We're ready for Proverbs 4, but I just want to look at something Isaiah 17, 1 that Elaine and I was frantically going over. Just before we left home, we saw that Israel's bombed Damascus. And so it's gonna be in the news. I know it's gonna be in the news by the time we get home in the next few days. And so I just wanted us to be refreshed on this one passage and why it makes a big deal. to Christians and so it's just good to put our eyes on it and fresh. I don't think this is what's happening yet because this is a prophecy that is yet future. But this is what stirs it up in people's mind as it comes about. So in Isaiah 17 verse one says, the burden of Damascus, behold Damascus. is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aor are forsaken. They shall be for flocks which shall lie down and shall make none of them afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim and the kingdom of Damascus and the remnant of Syria. They shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. Damascus is the capital city of Syria. It says it's going to be demolished. It's going to be totally gone. And they did bomb right in the capital today. And I'm not going to report any numbers of missiles or anything yet, because I've already read two different reports. But it tells why. In verse seven it says, at that day shall a man look to his maker and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. He says, why all this trouble in the Middle East and why these things in Syria? And he warns them in this prophecy, he's like, don't make a deal with them because they're gonna turn around and they're gonna stab you in the back, so make sure you trust me. Don't trust everybody, don't make these covenants. And so that's kind of what brought this about. They had a kind of regime change and the guy changed his name, said they're gonna be more Western, they're gonna be more progressive, and then turned around and stabbed him in the back. But God says, I'm doing it here to make men turn to me, so they'll look to me, so they'll find me. Verse 10 says, because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation and has not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants and shalt set it with strange slips. He's talking about some hard times that Israel goes through during whatever this time is as well. Just to remind you, that's where it is, that's why it's in the news. It does come on the timing on your end times bingo if you had tsunamis and so Alaska had a big earthquake and they were talking about the tsunami warnings and so that's one of the things on here to watch out for as well as wars and rumors of wars and everything else that we see that's going on today. But right now we're in Proverbs 4. I just want to address that real fresh, let you be real quick, put it fresh in your mind so that you would know where to go and to study it if you cared to when they're talking about what's all this talk about Damascus and so. That's the passage, that's the prophecy that stirs us all up. Oops. Proverbs 4. He's been addressing here early about wisdom, obviously, that's what he talks about a lot. Solomon is the he. And he's talked about the wise and the wherefores And chapter four here is kind of getting practical. It's like, I'm gonna try to apply it to you in real world before you go out. And it's almost, some kind of see it as a field trip, and I break it down a little bit differently than some do. But it's definitely a school's in session. It's a dad talking to his kids. Verse one says, here you children, the instruction of a father, attend to no understanding For I give you good doctrine, forsake you not my law. And so, here you children, you know, it's pretty formal call to school, right? It's like here, listen up, open your ears, pay attention. Listen to my instruction, he says. Pay attention, attend. Attend means pay attention. Learn my understanding. I have learned things as an adult that I would like to pass on to you children. I want you to learn what I have learned. And honestly, you know, being taught by your parents or your guardian or your mentor or whatever it might be. It's a shortcut in life that God has put down for us that you can learn from others. You can read a book. You can take something and study. You can go to a lecture. You can listen to your parents, and they can then save you a bunch of grief in life and put you further ahead if you would listen and pay attention because your parents have lived, and they have learned, often the hard way because they didn't listen the first time around, and they're wanting to pass on that wisdom that took them a lifetime to get and instill it into their children. And it's always best if you can say do as I do versus do as I say, not as I do. That usually doesn't fly, because the kids usually imitate you right away. But again, to talk about, even if you have messed up in life and you're making changes, to come back and say, here's what I have done wrong. I've learned from the children. Here, let me tell you, listen to my instruction. This father's wanting to do that. I'm wanting to give you this. I'm wanting to give you a life worth of