Posted by Jeff Short on May 13, 2016 · 1 Comment
My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
– Proverbs 1:15
Solomon counters the sinners’ enticement in verses 15-19. The counsel of wisdom is to avoid the beginning of sin. Do not go with them. Do not join their company. Solomon will evaluate and counter their claims with the picture of reality—the difference between their promise and their delivery.
Note that Solomon speaks of a “way” and a “path.” All men are in a way and all men are on a path. We are all going somewhere. Solomon’s aim is to point his son to the way of wisdom and the path of prudence. Throughout Proverbs there is a tension between the way of wisdom and the way of folly, which appears in various guise.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 12, 2016 · 1 Comment
Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
– Proverbs 1:14
This verse ends the enticement used as an example for a warning to Solomon’s son. It is a strong finish. The allurement all along has had particular appeal to youth. Here it is, “Join us.” The promise is comraderie and belonging in a group. The group provides strength and security. The group also provides a group benefit where the individual is profited by the actions of others in the group. There is a promise of sharing in the spoils, “one purse.” Think back to the deals on the playground where everyone was supposed to get an equal share, how did that usually work out? Solomon will proceed from here to show the folly of going this way.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 11, 2016 · 1 Comment
We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil;
– Proverbs 1:13
The previous verse offered power and freedom and this verse promises success. The young man is being enticed to join a lot that will lead him to substantial wealth and all that means. Underlying this is also a promise of equal distribution. Those with experience can easily see the emptiness of the promise but these are powerful temptations to youth.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 6, 2016 · 1 Comment
Let us swallow then up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
– Proverbs 1:12
The enticement to sin and folly continues in this verse. The enticement presented is to sin and crime, though it isn’t always to criminal offense. The enticement has two primary appeals to the young man. First, it is a temptation to feel powerful. Swallowing up alive and whole is exercise power, to be in control. The second appeal is to get away with it. Swallowing up alive and whole point to the action and to the evidence. The offer seems to promise the feeling of power and the freedom of no consequences.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 5, 2016 · 1 Comment
If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
– Proverbs 1:11
Though Solomon poses a hypothetical, he doesn’t suppose that these temptations will not actually happen. He does choose particular examples, but this kind of temptation comes in various forms. He chose an example with certain appeals to the young man, and particularly those lacking in wisdom.
The tempters say, “Come with us,” and “let us.” A sense of security is given in numbers and also authority. A sense of comraderie and group action are very appealing to an energetic young man. Young adults are particularly prone to want to “do something.” If not otherwise directed, that something often leads to folly.
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 27, 2016 · 1 Comment
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
– Proverbs 1:10
Verses 10 to 19 describe the other way, the way of folly. The way of wisdom has been shown to be an initially difficult way that ends with ornaments of grace bestowed. The way of folly will be shown as an initially easy way that ends with humiliation and ultimately death.
Sinners in Proverbs are those who do not have the spirit of wisdom. It is a categorization more than a comment about anything in particular they’re engaged in. The word for entice literally means roomy or spacious. In that sense, it means to make the way easy. There are elements of deceit and allurement.
The fatherly address continues and proceeds from this verse to give an example of enticement. It isn’t the only sort of enticement, but a common one. The father instructs and warns the son about the various settings and ways in life where he will be compelled to go a certain way. Obviously, he needs wisdom to discern the good way from the bad. He is then to refuse his consent to the way of folly.
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 25, 2016 · 1 Comment
For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
– Proverbs 1:9
If we hear and understand as instructed in verse 8, we acquire and grow in wisdom. The getting of wisdom is its own reward. Ornaments and chains are adornments that complement and beautify. Wisdom, like an adornment, makes beautiful.
The emphasis here is not on the outward. Solomon doesn’t intend that wisdom brings us health and wealth. In Ecclesiastes 9:11 he observed that bread and riches do not always come to the wise and understanding. Wisdom isn’t a means of achieving worldly success. This is where many Christian books and messages fail when they come to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is not written to make us more successful in the world, but to grow us in wisdom, God’s wisdom. Wisdom may in fact cause us to be despised by the world (Ecclesiastes 9:15).
Wisdom is still the way of life though. Wisdom is better.
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 18, 2016 · 1 Comment
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
– Proverbs 1:8
Verse 7 made plain there are two ways of life—wisdom and folly. The foundation for wisdom is the fear of the Lord. The first major section of proverbs begins here in verse 8 and runs through chapter 9. It could generally be titled, “A Father’s Instruction to Seek and Find Wisdom for Life.”
The admonition is to hear. The same word is used in verse 5 and means to hear intelligently. It means to listen attentively. The son is admonished to hear the instruction and law of his father and mother. Not only is he to hear, but he is also not to forsake his mother’s law. Forsake conveys the thought of casting off in the sense rejecting. It is a more deliberate action than simply forgetting or neglecting.
There are various layers to this verse, so we will consider just a couple. Instruction means discipline and can refer to training and correction. It encompasses the whole life training received from parents. A degree of humility is enjoined upon the son. He must acknowledge the greater wisdom of father and mother and submit to it, rather than rejecting it. The verse also hints to the fact that the son will encounter other ways, which will compel him. That is made plain in verse 10 and throughout this section. As he is assailed by other ways of folly, he is to cling to the wisdom of father and mother.
Lastly, the picture presented is neither of parental infallibility nor of lifelong spoon-feeding of children by their parents. The essence of wisdom is discernment and when coupled with the fear of God, leads to discerning the way of righteousness. The earnest desire and plea for the father is for the son to grow in wisdom. He wants him to mature and come to the full stature of a man not blown about by every wind of philosophy. This is plain in places like Proverbs 4:7 and Proverbs 2:1-5.
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 14, 2016 · 1 Comment
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
– Proverbs 1:7
Beginning here means a first principle or foundational principle. The beginning of all knowledge and wisdom is a right fear of God (Proverbs 9:10; 15:33; Psalm 111:10; Job 28:28). It speaks to us of a submission to God rather than simply finding a right way or method of understanding. Through right relation to God we understand that wisdom and knowledge are revealed to us by God and not something acquired through proper human formula.
Understanding the right relation to God illuminates the meaning of fools despising wisdom and instruction. Fools want wisdom, but they want it separate from God (Psalm 14:1). So their despising is a despising of true wisdom. The fool’s pursuit ends in less knowledge and wisdom (Romans 1:18-32).
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Proverbs 1:15
Posted by Jeff Short on May 13, 2016 · 1 Comment
My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
Solomon counters the sinners’ enticement in verses 15-19. The counsel of wisdom is to avoid the beginning of sin. Do not go with them. Do not join their company. Solomon will evaluate and counter their claims with the picture of reality—the difference between their promise and their delivery.– Proverbs 1:15
Note that Solomon speaks of a “way” and a “path.” All men are in a way and all men are on a path. We are all going somewhere. Solomon’s aim is to point his son to the way of wisdom and the path of prudence. Throughout Proverbs there is a tension between the way of wisdom and the way of folly, which appears in various guise.
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
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