebrew concordance shows six different words translated "law." Deuteronomy 33:2, which speaks of the "fiery law," uses the word dahth. But another word, tohr-ah, appears 25 times in Psalm 119 (dahth not at all), and the margin of Psalm 19:7 renders it "doctrine." The same word appears in Proverbs 6:20: "Forsake not the law," that is, doctrine, "of your mother." "Law" here covers, no doubt, the whole teaching of Jehovah to His people, whether found in the Ten Commandments or elsewhere.
Teaching works differently from legislation. You can keep or break a command; wisdom you have to go after and take in.
It is not law, but wisdom and wisdom's commandments, good doctrine, understanding. There is responsibility, commandment, and counsel; divine wisdom for our path, followed in obedience, but not law. It is divine knowledge in the middle of evil — which the law is not; the law forbids all evil... God founded the earth by wisdom, not by law. It is a far larger thing — the whole mind of God... Taught in that way, it was to be kept in the heart; it was to be discovered, attained. You could not say that of law. There was nothing to discover.
The verses that follow show where Solomon's teaching came from, and what it later produced in him.
Solomon looks back to his own youth, and to a father and mother plainly united in their care for him (vv. 2-3). David taught him to keep his father's words, and to find true life in obedience (v. 4). David's words in verses 5 to 9 may have moved Solomon so deeply that they led to his prayer to God for wisdom and knowledge (2 Chronicles 1:7-9).
The way this father speaks about his words — keep them, retain them, live — reappears later on the lips of Jesus.
There is something very striking in the likeness of the language here to the language of Christ in the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount is just the sayings of wisdom, and they are to be kept. So the Lord says, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." "If my words abide in you," says Christ. "Whoever does not love me does not keep my words." "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word." There is more than that in Christ; but He takes the place of wisdom in all He says.
Proverbs was first given to Israel, so a reader today may wonder how much of it belongs to them.
But now the Christian is to profit by it to the fullest, for "all things are ours." The Book does not give us the exalted Head. It does not give the heavenly glory we are to share with Him as members of His body, nor the duties that flow from that relationship. But it does reveal divine wisdom for a saint here below.
- Given — The father hands over what he calls good. It is home teaching, not law-making, and it asks for discernment, not bare obedience.
- Named — The "law" of this verse translates a Hebrew word also rendered "doctrine." It is the same word used of a mother's teaching in Proverbs 6:20.
- Sought — Wisdom has to be discovered and gained, then kept in the heart. A bare command holds nothing to discover.
- Passed on — Solomon gives what David first gave him. That early teaching may lie behind his own prayer for wisdom.
- Fulfilled — Christ speaks the same way about keeping His words. This wisdom for life here below is still ours to use to the fullest.
For I was a son unto my father, tender and an only one in the sight of my mother.
Solomon stops for a moment to tell us where he learned his teaching. Before he taught anyone, he was a small boy in his father's house and under his mother's eye. Two questions follow. What do the words "tender" and "the only one" mean here? And why does a teacher base his appeal on his own childhood?
Solomon speaks here as a parent, not as a lawgiver. He does not hand down rules. He remembers being loved, and that memory becomes his argument.
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a legislator. So it is not even a summary of the Ten Commandments, but parental instruction. The father calls for attention, to bring understanding or discernment... The one who teaches can speak of the loving care given to his own early days. He was "a son with his father, tender, the only one in the sight of his mother." This calls the affections back, to awaken the new duties. It was not only that the teacher had himself been taught; saying so gave his appeal its touching force.
The Hebrew word behind "the only one" is yachid; older translations render it "only beloved." It speaks of depth of love, not a count of children.
The expression also suggests the thought of the deepest affection. It matches the Old Testament word yachid, which is translated "only one" (Genesis 22:2, 12), "only son" (Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10), "only beloved" (Proverbs 4:3), and "darling" (Psalm 22:20; 35:17).
The word does not count children. It marks Solomon out as the treasured one.
The other word in the verse is "tender." Solomon was still soft and young when the teaching began. One writer draws the practical lesson with a picture from the garden.
A wise and skilful gardener starts training the branches while his fruit trees are young and tender. He trains them along the wall, where they may catch the warm rays of the sun. We should do the same. While our children are young and easily shaped, we should seek to mould them for God. It would be sheer folly for the gardener to wait until the branches grow old and gnarled. If he tried to train them then, he would find it a hopeless task.
Solomon names both parents in one line. One writer notes that they were united in their care for him.
Solomon speaks of giving good doctrine, urging his children not to forsake his law (v. 2). Then he refers to his own youth, and to his father and mother being clearly united in their care for him (vv. 2-3). David taught him to hold on to his father's words, to find true life in obedience (v. 4).