learning so that you can jump ahead. It's a gift. It's an opportunity. The accumulated wisdom of a life that has been lived given to you to put you ahead in life, to build upon, and that you can even take it further because the parents can only go so far. Now it's your turn. It's like passing a torch. Verse 2, for I give you good doctrine, forsake you not my law. Doctrine here is insight. I'm giving you good insight. I'm giving you good teaching. forsake not my law, or basically, don't leave or don't abandon my teaching. Don't say, ah, that's good for you, old man, and then go your own way. He's like saying, no, I'm begging with you, I'm pleading with you. Listen to me, this is good, this is sound, this is wise. And he's not gonna give them like specific details, like make sure you invest in IBM, and then you're gonna move to Atari, then it's gonna go to Windows, and then Windows is gonna go to Apple. He's not telling you something like that. He's telling you general principles of life. And so it's not like super real specific on how to get rich or something. It's not a career or an occupation or a trade. Make sure you go into baking, or make sure you go into farming. It's nothing like that. He's giving them an open path, but he's giving them the tools to say, take whatever path you want, use this in any of those paths, and it's gonna work. And that there is some good advice. It applies to anything. It applies to everything. Every trade, every occupation, every job you could ever have. It's an opportunity in all areas and all fields. It's a core principle. It's a core principle that you can apply to everything. Then he says something that needs said, especially when an adult is talking to their children. I will say, I don't think that any of the children that hear it understand what they are saying, what a parent is telling them, until they are maybe in their 40s and 50s, and they're a parent. As the parent is telling them right away, it's like, I don't know, you think. But then when you're older, you come around and you're like, I see what they're saying. Verse three. For I was my father's son, tender, and only beloved in the sight of my mother. Gotta tell these kids here, all old men were once young men. All older ladies were once little girls. It's like, I've not always been this age. I know I've always been this age for you, but you need to know and understand that I've grown up. We used to always talk to the kids, and then we'd look at old pictures, and I'd be like, oh, black and white pictures of me, you know, when I was born. Like, this was, you know, they'd be like, why is it black and white? That was before we had color. And, you know, and then we'd show them, and then later, you know, we had all these color pictures, and then Megan would ask, Dad, what was it like, like the day the world got color? I'm like, it's the pictures. We only had black and white pictures. The world was in color. But I didn't explain it well. You know, she's just young and innocent and asking. It's like, yeah, that's. It wasn't the Wizard of Oz where all of a sudden he's like, but they're naive and they're innocent. You know, that's different. They're trying to figure it out and they're not listening to parents. And it doesn't seem like you don't figure it out until later. You're like, oh, my parents were young too. Oh, my parents were just kids when they were starting out being parents. And my kids, I thought they knew it all. And they were just probably winging it like I'm winging it now and all those things. And so he's trying to, you two are giggling an awful lot right here in this room. Because I think all of us, at some point in time, if we had a time machine or we could go back and talk to our younger self, we'd be like, listen more. Listen more to your parents. Listen to what they are saying. Ask more questions. Ask them more about their life, what they did, what it was like when they were little, what it was like growing up, all those things that you wish you had. Heed our parents. Listen to your mentors. Listen to the advice. I can remember training a guy at work, and I trained a lot of people. We went and visited my boss the other day, and he had a little list of everybody that I outlasted at work, you know, that didn't last, and got done. It was pretty funny as we reminisced, but there's a, one of them I remember specifically, I trained a lot of, and I'd be like, here, I gotta show you how we're gonna do it, you know, because this is the right way, wrong way, and our way, kind of the way, you know, and if you have something good to bring to the table, we might adopt that and bring it in, but I'd be teaching, instructing this guy, and he'd always be like, I'm a big boy, I'll figure it out. He didn't last very long at the company with an attitude like that. He didn't need instruction. Matter of fact, he didn't last long in life. It wasn't too much longer that he died. It was sad, and I had many a deep conversation with that man. So listen to this advice. Then he shares, this is Solomon sitting on a bench with his kids, and he shares what his dad told him to his kids. Now before we move forward, we need