Proverbs 4:18

Run with the light God gives you! He offers truth to every man at some points in his life. Most men rebel and reject it, so He justly blinds them in perpetual ignorance. But good men rejoice and obey the offered truth, and He rewards them with more understanding.

Solomon in context warned his son about the path of the wicked (Pr 4:14-17). He told him not to enter it or pass by it; he told him to avoid it, turn from it, and get away. After giving him the wonderful description of the path of the just in this proverb, he told him that the path of the wicked is darkness; they do not even know what trips them (Pr 4:19).

The visible creation proves God exists with eternal power and Godhead (Rom 1:18-20; Ps 19:1-6). Men are without excuse. When they get haughty and reject Him, God darkens their hearts and rewires their brains for evil desires and ignorant thinking, like idolatry and evolution (Ro 1:21-23). This is also the cause and source of sodomy (Ro 1:24-27).

Consider Pharaoh. He rejected the LORD, even though Moses had brought powerful signs and plagues upon his nation. Therefore God hardened his heart, and he foolishly took his chariot and army down into the Red Sea to a terrible destruction. What blinded him to the obvious danger of such a choice? The LORD blinded him (Ex 14:4,17).

God also offers truth to ordinary men. If they reject it, He blinds their understanding and leaves them to the deceit of their hearts and the influence of other men. God promised to deceive prophets when men came to them with idols in their hearts (Eze 14:4-11). Jesus spoke in parables to harden the hearts of the Jews (Mat 13:10-17). And God sends strong delusion to cause men to believe lies, when they reject offered truth (II Thes 2:9-12).

Is God the author of confusion? Absolutely and certainly! He owes no man the truth, and He will withhold truth and light from the man who squanders or rejects truth offered to him. The Tower of Babel and the confusion there are not only true historical facts, but also an indication of His holy judgment on men pursuing their own agenda (Gen 11:1-9).

But the same sovereign God will bless just and good men. As the proverb declares, He will provide a shining light to reveal more and more truth, as good men obey what He has already revealed. This is one of the greatest incentives to obey all the truth that you are shown. He will either bless your obedience with more light, or judge your disobedience by taking away the light you think you have (Luke 8:18). Take heed, dear reader!

This light is not furnished to every man, for it shines only on the path of the just. It is not for the backslider, the hypocrite, or the compromiser. God’s light, which brings wisdom, truth, and understanding, is for the just man – the man who turns from his vain thoughts to do God’s perfect will (Pr 3:33; 9:9; 11:9; 12:13,21; 14:14; 20:7; 21:15; 24:16).

How does a perfect day develop? It begins with a dull glow in the east, which seems quite weak in the blackness of the night. But the darkness soon gives way, as the glorious sun rises from the horizon to drive away all remains of the night. As it climbs powerfully into the sky, its light increases in intensity and angle until everything is bright and clear under a noonday sun. So is the LORD’s blessing upon the path of the just; He shines more and more unto perfection, as a man does justly and walks humbly with his God (Micah 6:8).

Your car headlights only shine a short distance. But as you drive, they shine farther and farther. When you leave a dark garage, you cannot see all the way home. You begin driving in the light provided, which shines only a little way ahead. But as you trust your lights and drive forward, your lights shine farther ahead, until you reach your destination. Your lights guided you all the way home, as you trusted them each mile of the way. Solomon did not have car headlights, but he did have lamps for pathways (Ps 119:105).

Like these two pictures of a shining light, the blessed God sheds more light and reveals more truth, as you move forward in thankful obedience to the truth He has already given (Pr 2:1-5; Job 17:9; Ps 84:7; Hos 6:3; II Cor 3:18). For this reason, Solomon warned over and over again in many proverbs for you to be attentive to instruction and obey it (Pr 1:23; 8:32-33; 10:17; 12:1; 28:9; 29:1). The consequences of disobedience are severe.

Wisdom and truth are not dependent on intellect or teachers. They are dependent on faith and obedience. Intellect and worldly education can be a severe handicap in learning God’s wisdom (I Cor 1:19-20). A young man can easily exceed wise old men, if he fears only God and trusts Him and His word completely (Job 32:6-9). You can easily exceed your enemies, teachers, and the ancients by trusting God’s scriptures (Ps 119:98-100).

The blessed Lord taught this proverb in these words: “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). If you obey the will of God, you will know the true doctrine of God, for He will reveal more truth to you and confirm it in your heart. Nathanael, the apostles, the eunuch, and Cornelius received light after obedience (John 1:45-51; Luke 24:32; Acts 8:30-35; 10:6).

Many men have faced the truth of God and rejected it for love of tradition, fear of man, job security, and other snares (Pr 29:25). How many rejected Bible baptism and ended up in the infant-sprinkling brothel of Rome and her daughter churches? How many rejected sound doctrine and ended up babbling incoherently with silly women and effeminate men in white suits? How many loved rituals and ended up with baptismal regeneration? How many chose the altar of free will and ended up trusting emotional appeals for decisional regeneration and drowning in the carnal consequences of easy-believism? How many sought government assistance and protection and ended up in a dead, national church?

The consequences on your soul, family, and church by how you react to this proverb are great. If you stubbornly choose your own way, the LORD of heaven will blind you. If you humbly submit to His word, He will bless you with light and truth. Dear reader, where are you rejecting truth and conviction in your life? Where are you holding on to tradition or fearing men more than you fear the Lord? What is wrong in your life, family, or church that you are not correcting? What are your pet sins? God will not be mocked!

Solomon warned, “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead” (Pr 21:16). Read the commentary on that sober text. Most of the churches in this once glorious nation are now such congregations, for they have left the Word of God for the fables and entertainment of men (II Tim 3:4-7; 4:3-4).

You can be saved from ignorance by heeding the more sure word of Scripture, which is like a light shining in a dark place, and which is more sure in truth than hearing God’s voice from heaven (II Pet 1:16-21). By doing this you can have a day of knowledge dawn in your heart through the glory of Jesus Christ, both now and at His glorious appearing. How can you have this? Crave the sincere milk of His word (I Pet 2:2; II Pet 3:18).

The path of the just man extends beyond this life. A day is coming in which he will know with perfect knowledge. He shall be in the presence of the Lord Jesus, and he will know all things. Until then, trust in the shining light of His word and obey what you see, and pray for the Spirit of enlightenment (Eph 1:17-18). Thank you, Lord, for truth and light.