Proverbs 6 - Reflections

Proverbs 6:1-19 Warnings Against Folly

1My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

2Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

3Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

4Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

5Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

12A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.

13He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;

14Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

An Approach to Debt - Verses 1-5

1. Implied – Avoid it.

2. Explicit – Free yourself and, in order to do that you must often …

3. Humble yourself and

4. Deprive yourself.

The Value: FREEDOM. Debt is slavery.

How to Stay Free – Go to the ANT Verses 6-8

1. The Attitude of the Ant – Hard work pays.

2. The Nature of the Ant – Work in cooperation.

3. The Timing of the Ant – Work with a sense of seasons.

Developing a Work Ethic Verse 9

You need to get up in the morning and get going.

Verses 10-11 – Otherwise you will get poor quickly.

Poverty and laziness are related.

The Scoundrel and Villain Verses 12-15

1. His profile –Observe his mouth, eyes, feet, and fingers – Something external always betrays a person of evil intent.

a. He is “playing games with the truth and avoiding it at all costs.

b. He probably thinks he is cute.

2. His heart and intention

a. deceit and

b. dissension.

3. His outcome – disaster.

What Irks God? Verses 16-19

1. haughty eyes,

2. a lying tongue,

3. hands that shed innocent blood,

4. a heart that devises wicked schemes,

5. feet that are quick to rush into evil,

6. a false witness who pours out lies

7. and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Lessons from this part of the Chapter

1. Debt, while sometimes a necessity, is something to avoid because it creates slavery. We live in a day of easy credit and we confuse that with “free money.” It ‘taint so.

2. If you are in serious debt, getting out of that debt should be something you are willing to spend time, energy, and emotional capital on.

3. Work is the road to financial freedom. Developing a strong work ethic is a necessity to success in life.

4. Honesty in human relationships and communications is highly valued by God.

God is interested in our character and in developing our character. It irks him when people set out to be “trouble makers,” always stirring things

Proverbs 6:20-35

20My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

21Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

22When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

24To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

25Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

26For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.

27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

29So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

30Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

32But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

33A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

34For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Shades of Mark Twain - Verses 20-23 Twain said “When I was 17, I thought my father to be the most stupid man alive. When I turned 21, I couldn't believe how much he had learned in 4 years.”

Big Idea: Your parents have learned a lot in a few short years. Listen to them!

How L.U.S.T. Works: - Verses 23-35 © 1999, International Bible Society (NIV)

L =Lies that captivate us and create an obsession. We must stay on guard against it, because it is a form of intoxication and it distorts our reality.

²⁴ keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.

²⁵ Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes,

U =Uselessness – This kind of sin uses us up.

²⁶ for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

²⁷ Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?

²⁸ Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?

S =Stealing – We’re taking what is not ours.

²⁹ So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; No one who touches her will go unpunished.

³⁰ Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

³¹ Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

T =Trouble – It leads to all sorts of trouble.

³² But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.

³³ Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away;

³⁴ for jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

³⁵ He will not accept any compensation e will refuse the bribe, however great it is.

Proverbs 5 Summary Lessons

1. Adultery and good sense are not compatible concepts.

2. The best way to avoid trouble is to completely avoid it. Walk across the street.

3. Sin, especially sexual sin, will sap your strength and rob you of time, energy, and a future. If you don’t believe me – turn on any country music station for an hour.

4. Some day you’ll regret your bad decisions.

5. You may be setting yourself up for some real humiliation.

6. God wants you to enjoy an intimate and fulfilling relationship with your spouse if He has given you one – but only with a spouse.

7. Discipline is a good thing – a very good thing. Lack of discipline leads to more of the same and ultimate failure.

Proverbs 5

This chapter is about avoiding adultery. Sexual sin is portrayed as ugly, destructive, and dangerous. It is all of those things. The father/teacher wants his son to know how to avoid it because he knows that his offspring is about to face a battle that every man encounters. Yet, he also knows it

To paraphrase a paraphrase (The Message), young men and women need to develop a taste for good sense:

1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: 2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

The more time spent in the wholesom pursuit of wisdom and understanding, the less time there will be for sexual temptation. The wholesome our mental and spiritual diet, the more of the same we want.

Remember- what goes down sweet may not remain sweet.