to stop and realize who his dad was. His dad was David, right? King David, the shepherd, the Lord's anointed, the servant of the Lord, the king of Israel and of Judah, United Kingdom, a man after God's own heart. Put that title, a man after God's own heart. One who God calls the apple of mine eye. The psalmist of Israel. the warrior, the mighty man of valor, the deliverer of Israel, the slayer of Goliath. All those titles are wrapped up in this man and he's sitting down with his son Solomon and he says, son, I got some advice for you. It's probably some good advice if it's coming from King David, a man who has these titles that God's like, this is my guy. So him, David, Solomon's dad. What did David tell Solomon when he was a boy? He mentions his mother here, Bathsheba too, verse four. For I am my father's son, verse three, sorry, and only beloved in the sight of my mother, that's Bathsheba. He taught me also and said unto me, let thine heart retain my words, keep my commandments and live. He says he taught me this. and I wanna teach it to you, because it's pretty similar how he starts out. I want you to listen to what I have to say. Retain my words, keep my teachings and live. It's like verse one there, you know, it's like listen to the instruction of his father and attend to know and have understanding. Retain my words, keep my teachings and live. Oh. What is this wisdom being passed on to the third son? Verse five, here it is. Get wisdom. Get understanding. Forget it not. Neither decline from the words of my mouth. It's pretty simple. Get wisdom. Here's my advice to you, son. get understanding, then don't forget and apply it to everything. Apply it to everything. Like some people do salt. They apply it to everything. Or like Instagram girls in October, pumpkin spice on everything. They got to pour it on. He says, that's what you do with wisdom. Put it on everything. Apply it liberally. to make sure it's on everything. You apply wisdom, you apply understanding to everything in your life. No matter what trade you pick, no matter what avenue you're going down, no matter what you're gonna do in life, you use wisdom and understanding in all those, and it's gonna take you far and you will live. Don't turn away from it. Don't turn away from what I'm telling you. You stay in the path. Matter of fact, son, it is the path. You stay in wisdom and understanding. Solomon's telling this to his kids, the advice that David gave him. Solomon listened to his father's advice. Because God comes to Solomon and says, ask what I should give thee. God's like, a blank check. What do you want? What can I give you, Solomon? Solomon's answer was what? Discern good from bad. What's another name from that? He asked God for wisdom. And he also said, I also want to have an understanding heart. Oh, why would he ask this? David told him to ask for that before he died. Here's my wisdom to you, son. Get wisdom and gain understanding. And then he asked God. God says, what can I give you? Wisdom and understanding. God says, you got it. He heeded it. And look at the benefits of what Solomon has. He says, don't turn from him. And so Psalm, verse five, he goes on, he says, get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth. That's what dad said to do, and I did it. He's telling them it was great advice to me, it's great advice to you, and it passes down to you and I in the scriptures, and we can stand here and humbly and honestly say, it's great advice now. Get wisdom, get understanding. But Solomon's talking to his boy. His boy is Rehoboam. He did not apply his father's wisdom. He did not apply his grandfather David's wisdom. His life is marked by his lack of wisdom. His life is marked by inexperience, insecurity, All because he chose a path different than what David told him and what Solomon told him. He chose not to go that way. He chose to go his own way that seemed popular at the time. To listen to his peers and to listen to his contemporaries and to the kids and listen to the voice of the youth. They know everything. No. Wisdom is with the elderly, right? That's more with the older. So no, he had inexperience. He was insecure, so he was second-guessed everything. He was proud. He was very harsh. He ignores wise counsel from older advisors. Instead, he listens to the youth and his peers, and it does not turn out good. He's impulsive. He is unwise. He is spiritually compromised. His life is marked by that. He has no integrity. At the time when he's taken over and he is given the nation of Israel, he could have been just like his grandpa and his dad, king over the Israel and the house of Judah. But under his tenure, Israel is divided and 10 tribes leave because he's so horrible. And they divide into the house of Israel at the north and Judah, the two tribes at the south, Benjamin and Judah. And so they stay down. So he divides the kingdom under his watch. It'd be like the United States divided into multiple. Here they divide into two different halves. He allowed idolatry in and pagan practices to spread. He didn't listen to grandpa. He didn't listen to dad. He was only king 17 years. He lost 10 of the 12 tribes. He