1:8–19
My son, if sinners entice you …
PROVERBS 1:10
THE BIBLE DOES NOT DESCRIBE how life ought to be. It matches how life is. The wisdom of Proverbs is reality-based counseling as we live in this fantasy-world of human invention. We see the blunt realism of the Bible in Proverbs 1:8–19.
Why are we in the book of Proverbs at all? Because so much of life is a series of nuanced judgment calls. The Ten Commandments say, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Are you struggling with that decision today? Probably not. But even at this moment we are all creating social dynamics both subtle and powerful, and those dynamics are either life-depleting or life-enriching. What makes the difference is the wisdom of our life together as the church of Christ. Have you ever done something with the best of intentions, but then it exploded in your face—like pathetic Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons? Good intentions and wishful thinking can be oblivious to reality. But wisdom helps us create the chemistry—not rules but chemistry—of life at its best together in the new community of Christ.
Wisdom does not theorize. Wisdom pays attention to the realities built into us by God our Creator. Wisdom humbly gives in to God’s design; it adapts and adjusts. A wise person notices, picks up on the clues, cuts with the grain, tears along the perforated line. Unwise people can be gifted, but they are trying to be healthy on junk food, or run high RPMs on low-octane gas, or get home by the wrong road, or swim against the stream of the universe. Sin is trying to succeed by ignoring reality. And that makes the devil the ultimate fool. He wants to reengineer the creation his own way. He is both evil and dumb. C. S. Lewis wrote, “The Devil is (in the long run) an ass.” But the book of Proverbs is where God speaks to us as our life coach, guiding us into the only real success that’s out there.
In Proverbs 1:8–19 we hear two voices—the wisdom that is reality-based and the folly that is in denial. Wisdom is speaking here as a loving father. Fools are speaking here too. Their message is a kind of reverse-evangelism. They are inviting us into their dead-end lives. But God is calling us into the beauty of real human relationships. Here is what God is saying in this passage: Refuse violence. It is tempting, but it will destroy you. Wisdom will beautify you.
But hold on here. Violence? That is a bad thing, we all know. But why is that message here? Has anyone ever said to you, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood” (v. 11)? In certain neighborhoods, that might happen. But still, this passage can seem surprising. As we have already seen, the book of Proverbs opens with a mini-introduction in 1:1–7, and then the rest of chapters 1–9 is the mega-introduction. Chapters 1–9 are a series of poems in praise of wisdom, preparing us for the actual proverbs in chapters 10–31. So, now we come to 1:8. We probably come to this verse thinking, “Okay, Mr. Super-Smart Wise Man, we’re ready. Tell us the positive difference wisdom can make in our lives.” And the first thing he says is, “Don’t join a gang!” Why that? Let’s get inside this and dig out the wisdom. There are three points here: the offer of wisdom, the warning of wisdom, and the promise of wisdom.
I HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE FROM THIS QUICK STUDY.
PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURH OF GOD MINISTRIES
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