3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

The junk food industry, like the tobacco industry, knows how to make us want more of their product. It is an old story. Sin always works that way, but nothing can take away the nasty aftertaste of sin - except, for a time, more sin. It is an addictive process until we are all washed up and left for ruin. The adultress is trapped too. Look at the next few verses:

5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

• No thought to the way of life.
• Crooked paths.
• Oblivious to all of it

Avoid it at all costs.

7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

This kind of trouble can only be avoided by completely avoiding its cause. Stay away. It's trouble. Drill it into your head. Decide ahead of time that when the opportunity and ocassion arises, the answer is already, an emphatic, "NO!"

There is trouble ahead.

9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

If you think the teacher is kidding, look around. How much wealth has been consumed? How much honor has been lost? How much time has been wasted? And it all goes back to lust, to men and women letting their hormones think for them.

11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

And how much disease has been spread through STDs? And how many injuries have been incurred by jealous husbands? And there are many other ways to wear oneself out with immorality. It is unwise.

12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

The worst part is the humiliation, regret, and guilt that arise in the hearts of those who spend their lives with such futility.

Keep your privacy.

15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. 17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.

Some things are personal and private. If we are to keep our dignity we are to keep them to ourselves with one exception:

If God gives us someone to share these things with, marry that person and stick with him or her. Otherwise, assume that it might happen in the future and keep yourself for that person.

Intimacy is a funtion of marriage Thus, the father/teacher says:

18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

All that is ugly and perverted in illicit relationships is consecrated and made beautiful in the marriage relationship. Cherish it whether it is in your past, present, or potential future.

20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

Intimacy with a stranger is simply not genuine intimacy. It falls far short.

God sees everything.

21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

Consequences are built into our actions.

22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. 23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Proverbs 4

There is a bit of a pattern in these verses related to the acquistion of wisdom: Remember, Retain, Acquire, Value.

Remember

1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

We must first hear the instruction and the first place we ever learn anything is at our parent's feet. We hear; we attend; we know. It comes to us through hearing, is assimilated as we pay attention and apply it, and is finally known through experience.

2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

Doctrine is teaching and it stays with us unless we forsake it.

3 For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

The teacher reflects on his own past and the process through which he gained wisdom. This reflection is itself, an aid to remembering.

Retain

4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

The teacher's father was also a teacher. He taught him to retain truth in his heart. It is not enough to acquire knowledge mentally. It must become a part of who we are. We must desire it as something life-giving and life-sustaining. We come to our study of wisdom with the attitude that we will retain what we learn. It is for life.

Acquire

5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

We start with the end in mind. We acquire wisdom with a bias - that we will never let it go. The secret of that is preventing decline. Neglect is a greater enemy that wilful rejection because it sneaks in on us and is often unnoticed until it has taken its toll.

Value

6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. 10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

How we value wisdom will determine how much of it we acquire and retain and how effective it will be in shaping our lives. Wisdom will preserve us and keep us if we love her. She becomes our protector. It may cost us everything, but it is the main thing. We can use wisdom to get whatever we need. All promotions, honor, and recognition go to the wise. Among her blessings are long life and glory.

Two Ways

11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

Wisdom guides us along the right path. It is a straight path. It is an even path. It is the path of life.

14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

The alternative to wise living is wickedness. We are to avoid it.

15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

Say it as many ways as necessary. Get off the evil path and stay off.

So, if we are on the wrong path, what do we do? We must TURN ( The biblical word for turning is repentance).

Making the Detour = TURN

1. T – Take another route.
2. U – Understand the difference (See the following verses.)
3. R – Reject the restless riot.
4. N – Nix the need for naughtiness.

16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

We need to recognize the allure of sin and reject it. Like overindulging in food or becoming intoxicated with wine, or even being caught up in a frenzy of hyperactive compulsion to do evil, the path of wickedness creates an altered state of spiritual consicousness that feeds on itself. It takes strong intention and much grace to break the cycle. Turn.

18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Wise people love light because in the light, truth is plainly seen and falsehood is exposed.

19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

The converse is also true. wickedness is a blinding darkness that obscures truth and covers the obstacles in its path until we stumble over them.

20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Our remedy is to return to truth, to the teachings of our youth, to the Word of God and the words of wisdom we have learned from godly parents and teachers.