plunged the nation into idolatry and his son who followed in his footstep was even worse. And he only lasted three years. And I think as I sit here and think about this, Solomon's wise, right? Was he probably the best dad? A guy in a powerful position like that, maybe not. You have money and influence and power, I'm sure a lot of that influenced the kid, which I'm sure influenced Solomon. But he at least knows his boy a little bit, right? So I think that's why he starts out with verse one. Here, he's trying to get their attention. Boy, I need you to listen. I can see the path you're on. I can tell where you're going. Here, listen, let me tell you what I want to say and let me tell you what your grandfather has to say about this. I was young and dumb once too. And he's trying to remind him of that. I was once a kid and now I am older and I have life experience, but know that. I understand where you're thinking. I understand that you think you know it all. He said, but you need to listen to what I'm telling you. I did this, the best thing that ever happened to me. The best thing I ever did was listen to my dad's advice. Please listen to me and my advice. But he didn't. Verse five again, this is David speaking. Get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee. Love her, and she shall keep thee. David says if you get wisdom, and you gain understanding, it'll preserve your life. It will protect you. It will guard you. He uses here in the King James, he uses the word keep. It will keep you. Keep is a soccer term. We didn't play much soccer when I was a kid. I remember they threatened it at school, and I think Dad threatened to sue the school if they took away football and gave us soccer. I think they have a soccer program now. I've grown to appreciate the sport, but a keep is part of soccer. That is a goalie. A goalie is called a keeper. He is one, and the sport where you cannot use your hands. You have to run around like this and kick everything, and you can use everything else, but you can't use your most clever instruments that God has given you. You can't do, and so it's a very frustrating sport to try to play in that way. unless you're the goalie. If you're the goalie, you're the keeper, you can use it all. You can use everything you got to try to stop and protect your goal, to try to stop anything coming. You can jump, you can dive, you can slide, you can throw your body sideways, you can go crosswise, you can do all kinds of stuff. Anything and everything to guard and protect that goal. If you have wisdom and understanding, David said, that's what it's going to do for you. It's going to be like a goalie. It's going to be like a keeper. It's going to be running in all kinds of ways trying to protect you. It'll be if you keep it and you hold it close to you and you're holding it and you're wearing wisdom and understanding and you're applying it to anything and everything in your life, it's going to be, no, no, no, no, no. I see that coming over there. Make sure you guard and protect it. Look out over there. Watch out. There's somebody coming up behind you this way. You watch a goalie in a game. They're looking around, they're keeping away. If you forget, they'll have a guy that'll plant behind you and they'll score. You know, stay clear of this, avoid that, dive, jump, stretch, get away. That's what wisdom will be doing, trying to tell you. Your spidey senses will be going off here. I'll talk to even more younger crowds. Your spidey sense will go off and tell you, don't do this, this isn't right. Listen to the Holy Spirit. You stay sensitive to it and the Holy Spirit works in concert with wisdom and with understanding and will work with your conscience to keep you, guard you, protect you. Call it in your gut. Whatever it is, I think most of us as Christians at some point in our life has had the Holy Spirit do something like that where you're like, I was just troubled, I was bothered. No, we're not going to be here. Yes, we're not going to do that. We're going to go this way. We're not going to go that way. This decision seemed clear and obvious. You know, you troubled me about something, but we were sensitive to it. That is an applying wisdom and understanding. He says, it'll guard you. It'll keep you. It'll protect you. We can also be young and dumb and then not heed those warnings, right? Oh, it sounds too good to be true. Listen, listen, listen. But then we're like, oh, the temptation is right there. And that's how they get us. It'll preserve thee, it says. It'll keep thee. That's from David. But David's not done, verse seven. Wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore, get wisdom. And with all thy getting, get understanding." It's kind of the same thing as verse 5. He's just reiterating it again. It's like, in case you didn't give me the first time, Solomon. And Solomon's telling to his son, Rehoboam, in case you're not listening, get wisdom, get understanding, in case you're not paying attention. Wisdom is the principal thing, he says. That principal means it's first. Wisdom is the best thing. Wisdom is the choice thing. It's the chief thing. It's the thing you want. I'll