The teaching bore fruit later. One writer links David's counsel with what Solomon asked God for at Gibeon, and with what God gave him.
David's earnest counsel will account, at least in part, for Solomon's answer to the LORD at Gibeon. How remarkably God met his desire. Solomon pleaded that Israel was "so great": how could he carry the responsibility of guiding such a nation? Now compare verses 20 and 29 of 1 Kings 4. One says, "Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea." The other says, "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore." Wisdom according to the need!
The verse describes a chain: David taught Solomon, Solomon teaches his own sons. The next generation shows that this chain can break.
How many of Solomon's children paid close attention to this may be a question. But the son who inherited the throne, Rehoboam, was far from wise in his first dealings with the people (1 Kings 12:1-15). That led to a break between the ten tribes and the two, and it has never yet been healed.
- Loved. "The only one" translates yachid, the word also rendered "darling" in the Psalms. It measures love, not numbers.
- Tender. The child was young and soft when the teaching began. You shape a branch while it bends, not after it hardens.
- Taught. Both parents stand in the verse, united in their care, and the teacher speaks as a father, not as a lawgiver.
- Asked. What David poured in came back out at Gibeon. God met Solomon's desire and gave him wisdom in the measure the task demanded.
- Passed on. Solomon now says to his sons what David said to him. Rehoboam did not listen, so every generation must receive the words for itself.
And he taught me, and said unto me, Let thy heart retain my words; keep my commandments and live.
Solomon, writing to his own children, stops to tell them where he first learned wisdom: at his father David's knee. What he passes on is not his own rule but a charge he received, and its promise is life.
One commentator points to the form these words take. It is family affection, not legal authority.
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a lawgiver. So it is not even a catechism of the "ten words," but a parent's teaching; and the call for attention aims at understanding and discernment... The writer God uses can speak of the loving care given to his own early days, when he was, in his own words, "a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother." So the affections are stirred to awaken the new duties. The teacher had not only been taught himself; that he had been taught made his appeal touch the heart.
"My commandments" here does not point to the law. The difference matters. Law forbids evil; wisdom is knowledge for living in the middle of it.
It is not law, but wisdom and wisdom's commandments, good doctrine, understanding. There is responsibility, commandment, and counsel. There is divine wisdom about our path, followed in obedience, but it is not law. It is divine knowledge in the middle of evil, which the law is not; the law forbids all evil... God founded the earth by wisdom, not by law. It is a far larger thing — the whole mind of God... Taught in this way, it was to be kept in the heart. It was to be discovered and gained. You could not say that of law. There was nothing to discover.
The same writer hears something familiar in this way of speaking. It returns in the words of Jesus.
There is something very striking in how the language here is like the language of Christ in the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount is simply the sayings of wisdom that we are to keep. So the Lord says, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." "If my words abide in you," says Christ... There is more than that in Christ; but He takes the place of wisdom in everything He says. There was a person and source of grace, One in whom, in subjection, these words were filled full. When He spoke, His words were the exact expression of what He was.
Why are obedience and life joined here? One commentator answers that God's words are not payment for good behaviour. They are food.
That is the path of life, for man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. So here we read, "keep my commandments, and live." Yet self-will easily spoils the teaching that comes from God, though that teaching alone feeds us. It needs close guarding in a world of evil, full of things that defile.
Elsewhere Scripture records what David charged his son to do. It fills in the commandments Solomon received.
"Serve Him (the LORD) with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever" (1 Chr. 28:9)... In simple words — obey God's Word — God judges motives as well as acts — be brave for God — God's righteous government goes with sin — depend on God for His lasting support in His work. These were wise, solemn and encouraging words from a father to a son. Did Solomon pay any attention to his father? Yes, he did.
Later, at Gibeon, Solomon asked God for wisdom to guide Israel. One writer traces that answer back to his father's counsel.
David's earnest counsel explains, at least in part, Solomon's answer to the LORD at Gibeon. How wonderfully He met his desire. Solomon pleaded that Israel was "so great": how could he carry the weight of guiding such a nation?... "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore." Wisdom to match the need!
This responsibility did not end with Israel's kings.
Here a father presses his authority, and claims the responsibility of sons. This was always true for man on earth, as the law recognised long afterwards. It still holds good now that we are no longer guided as children.
- Taught — this comes as a father's instruction, not a lawgiver's code. It stirs the affections before it commands the will.
- Treasured — the teaching is to be kept in the heart. Wisdom is something to discover and gain; law gave nothing to discover.
- Kept — self-will easily spoils this teaching, so it needs close guarding in a world full of evil.
- Lived — the promise "and live" rests on this: man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
- Passed on — David's counsel shaped Solomon's answer at Gibeon, and God gave wisdom to match the need. The same claim on sons still holds good.