Solomon makes some practical suggestions for us here:

1. Visual reminders
   
2. Heart engagement
3. Incentives - Life!
4. Make the connection between wisdom and well being.

We are then given 5 specific instructions:

23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

(1) Guard your heart - Don't let anything into your "center" that does not belong there. Watch out for anything trying to sneak in. All of your life flows from your heart.

24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

(2) Guard your speech - Things sometimes get inside of you as you say them. Don't speak any negativity into existence in your own life. The mouth bone's connected to the heart bone.

25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

(3) Guard your focus - or you might say, "Guard your gaze." What you gaze upon will become your focus and will find its way to your heart. don't waver.

26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

(4) Guard your planning. Plan for success in righteousness. Don't fantasize about evil or anything less than God's best.

27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

(5) Guard your consistency. Keep on keeping on. It is not those who start well who win the race, but those who finish well.

Here is another brother, Jaqua, blogging on Proverbs and following the daily discipline of a chapter corresponding to the day of the month. It inspires me to try and get a day ahead.

GraceWalk: Breakfast of Champions - Proverbs 3

I like this quote about acountability:

"Unfortunately, like my daily Bible reading, I think I need someone to be accountable to - or a workout partner."

Proverbs 3

1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

There is a danger in forgetting. In fact, we are likely to forget unless we engage the heart in the process of remembering. We must be intentional about remembering and impassioned about keeping the commands of the wise.

2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Wisdom is practical. It starts with things like, "Look both ways before crossing the street," and moves on from there. These sorts of life commands keep us alive and well. The y treat us well.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

Mercy and truth are not fickle, but they slip away through neglect. Don't let that happen. It is your job to hold them close. Rehearse the, remind yourself of them. Cherish them. The teacher admonishes us to employ outward methods as a means to inward assimilation of truth. How do you learn? Then pul out the stops and learn this material. How do you internalize? Then commit yourself to do so.

4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Wise people are blessed in two directions, vertically and horizontally. Obviously, God is pleased with those who search for truth with loving eagerness. That kind of favor, once one understands its value, is enough incentive. However, experience itself tells us that the person who devotes time, energy, and heart to gaining wisdom moves ahead in the world, winning the favor of people. Such individuals are more interesting, conversational, and trustworthy. They make good business decisions, treat people well, and are sought out for advice - sometimes even paid for advice as Solomon often was.

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

We come to the high water mark of Proverbs and one of the greatest verses in the entire Bible. It cries out to be memorized, internalized, and radicalized in our lives. If we will trust in the LORD (capitalized as an indicator that this is God's personal name, revealed to Moses), we must do so wholeheartedly. It will preclude any notion that we can lean on our own understanding. Such trust is ...

T=Total (with all your heart)

R= Reliance (in the Lord – not your own understanding)

U= Unified (in all your ways)

S= Specific (acknowledge Him)

T= Trustworthy ( and He will ...)

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The teacher gets specific in describing trust in the Lord. Noted above, this is a unified position; it is specific on our part because we acknowledge Him verbally as well as spiritual; and it comes with a promise: directed paths.

What is the appeal of directed paths for a person? Nothing if we are absorbed in our own arrogant self-stuffiness. Everything is we are smart enough to know that we know relatively nothing and need God to guide us. Everything.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Our enemy is conceit. It blocks our learning and sabotages our understanding. We cannot take in truth as long as we believe we already have a handle on it. We must start with reverence for God, move toward rejection of evil, and land on reception of truth.

8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Don't laugh to hard. Your navel was the original pathway of all good things to your body. Your marrow continues to produce the blood through which every cell in your body is nourished.

The FEAR of the Lord is:

F = Faith is God, E=- Eagerness for God, A = Awe of God, R = Reverence for God

Fear of anything else is:
F = Futile, E = Egotistical, A = Amoral, R= Restrictive (Perhaps I can be persuaded to explain)

9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

The heart bone's connected to the hip bone (or wherever one carries ones money). If you mean business with God, there will soon be a test and it is likely going to eventually come down to whether or not you love and honor Him enough to put Him in charge of your money.

10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

In God's economy, giving is not subtraction. It is flow and the flow of resources does not end with our disbursals God-ward.

11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

Likewise, in God's economy, discipline is not negative. It is corrective and redemptive. We relish it because it straightens our path and promotes our success.