speak on terms, I think probably most of us in here understand what I'm talking about. If you are on supermarket sweep, and it's your turn to run into the store, and you had the grocery cart, and they're like, you got 60 seconds to get everything you can in this cart. David says, go get wisdom. And after you go get wisdom, you put that in your cart. When you're running for the checkout counter, you make sure you grab some understanding, and throw that in there with it. If you only get the two things, he goes, you've won. You've won. That's to use cheap TV game shows as an understanding, but most of you shake your head, so I think you understand what I'm talking about. You have the whole store that's filled with so much to distract you. There's all these things, specials and all this. He says, you go get wisdom, and you get understanding. Then you win. You win. Verse eight, he says, so if you get them, if you got them, and they're yours, exalt her, verse eight. She shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her. It says if you have wisdom and understanding and you apply that to your job, to your schoolwork, to your home life, it says it'll promote you. People recognize it, they'll notice. The guy's got some wisdom and understanding. Sometimes it's all about just being quiet, right? Proverbs will tell us later, it's like, be slow to answer. People perceive you to be wise. Think long and hard before you do something. It'll advance you. It'll bring you honor. Hey, we've not heard from so and so. They always have something wise to say and then so they finally ask your advice and you speak. Like I don't know much, but I know these principle things and you're able to bring it. This is why Paul can say to Timothy, don't let men despise your youth, man, if you're going by what God has told you and if you're going with wisdom and understanding and you're applying the stuff, speak, teach, say it, it'll bring you honor. It says when you embrace her, and that means to cling and hold on and don't let go and you make it priority number one. So if we have wisdom that is right there and you're trying to apply it to anything and everything, it's gonna promote you, it's gonna advance you, it's gonna benefit you, verse nine. She shall give thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Gonna decorate you with grace. People will comment on how gracious you are because wisdom is going to steer you towards that way. Let's not be so harsh on that person. Let's give him a little time. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's do whatever. They're like, man, he's gracious. No, I'm applying wisdom that I've learned from scripture that I've been taught from God because God did that to me. He was long-suffering. He was patient and he's kind. Now let's apply that to this circumstance. He's gonna crown you with glory. That's like, bonuses, basically it's like you're gonna have a good life, it's gonna preserve you, it's gonna guard you, it's gonna keep you, it's gonna work to your benefit, you're gonna advance, these things are gonna happen, and you'll get bonuses of having honor and glory with it as well, just by doing what God has instructed, what David has instructed, what Solomon has instructed, and that ends David's advice here. So Solomon delivers the advice that was given to him that turns out to be the best, so Solomon is there with his child. And think how dense this boy must be not to listen. He's the richest man on earth at that time, King Solomon. People travel from around the world to hear what he has to say, to get his wisdom and understanding. And then we have it recorded that when they get there, they say, oh, I heard all these fantastic things about you, but now that I've seen you in present, the half was not told to me. You're twice as smart and as good at what you do than I was even told, and I thought that was pretty fantastic enough to get in my boat and come over here, and I come to find out you're even better. It's even smarter. He's a songwriter. He's a poet. He writes proverbs of wisdom that we're still studying today. He studied the lions and he talked about the strength that you can gain from them. He looked to the ant, this was a king, and yet he studied the ants and talked about how they can benefit you with hard work. He looked at the snakes and talked about the craftiness that they have. He looked at eagles and would say about the swiftness that they would have by studying them. He studied trees, he studied seasons, he studied river, he studied how water flowed, he studied the building trays and how to build and how to build not only buildings but boats. He is the total package. He's the total package of what David said would happen if you asked for wisdom and if you got understanding. This is his advice to his son. He's sitting here instructing his children. He wants them to choose wisely as he did. He's like, I can tell you're not getting it. That what I've said and what grandpa said is not enough for you. Rehoboam, I can see it in your eyes. I know what kind of boy you are. So he's trying to entice him even more. Let me sweeten the deal a little bit. Let me tell you a little bit more so that you'll make this choice. Verse 10. