Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Proverbs 4:14-27 (ESV)
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. 20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
Yesterday we read about the benefits of wisdom. Today this is followed with a warning against wickedness, and even spending time with wicked people. Proverbs often links these two things: seeking wisdom and avoiding wickedness. The reason for this is that when we do wicked things, or even spend time with bad people, it makes us deaf to wisdom. This is exactly what happened to King Solomon’s son Rehoboam. He ignored his father’s advice, and listened to his wicked friends. This led him to foolish and evil behavior that split the kingdom and destroyed nearly everything his famous father had built up. (You can read about it in 1 Kings 12:1-20).