Proverbs 4:16-17

The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them.

Proverbs 4:16-17 (ESV)

For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

What keeps you up at night?  For this section the NIV gives us a note to read: Ps 132:3–5.   In that Psalm we read King David telling us that he can't sleep unless he builds a place for God to dwell.   Hamman on the other hand could only think of one thing: How to destroy Mordecai.   Here you have two different life styles:  The righteous should be worrying how they should please The Lord (see the contrast between the married and the unmarried on this subject in 1 Corinthians 7).  Solomon is warning us to stay away from the wicked (4:12-15).  Now he gives us a reason: The wicked only think about wickedness.   In verse 17 he tells us that their very food and drink is wickedness and violence (cf. also 2:12- 15).    The picture painted for us here is that the foolish, those who reject the fear of the Lord, are gang like in nature; only looking for evil.    This picture description of the someone who can't sleep because they want to consume more wickedness is the scene at all evil across the world.   People stay up late and lose sleep simply to do something other than glorify God (that is what wickedness is ... doing something that doesn't glorify God).   The next time you can't sleep decide if it is because you are more like King David or wicked Hamman.