A Parental Appeal: Reject the Siren Song of Sin

To continue his gospel appeal, the writer of Proverbs moves on from introducing his theme, which I would summarize as follows: There is one path to a well-lived, fulfilling, wisdom-saturated life worthy of being sought by all, and that is entering into an affectionately reverent, worshipfully submissive relationship with Almighty God. He moves on to show his audience exactly how the real world works and how it is that so many fail to find the path of wisdom.

In Greek mythology, the Sirens were singing enchantresses whose beautiful song was capable of luring passing sailors to their islands, and, subsequently, to their doom. It was said that the Sirens’ dwelling place was a ghastly sight to behold: a great heap of bones lay all around them, with the flesh of the victims still rotting off the dead bodies.

Proverbs 1:8–19 depicts a father warning his child against the siren song of sin. A song which, like that of the mythological Sirens, presents supposed attractions that, in reality, hide ghastly results. Our passage is therefore a passage of contrasts between two paths of life: the path of wisdom and the path of folly. Let us examine the three contrasts between these paths presented by the Sage.

I. Contrasting Sources of Information Revealed (Prv 1:8–10)

A. Parents – God-given authorities (Prv 1:8)

Explanation: There are a number of offices or institutions that God placed in this world to help guide us in the path of wisdom. This passage highlights parents, but there are also government (Rom 13) and the church (Heb 13:7). All of these were designed by God to point us to the truth, and the ultimate truth is God himself (Jn 14:6).

Argumentation: Because these are human institutions, they do not always faithfully perform their God-given responsibility to point us to the path of wisdom. However, God never leaves those who desire knowledge about him and his ways without a witness to that knowledge. You cannot use your parents’ failures as an excuse. You are getting the truth now, and God expects you to begin following the path of wisdom presented in the Scriptures.

Exhortation: I beg you, whatever the source God uses to bring His truth to your attention, obey what you learn. Follow God’s sources of information pointing you to wisdom.

B. Sinners – Devil-inspired stumblingblocks (Prv 1:10)

Explanation: Notice the behavior of these devil-inspired stumblingblocks is to entice, which means to tempt, to convince, or to persuade.

Argumentation: They paint an attractive picture meant to be an irresistible lure to those who come across their message. It was a siren song like this that captured Eve’s thinking in Genesis 3. Examine with me her thought process in verse 6: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise….” The convincing message of sin is often characterized by a wrapper of truth concealing a kernel of falsehood. Unfortunately, the outer truth cannot counteract the error that lies within. Like a murder committed by encasing a small, poison pill in a large drop of delicious chocolate, the quality of the outer layer can do nothing to counteract the effects of the poison at the heart of the instrument of death. As the New Testament puts it, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (Gal 5:9).

II. Contrasting Promises Offered (Prv 1:9–14)

A. For following wisdom’s instructions (Prv 1:9)

1. A mark of family membership (i.e. chains) (Prv 1:9)

Explanation: Jewelry, like rings or golden chains, was often used as a symbol of family membership. Consider the actions of the Father welcoming home his lost son in Luke 15:22: “But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand….”

Explanation: When we choose the path of wisdom, as the son in the book of Proverbs is being encouraged to do, this results in our becoming children of God. As an earthly family might pass down precious jewelry, so God bestows a tremendous gift on his children to mark them as members of his family. John put it this way in his first epistle: “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit” (1 Jn 4:13). Similarly, