Series in Proverbs - Choose Your Friends Wisely, For You Will Become Like Them

 

Choose Your Friends Wisely, 

For You Will Become Like Them 

Proverbs 1:8-19

I believe that most of us have heard our parents' admonitions, “Didn’t you hear what I told you!” and “I hope you learn to make wiser decisions as you grow older.” or “Wait till your kids grow up, and then you’ll understand why I told you not to do that, or hang with that group!”

The sage advice of parents usually comes from the hard school of experience and the school of hardknocks. Solomon must have heard both the wisdom of God and the scoldings of parents were the right things to do. This is the setting of Solomon’s next dosage of wisdom to his son(s). So let’s read the first portion of the text. “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush 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; cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”— my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths.”

For context, King Solomon had probably seen and listened to the stories of King David’s mighty men, and their exploits of heroism and mayhem. For now he is informing his own children of the right and the wrong, the wise and the foolish, the safe from the dangerous, and the righteous from the sinful. Solomon tackles the first obstacle in training a child, “Listen!” As I stated last week, roughly 265 times in the Old Testament, God had a major problem with the children of Israel, they wouldn’t listen to Him, to the Godly leaders or the true prophets. Much of these exhortations and admonitions to listen and obey from God were to curtail the sinfulness of the heart of the people. For God had forewarned the Israeli people to not associate with or to assimilate with the people whom God was removing from the land because of their sinful and wicked lifestyle practices. “Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.” “Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.” (Isa. 1:4; Duet. 7:3 NIV)

So Solomon begins with the support of wisdom from both parents, and how God’s grace comes through the instruction of God’s words from their parents. Besides not listening, there was the problem of forsaking, ‘Azab’ the act of leaving or abandoning through neglect or wilful rebellion against God or parents. For when a child obeys and doesn’t neglect the instructions and commands of the parents, they are covered by the grace of God’s blessings as a garland crown around the head shows their wisdom as well as intellect; and a necklace chain of authority with wisdom shows God’s approval and their stature. Examples like Joseph and later Daniel: young men graced by God with wisdom and intelligence and adorned with chains around their necks. “And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck.” and “Then Belshazzar commanded that Daniel be clothed in purple and wear a gold chain on his neck". (Gen. 41:42; Dan. 5:29 NIV)

Next Solomon addresses his son(s) about the Israelite homies around his son's age or older, these are men or boys who had forsaken God and his ways. They had fallen into the lies of Satan and now they were incorporating and enlisting others into their waywardness. Their first instinct was to violence, dominance by numbers, even against the innocent. Life to them was a matter of survival, even if it meant the death of innocent children or adults, for as David had stated in the Psalms, “The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence.” “...Protect me from those who have come to destroy me. Rescue me from these criminals; save me from these murderers. They have set an ambush for me. Fierce enemies are out there waiting, Lord.”( Ps. 11:5; 59:1-3) 

Second, they loved to plunder in order to reside and store up stolen wealth. For their desire was to fill their homes with the valuables of others, they even lied to each other when they say they will split the plunder, for there was no honor among thieves, “The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies; they are put under oath and dare not testify.” (Prov. 29:24)

Solomon exhortations addressed his son(s) to personally stay away from the rabble, in fact don’t even step into their neighborhood. “— my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths.”

Application - My Dad was a marine gunnery Sergeant and his most sage advice to me was to “protect yourself Son.” It was my mother that taught me to “say no” to the crowd, I listened to both but chose to do what I thought was best for me. And I reaped what I sowed. It wasn’t till I was thirty years old that I obeyed godly wisdom. It was God’s Word and grace that led me to listen and repent, and then I could lead my sons and daughter in godly wisdom and eternal truth. I didn’t get a crown of garland or a gold bling around my neck, But I was crowned as a child of King Jesus.

Now I didn’t get involved in any of the wickedness of a gang but I definitely was enticed by the enemy of God to do things that God hated. I have met men who have taken others lives, some in a very heinous manner. And I knew thieves you wouldn't want to let into your house. They were usually trying to hock something they had stolen in order to buy drugs or alcohol. They didn’t see life with God, but to live it for the moment whether they lived or died, life was to be lived for the moment. 

The author of the old proverb saying “there is no honor among thieves” probably knew a few. And the greek poet Melander was quoted by the apostle Paul, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” (1 Cor. 15:33 NIV)

So my advice is to stay in line with God, listen and obey Godly wisdom, and most of all, Life is precious to God, He gave you yours in order that you could live it for Him and He would give it to full.

“All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:8-16 NIV)

Next, Solomon again warned his son(s) of the traps and schemes of the enemy and his minions. So let’s read the last portion of the text, “For their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.”

One of the key schemes of those who do evil were acts of murder and heinous bloodshed, even to the youngest and innocent. And they love to use the cover of darkness to hide their horrific acts. 

Another ploy of the violent was to ambush the unsuspecting with traps. Their traps were similar to those employed against animals and birds. They are cleverly concealed and lethal. 

 But Solomon wanted to remind his son(s) that God was always aware and watching over the righteous and the evil. “The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence.” (Ps. 11:5 NIV) Though the intent of the evil one was ill gotten gain and spreading of fear, God would act justly to bring these men or boys to an end. He will expose and take away the life of those by allowing them to fall into their own traps and ambushes.

Application - Moses stated a truth to the Israelites that still rings true today, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.” (Ex. 23:2 NIV) 

We all have a story to tell of being enticed by the Devil or those that are entangled in evil. For there is another quote “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” comes from Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (1711). Those enticed by sin or its desire often regret the aftermath of the act. 

Most murderers do not plan the death, it usually happens spontaneously in the heat and rush of an emotional outburst. But then there are those who premeditate their crime against life, and they are to be avoided at all cost. There are several examples in scripture, even amongst the Lord’s leaders and followers. King David, Jehu, Judas Iscariot, and others. Solomon indubitably had brothers or others that wanted his life shortened, Like Adonijah, King David’s fourth eldest son who planned to usurp Solomon reign, but it was thwarted by Natan the prophet and Babsheba, Solomon’s mother. 1 Kings 1-2 and this ended in many deaths. So Solomon warned his son(s) not to let their feet rush in to do evil. 

But God sees the most evil of premeditated plans and thwarts them sometimes and sometimes turns the table and the perpetrator falls into his own trap.

We can learn from history, and not make the same mistakes or we can run into the same traps and situations that have affected others. As Winston Churchill spoke in the British House of Commons "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it" 

Corruption happens at all levels of society, as we learn even from Solomon’s life. The enemy of God is subtle and wily, he entices even the godly man or woman. But we have our King and Lord who provides us with wisdom and an escape from the enemy’s traps. Will you ask Him today for wisdom in all of your endeavors, for He desires for us to walk in the light of His presence not in the darkness of doubts 

To close this lesson, please heed Godly wisdom and instruction; listen to God’s Word and obey it so that your life will be blessed with the garland of grace around your head, and God will dress you with chains of authority, and Christ will give abundant life to those that obey and listen to his voice. He gave us His proverbs to instruct us and give us insight, enlighten us and lead us in eternal truth.

As always, I want to end with presenting the gospel in the form of the ABC’s of salvation for all those who have not yet received Jesus Christ for salvation. For Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I have revised my webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. Thank you. http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com