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of my life shall be many. If you listen to this, not only will it preserve your life, it'll give you long life. You'll live longer. Verse 11. I have taught thee In the way of wisdom, I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straightened, and when thou runnest, thou shall not stumble. He says, I'm giving you an open door. I'm basically laying the world in front of you. Apply wisdom and understanding to any field you like, son. I'm not saying you have to be a king. I'm not saying you have to be a boatmaker. I'm not saying you have to run a vineyard. I'm not saying any of these things. I'm saying do what you like. Apply this to it. You will learn and you will grow and you will increase. You will get better. You'll get smarter. You'll get wiser. If you keep pursuing wisdom and understanding and knowledge, you will be acknowledged. You'll be rewarded. There'll be no hiccups. You won't stumble. major wipeouts in your life. Now that's not saying that everything goes smooth and nothing ever goes wrong. He's not saying that at all. But if you're seeking wisdom and understanding and you are embracing wisdom and understanding, you will learn and grow and even take it further through your mistakes. Thomas Edison. when trying to make the electric light bulb, something that you and I take for granted, and we don't realize how much we take for granted till the power comes out, and you flip that switch on the wall 500 times and it still doesn't work, the TV doesn't work, nothing is working, and you're like, it always works, but it doesn't work now, we're so used to this light being there. Back in the days before we had electric light, he did thousands of experiments searching for the filament, the right material that would make that electric light bulb. He tried many different things. Many would glow and get bright, but they would instantly burn out. Pop, pop, you know, it would work for a second. He tried metals, he tried fibers, he tried fibers from carbon, he tried plants, he tried plant material. And they would come and check on him. Got an electric light bulb yet? And talk was that he was a failure, that you couldn't do that. But here is Thomas Alva Edison's quote. I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work. And because he was pursuing wisdom and understanding and he was trying to get knowledge and he'd embrace it, he said, I don't take that as a stumbling block. I take that as a launch pad. I know what doesn't work now. And he finally found that carbonized bamboo would work and it burned for 12,000 or 1,200 hours before it would go out. Now we've since improved and got all these other things, but that's pretty neat. I heard of this guy named Elon Musk. He is building a starship that's supposed to take us to Mars or the moon and other things. Starship is the top part of the rocket. Have you ever seen this giant thing that sits on the chopsticks there? The bottom half is called the super heavy Falcon. And so he's done these tests and usually my younger son send me and Levi, hey, we're gonna watch the test today. You know, we kind of, they'll live stream the test, you know, for this thing that's gonna fly to the Mars and the moon missions. They've had nine test flights of it so far. four successful missions, five failures. And when it's a failure, they call it this, a rapid unscheduled disassembly. That means it blew up. They call it a rapid unscheduled disassembly. And if you watch, and if you're watching one of these live, when it's going up, and it's doing all those things, and they show the control room, usually on the split screen, and they're all, they're all getting it, like, oh, it did the half turn, and oh, it's doing this, and oh, it did that, you know, and it's like, they're all pumped, they're all geeks, you know, they're all loving this, and then it blows up, and then they all like, they're still all laughing, and clapping, and high-fiving, and whatever's going on, and you're like, did it just blow up? Shouldn't it be like, oh, we lost our rocket? Elon Musk said, failure is an option. for SpaceX, if things are not failing, you're not innovating enough. So his opinion is, no, we were pushing it. And every time there's a failure, we're like, well, man, we pushed it. And all these things did work, that didn't work. So they're trying to build that innovation. I mean, they're catching rockets now. They come back and land back and do it again. He's tried many groundbreaking things and is going to launch things forward. And so it's not stumbling, it's not setbacks. It is gaining wisdom and understanding because they're embracing it for what it is, gaining wisdom and understanding. And so that makes a difference between, man, that didn't work, let's try this. David says it's the principle thing, it's number one, that we want to get wisdom and understanding. Verse 13, take fast hold of instruction. Let her not go. Keep her, for she is thy life. That's a pretty King James poetic way. of talking, and it is pretty powerful when you read it in the way it