The Father Who Passes Life to His Children - Proverbs 4:4

Solomon, once again, points out the blessings of having a wise godly father. Notice that David, himself, taught Solomon. What did David teach Solomon? He taught Solomon to know God and to serve God with a perfect heart and willing mind. Solomon was instructed that God sees the heart and understands the imaginations of the mind (See I Chronicles 28:9).

Let's explore what it means to know God. The Bible uses the word - know - in several ways. First, to know something is to understand the facts. We might think of academic or theoretical knowledge. Second, to know something can also mean that we have a working knowledge. For example I may know some facts about cars, but to be able to work on one is a skillful use of knowledge. Third, to know somebody means we have a relationship with them. Jesus taught in John 17:3 that eternal life is tied to knowing God. In what sense should we know God? We should know God in all three uses of the word. David taught Solomon to know who God is, to know God by serving Him and living in a way that pleases Him, and to know Him personally.