I Was My Father's Son（Proverbs 4）

כִּי־בֵן הָיִיתִי לְאָבִי

“I was my father's son.”

　　　　 (Proverbs 4:3)

The one speaking is Solomon,

known throughout Scripture as the king of wisdom.

Yet before he stands as a wise man,

he stands as a son.

In Proverbs 3, we heard the words:

“My son, do not forget my teaching.”

Do not forget.

Keep it in your heart.

As that call continues into Proverbs 4,

another figure begins to emerge—

the father who is speaking.

“I was my father's son.”

Solomon himself was one who received.

He was taught by his father David.

He listened.

He received instruction.

He stood as one who heard.

That may be why he now speaks to his own son:

“Listen.”

“Do not forget.”

“Keep it in your heart.”

The call that has echoed since Proverbs chapter 1 is not the voice of a wise man

speaking down to others.

It is the voice of someone passing on what he himself once received from his father.

From father to son.

From son to the next son.

The words are passed on.

What comes into view is not merely a person who possesses wisdom,

but a person who receives what has been spoken.

David was a receiver.

Solomon was a receiver.

Now the son is being called to become a receiver as well.

Perhaps Proverbs 4 reveals not merely a lineage of wisdom,

but the lives of those who receive the words spoken to them.

“Above all else, guard your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.”

　　　　　　(Proverbs 4:23)

Today once again,

I linger before the Word.

David was a receiver.Solomon was a receiver.Today once again, I linger before the Word.