is, but if I was going to summarize it and bring it to our day, I'd say, I think that verse means be a lifelong learner. Be a lifelong learner. Don't think you've got it all. I've learned it all. Don't show me. I'm a big boy. I'll figure it out. Let's not be that way. Let's be a lifelong learner. Oh, that's new. I never figured that out. I didn't know that's how you would do something like that. Learn and grow. Take the advice as it comes. That'll keep you active. It'll keep you alive. It'll keep you in the game. It'll keep you living. Not like, I've learned everything I need to learn. I'm just gonna go sit over here now because we live in a day and age where technology is like bing, bing, bing, bing, you know, going on a rapid pace. And so, man, you gotta be a lifelong learner. I mean, Robbie Bryant will probably start carrying a cell phone and texting, right? No, no, but it's just that kind of way. It's like technology changes, you know, so you gotta change with it and grow. That's what he tells him son here. It's like, don't be fixed. You gotta learn and grow. Be a lifelong learner. And it's also, that's wisdom for eternity. Because I don't care what fable it is that we think we know and understand. I think, well, I'll get to heaven and I'll know everything. God knows everything. We're not God. You won't be God. That's a lie from hell. You're gonna go to heaven. You might get some understanding on some things. You might get some wisdom on some things. You're not gonna learn everything and we're gonna be learning from the inexhaustible source for all eternity. So basically we're gonna be forever learners and so let's just start now. It's like learn when you're young, learn when you're old, learn when we're in eternity. We're always gonna be learning. We're always gonna be growing. We're gonna be praising him, finding out new things that astound us about him and praise him all the more. Like I didn't know. I can't wait for the Bible studies. It's like you got the first layer. Let's go down a layer, third layer, fourth layer. I look forward to all that. So be a lifelong learner. This is advice to his son. Verse 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked. These are warnings now. Enter not into the path of the wicked. And go not the way of the evil man. Avoid it. Pass not by it. Turn from it. Pass away. Don't even walk by it. Don't be enticed by it, don't give it attention. You see something evil ahead, wisdom has warned you, the keeper is there guarding you, I think this is evil, this is bad, this is wrong, don't go there. Turn and go the other way, that's his advice. Some people picture this passage and I can see that, especially here at this point, that it's like Solomon has taken off his kingly robes and that they're down in the marketplace and he's walking around with his son and he's pointing out people as life lessons. Oh, here comes the crooks and the swindlers and the cheats and the robbers. Don't be like them. Avoid them, turn away, verse 16. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief. And their sleep is taken away unless they have caused some to fall. He says there are some wicked men out there, there's some wicked people out there that can't even call it a day unless they've committed a crime, if they've done something crooked, if they haven't cheated somebody or lied, if they haven't caused trouble or corrupted someone's morals or their way of thinking or tricked them or lied them or did something to them to cause them some kind of pain, grief and anguish. There's some people out there that, he says, they can't even sleep until they've done that. Son, stay away from him. It's almost like he's in the marketplace, this guy, those guys. Cheat. We're gonna see that Solomon watches out of his window a lot and he sees what goes on in the marketplace. It comes up in the next few proverbs. He's like, I can see what's going on. I know what's happening. I see who's the cheat and I can see who's the liar. He says, these can't call it a day unless they've done it. Verse 17. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. It's what they feed on. It's their sustenance, that they would rather have wickedness and violence than to eat a supper. Oh, there's a fight? Let's drop the food and let's go fight. You know, there's something that's gonna go on? Let's do it. They would rather do that. They would rather do something wrong, something evil, something wicked, than to sit down and eat and take care of themselves. He says, don't, don't, don't. So then they imagine him as they walk through the marketplace. They go by an honest tradesman. One who's worked hard his whole life, one who's instructing his children in the family trade, and just a hard worker, and you can see the wear and tear on his body from where he's done his craft, and the calluses on his hands, and the pride in his workmanship, and the way things look, and the beauty that is there, and just someone who just worked hard for everything that they got. And he points them out to him in verse 18. But the path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. He's like, it's like a light. It shines forth. It's like night and day. People would rather go there, so do that. Verse 19 says, the way of the wicked is as darkness. and they know not at what they stumble. He says, they're tripping, they're falling, they're not going on the way that they ought to go. He goes, they are stumbling and falling backwards and they're set aside and there's setbacks in their life and there's problems and there's trials and there's tribulations and they're the ones like, glory God, and all these different things. Instead of learning and growing and pursuing wisdom and knowledge and understanding and instruction from what is happening, they're bitter and they're angry and they take it out on everybody else. He's like, let's not do that. Verse 20 says, my son, attend to my words. Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Listen, listen, he's pleading with this bullheaded little kid. 21, let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine heart. We talked about in the last proverb, it's like the sights on a gun. You keep it in front of you, that's what you're steering by. Verse 22, for they are life unto those that find them. and health to all their flesh. He goes, if you do it this way, it's life, strength, it's decency. Verse 23, keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. That's probably the verse you have memorized from this chapter. Guard your heart. Keep your heart. As parents, we guard the hearts of our children as long as you can. Keep them innocent. Keep them understanding what's good and right and true before they're exposed to the evil. And it is a harsh day where they understand evil and wickedness and the tears come. So we're to guard our heart, because that's where the issues of the heart, where life comes from. And so we want to guard it and protect it and watch what we let in there, because it'll taint you, it'll poison you. Read any fairy tale about a curse. Verse 24, put away, From thee a froward mouth and perverse lips put far from thee. Watch how you speak. Watch the things that you say. Don't talk about dirty things. Don't talk about filthy things. Put them far from you. Make sure we're talking about everything is good and decent and right as the Bible says. Verse 26, no wait, verse 25. Let thine eyes look right on and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. any athlete knows, you go where you're looking. It's like, you might have a juke here and there, and they talk about going to your hips, but you're running, you're pursuing, you're going towards that goal, you watch a track and field, they're looking ahead, they're staying, they're not distracted by the crowd and everything, you're looking towards your goal, especially in hurdles, right? You're looking where you're gonna go, you're looking at what you're gonna do, a long jump, you're looking for that plant spot, how it's gonna go, and so you're watching, you're staying focused, you're thinking about it, and he's telling them that, don't be sidetracked. Stay on the path, wisdom, understanding. Cling to it. Look where you're going. If you're looking on filthy, if you're looking on nasty, if you're looking on dirty, if you're looking on corrupt, if you're looking on bad, if you're looking on those, it's gonna be a surprise to you when they come creeping into your life. What were you looking at? That's where you're gonna start steering towards. You keep your eyes upon Jesus. Look full on his wonderful face. Then you start steering towards him. Look towards God, look towards the scripture. That's going to steer and direct the way you should go. It's like the hood ornament on your car. You put it out there. That's the way you're gonna go. You're gonna steer towards him. That's what he wants you to do. Verse 26, ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Think about where you're going, think about what you're doing. Always thinking, always testing, always judging, making sure you're right. Correct early, I think I've gone wrong, we gotta start back over again. That is all right. Ah, I meant to look up the verse. Dave probably knows it, where a righteous man falls, but he gets back up again. I gotta go. Yeah, no, it's like a righteous man falls, and he didn't stay down Waller in his failure, he gets back up. He gets back up, we're going. That's the Thomas Edison, the Elon Musk. It's like, oh, we fell, we get back up, we're going. I'm not down, I'm not out, I don't quit, I'm not giving up, I'm not going that way. Just keep going. Verse 27, turn not to the right hand, nor to the left. Remove thy foot from evil. It's his last plea. Stay the course. Make sure that it's it. Stay on your life's course. Stay on what you're supposed to be doing. Keep these things in the forefront of your eye and make sure it's far from evil, son. He didn't listen. But we can, and so he's given us the benefit of this book. If you're looking to wisdom to pass on. wisdom to apply to your life, fresh starts. I love that Christianity is always a fresh start. We're gonna make things new, we're gonna start afresh and apply these things to us. And so he's trying to give us the words of life, the secrets to things for success, yeah.