LISTEN TO GOD AND LIVE
Proverbs 1:8-33 / Keywords 1:33
but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men
1:8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
9 They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
10 My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them.
11 If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,
let’s ambush some harmless soul;
12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
14 cast lots with us;
we will all share the loot”—
15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood.
17 How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.
Wisdom’s Rebuke
20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;
21 on top of the wall[d] she cries out,
at the city gate she makes her speech:
22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
23 Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.
24 But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,
25 since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
29 since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.
30 Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Footnotes
d. Proverbs 1:21 Septuagint; Hebrew / at noisy street corners
1. Solomon advises his son (and us) against
acquiring immoral earnings (v. 15). Not all of us may be engaging in ambushing
and looting as in this passage, but we should all examine our hearts to see if “precious
substance”
(v. 13) is a stumbling block as we follow Christ, as Jesus said, “You
cannot serve both God and money”
(Matthew 6:26). Love of material gain will eventually cost us our lives (v.
19), piercing us with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10). We should not justify our
crafty ways.
2. Solomon fiercely rebukes us to repent our
stubbornness and foolishness. He points out that we are pushing away God’s
wisdom while childishly indulging ourselves with our pride. He warns us that
this behavior brings calamities like a storm, one after another. Our lives
without the fear of God will be conquered by constant stress and anxiety.
3. We must desire God’s
knowledge and learn to reject our selfish thoughts. We must open our ears to
listen to God’s
voice and calling. Then God will bless us with his eternal safety and comfort.
Prayer
Father, thank you for giving us
your wisdom. When I am tempted by dishonest gain, help me to listen to you and
live a blessed life.
One Word Listen to God and
live
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