Proverbs 4:18—“The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
This scripture is not just about Solomon’s family. It applies to all our families. Every father must teach his son and in turn the son should teach his own children. Solomon’s family was Israel’s royal family. In the poem, the father does not teach about being a king, about wealth and money, nor about how to lead the nation. The thing that mattered was for the son to learn wisdom, the most important lesson of all. We can teach our children about many things. We must not forget to teach them wisdom.
This scripture also contrasts between a good and an evil man. People think that everyone is the same, that everyone is good. However, the Bible does not say this; but that we all have turned from God and we must turn back to Him, because only God can make us good.
The difference between the wicked and the person who is wise with the truth of the Gospel is that, the path of the wicked is dark and only increases in darkness – it is gloomy, dark, and dangerous like a man on a journey at midnight. Without any lights, the traveller will trip and fall. He will suffer because of his evil behaviour. God will punish him. One of Satan’s chief tactics is to hide the consequences of the choice of our path – whether it is the path of the just or the way of the wicked. The path of those who get wisdom grows brighter till it reaches the perfect day, of being with God in Heaven. The path of the righteous is open, luminous, and instructive, not the light from a candle or a blaze from a meteor, but the grand illumination of Heaven. The good man is aware that he does not know everything yet that God wants to teach him. He has not yet received all the gifts that God will give him. His life is like a man who walks at dawn where there is only a little light. But this light will soon become brighter and soon the good man will know God better! Now, we only know a little. In Heaven, we shall see clearly. Then, we shall know completely, as God knows us completely.
Many unbelievers want God in their lives. They know that they are in danger. like someone who travels at night. We must speak to them; we must share what God has given us. God ‘will’ help those who ask Him. When people first trust God, they know little about God. In time, they will know more when they live God’s way. A path becomes brighter as the day begins and they will know more as they trust God. In Heaven, they will know God fully.
