As I read through Proverbs, I realize how precious this book is with all the warnings it includes even starting in the very first chapter. If only I would have read it when I was younger!
Remember, we are not going back, we are moving ahead and making the changes necessary.
Let’s read out loud the next verses:
“Listen, my son to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They will be a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
My son, if sinners entice you,
do not give in to them.
If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for someone’s blood,
let’s waylay some harmless soul;
let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
throw in your lot with us,
and we will share a common purse–
my son do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
for their feet rush into sin,
they are swift to shed blood.
How useless to spread a net
in full view of all the birds!
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they waylay only themselves!
Such is the end of all who go after
ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the lives of those who
get it.” Proverbs 1: 8-19
Do you feel like you were just watching the evening news as you were reading this?
Wow! God has given His warning about being enticed and tempted into going down the wrong path.
May we learn to obey that red light that is before us.
Phrases like “waylay some harmless soul,” spoke volumes to me. Wickedness and darkness were prevalent then, but more prevalent and darker now.
The father’s heart is preparing his son for life in the world.
Warnings are clearly being laid out which are to be heeded, for sons and daughters.
Walking and living a life without Godly wisdom is setting yourself up for destruction.
There is some heavy stuff listed in these verses. “Lying in wait for someone’s blood” is speaking of murder.
We see the father pleading with his son saying, “...Do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths.” Proverbs 1: 15
How many parents have pleaded with their children not to go with “those” kids, and they didn’t listen?
The father clearly is asking him to stop! Will he listen? Will he heed the warning?
Parents who are raising teenagers/college students stay on your knees and stay strong as you lead and guide your children.
Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world. God is with you as you raise those precious sons and daughters of God of whom He has a purpose and destiny for.
Keep calling forth their destinies in God.
If they do not listen, they are setting a net for their own feet, a trap that they may not be able to escape.
According to the prophet Isaiah, this is the lot of those who plunder (steal goods) from God’s people. Unfortunately, that lot is destruction.
Living foolishly without discipline can steal and take the lives of those who won’t listen.
So, as we close, God is charging us to embrace (clutch) to our hearts His wisdom. It will keep us all on the right path as we continue on this journey we call life.
Those who follow wisdom add beauty and honor to their lives.
Metaphorically, this beauty is a garland of grace and an adorned neck chain.
“My son, daughters, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. ” Proverbs 3: 21-22, Emphasis added.
May His Grace Adorn You.
KINGDOM ASSURANCE
You can find all of the Kingdom Assurance series posts by clicking the button below.
Comments are closed.