Chapter 4

What Rehoboam heard and rejected.

Verse 1 – “Hear ye children, the instruction of a father.” The father is David; he taught Solomon.

“and attend”—listen carefully—“so that you can know understanding.” To know understanding is to learn doctrine.

Verse 2 – “For I [Solomon] give you [Rehoboam] good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.”

Verse 3 – “For I [Solomon] was my father’s son, tender and only.” David selected him to be the next king.

Verse 4 –“He [David] taught me [Solomon] also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments and live.” He is going to make it because Bible doctrine is first in his life. But Rehoboam did not put doctrine first in his life, and he ruined the whole kingdom.

Verse 5 – “Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.”

Verse 6 – “Forsake her [Bible doctrine] not, and she [doctrine] shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.” Make love to doctrine and doctrine will carry you all of your life. “Shall keep thee” means doctrine will guard you.

Verse 7 – “Wisdom is the principle [paramount] thing; get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Wisdom is the application. You have to know it to apply it.

Verse 8 – “Exalt her” means dress her up properly, take her out on the town, show her a good time, wine and dine. In other words, when you get out on the town you take doctrine with you; wherever you go you take doctrine.

“she shall bring thee honour” – shall promote you; “when thou dost embrace her.” Make love to doctrine and doctrine will be with you all the way.

Verse 9 – “She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace.” This is the concept of a beautiful woman on the arm of a man; “ a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.”

Verse 10 – notice that doctrine is life.

Verse 11 – Solomon is now talking to his teenage son.

Verse 13 – “Take fast hold” means she is going out the door, don’t let her get away. She is walking out on you—his apathy toward her; “Keep her; for she is thy life.” Notice again, doctrine must be your life.

Verse 14 – “. . .go not in the way [counsel] of evil men.” And this is exactly what Rehoboam did. This is the story of 1 Kings 12. When Rehoboam became king he turned down his wise counsellors, the counsellors of Solomon. Instead he went to his young friends, taking his advice from them, and destroyed the kingdom. Cf. 1 K. 12:8.

Verse 15 – Stay away from evil counsellors. Apparently Rehoboam was already as a teenager already influenced by the wrong crowd.

Verse 16 – these are the friends of Rehoboam from whom he took counsel and destroyed his kingdom. They can’t go to bed happy unless they have done something to harm someone.

Verse 18 -- but you can break off from them. “But” means separate. Get away from this wrong crowd of teenagers. The path of the just is the believer with doctrine. This is “the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day [the day of your death].” The day you die is a perfect day for you.

Verse 19 – these people don’t know what they are doing.

Verse 21 – “Let them [categories of doctrine] not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of your mind.”

Verse 22 – Notice one again: “For they [principles of doctrine] are life unto those that find them, and health to their flesh.”

Verse 23 – “Keep your soul [mentality] with all diligence [avoid the mental attitude sins]; for out of it are the issues of life.” Every thing with regard to life is in your soul when you have doctrine.

Verse 24 – “Put away from thee a perverted mouth.” This is the gossip, the maligner, the person who is always running someone else down; “and perverse lips put far from thee”—his friends; they are constantly running down others.

Verse 25 – “Let thine eyes look right on” is occupation with Christ.

Verse 26 – “. . .let all thy ways be stabilised.”

Verse 27 – “Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” Stay on the path of doctrine; rebound when necessary.