12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

God disciplines us because God delights in us. He sees, in us, the potential we cannot see in ourselves. For that reason, He does not abandon us in our bad behavior or mistakes. He redemptively corrects us.

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

What would you give for wisdom? Time? Energy? Humility? Resources? Would you be willing to subject yourself to correction?

14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

Wise people know the value of knowledge and wisdom and are willing to pay with time and moment to learn.

15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Some people call this making investments in oneself. The books we read, the audios to which we listen, the seminars we attend, and the classes we take are all a part of the process. If we consider wisdom precious, we will make the investments.

16Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

Wisdom is one of the major keys to success in life. The benefit list is seen below.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.c 18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Benefit List: (1) Long Life - resulting from healthy choices, avoidance of foolish things and the reality that healthy minds take longer to die. (2) Riches - Great ideas with the ability to strategize and make wise decisions drive business success. (3) Honor - There is no end to the honors bestowed upon wise people.

19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

We are given a brief history of wisdom. Before He created anything, God created wisdom and by wisdom, He made all that was made. First the idea, then the implementation.

21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

Again, it is our responsibility to keep wisdom close to us - close to our eyes where we can gaze upon it.

22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

Wisdom will grace us and enliven us.

23Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

It will keep us safe and straight.

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

It will give us a sense of fulfillment and well-being.

25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

It will give us peace and safety.

26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Wisdom will give us confidence and assurance.

27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

The truly wise person, having been morally informed, is not just about self-interest. Real reason gives us compassion and a sense of justice and mercy. Solomon will elaborate later.

29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

Moral wisdom also teaches us to do not hard to our neighbor. Again, there will be more elaboration later.

31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

Wisdom gives us a perspective on those who seem to be succeeded through devious means. They are not and are not to be envied.

32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. 33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

Wisdom reminds us that it is God's good pleasure that is at the center of our own quest for success and well-being. If God is not pleased, there is nothing good in store for us. What is for His glory is for our good.

34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

The life of humble reverence is the best life. The life of grace through lowliness is glorious. Go for wisdom and ignore the wooing of the wicked. In the end, you win.

Proverbs 2: 7 -22

7He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

The same Lord who gives wisdom, provides enough for the righteous so that they ought never despair of its plenty. He protects the person who walks with integrity and truth. To be righteous has two meanings in light of Paul's comments in Romans 3:10 that there is no one who is righteous.

That is to say that none, of his or her own accord or effort is righteous and every person comes to God in an unrighteous state needing to be made righteous. The two meanings are (1) Rightly related to God. The relationship is created through the grace-faith connection by and through Jesus Christ. That becomes the spiritual reality of our lives. We have been made right with God. (2) Moving in the right direction. Salvation does not perfect our behavior. That is a process. The righteous "liver" is such because of a directional reality.

Thus, the righteous person is right with God and moving in the right direction. That person might also be considered in the context of the Proverbs, wise.

To walk uprightly is the opposite of walking bent over. The upright walker, (NIV calls him "blameless.") has shaken loose his/her shame with its defeatist attitude and can stand tall in God-confidence.

8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

Wise living is about paths and ways. These are directional concepts that denote progress and lifestyle. "Saints" is better translated in the NIV as "faithful ones." The idea here is that those who follow God and His ways avoid slippery slopes and dubious directions. They are guided by the Way Maker and Path Manager. The road will never drop off for the God-follower. There will always be a way. It may not be apparent, but it will be there when it is needed. Sometimes, amidst profound perplexity, we wonder if there is any direction that we can take. It seems that all roads are blocked and all options closed. We may not be able to discern what the right choice might be in a given situation. This Word from the Lord assures us that whatever the scenario may be, there is a just path and it has been preserved for us.

9Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

The sequence is not set in stone, but some things come before others - acceptance, heart application , earnest seeking, and reverence all precede understanding. Trust comes before confidence; a willingness to follow before an ability to articulate. We are promised new understanding and clarity as we follow.

10When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

Here is how it happens: Wisdom gets inside us. It nourishes us. It delights us. It is something pleasant and joyful. When we embrace it with such enthusiasm, understanding flows naturally.

11Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

Wisdom is our friend because nothing has its potency to protect, preserve, and defend us. The growing sense of right and wrong inside our souls that we cherish informs our choices. We reject the paths of destruction in favor or the paths of righteousness. We avoid some significant and meaningless dangers (Note - not all danger, just the useless danger of stupidity).

12To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

The useless danger of stupidity is summed up as (1) wicked ways and (2) perverse words. If we can bring our ways and our words into compliance with godly wisdom, we will avoid pitfalls that trap countless souls on a daily basis. Need I be specific? How much suffering is useless? It has no meaning unless and until it becomes redemptive through redemption. How much trouble is directly resultant from stupid choices. I use the word, "stupid" intentionally because such choices are made in a stupor of mindless cravings and godless thinking. We are not called to live "safe" lives for safety sake, but how embarrassing it is to fall into a pit because of our own willful ignorance and compulsive arrogance.

13Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

Here is what we do - and we have all done it. We choose wrongly. We leave the path. We do it with our eyes open (even though we may have entered into a stupor). The path we leave is the one provided by a wise and loving God. It is the wise path - the only one that makes a lick of sense. It is the way of light. So, we love darkness as Jesus said and are drawn to its mysteries because we are too spiritually and intellectually lazy to explore the vaster mysteries of light. Light is abundant. Darkness is abandoned. Light fullness. Darkness is absence. So we choose to stagger and stumble and unwittingly accept the consequences and then complain about them. "God's not fair," we declare. God is fair; we just ignored Him.

14Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

Evil we know. We just don't like to think that we would embrace it, much less rejoice in it. But we all have at some moment. Frowardness is perversity. Literally, that is anything that is not vertical, straight, lined up with truth, and thus, honest with God and self. Proverbs says that when we stray from the path, we do so whole-heartedly with a perverse delight in the distortions of truth that seem, for a moment, more exotic than the straight truth.

15Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

So we wander. If we aren't moving straight, then it is crooked. If we are perverse, we deviate and the NIV says we become devious. We start engaging in the great cover-up all the while meandering down a path to nowhere but destruction. All of this comes from rejecting wisdom.

16To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

For many, this perversity manifests itself as sexual deviation - no one sort in particular, although Solomon zeroes in on basic adultery and prostitution. It is one of many symptoms of letting one's fleeting desires do all of ones thinking. There are other terms for it on the street that I will not mention except to say that even in the world of people who hold no regard for God, this truth is validated and acknowledged.

17Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

The adulterous woman (or man) has forgotten/forsaken two promises - one to a mate and the other to God. He/she has not been able to fully accomplish this betrayal alone so has employed seductive words to bring a partner along. It never ceases to amaze me how a couple can sit across the room from me to be married - whose relationship was forged in the midst of another covenant. One is the adulterer and the other is the "home-wrecker." What is their basis of trust in each other? How is it different from the last time they pledged fidelity? Why would she trust a man that could be seduced by her deceptive words? Why would he trust a woman who had no regard for covenants between people and covenants with God? Of course, the breach can be crossed by grace, but there must also be recognition and repentance or both are doomed to a cyclical pattern or relativism and hormonal ethics.

18For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

It is a path to death. One may survive physically - or one may not, but there will be a great deal of death in the path - dead relationships, spiritual morbidity, cold heartedness, putrid moral decay - and death will characterize the fruit of such choices. A many a man and woman has been sent to an early grave in a jealous rage. Just because some avoid that fate does not lessen this truth. It is dangerous stupidity to compromise sexual ethics.

19None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

She takes something from those to who she "gives" herself. The boy does not "become a man" through her good offices. He dies. The little girl does not emerge a woman from a clutches of a seducer; she loses herself in a way that she can never recover apart from a miraculous work of grace in her life. The little boy and little girl can be born anew, but the reality is that sexual promiscuity is deadly and life-sapping. The wise avoid it.

20That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

Back to the point: These teachings are our safeguard against the pitfalls around us. Not everyone buys into every lie. There is a way of recovery. There is a path of righteousness. We can choose it.

21For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

There are some marvelous promises for those who can hold their heads up high. One is ongoing participation in the covenants of God.

22But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

With every promise, there is a warning. For every positive choice, there is the potential of a negative choice with its awful consequences. If you intend to choose the way of life, keep reading and do so with an open heart.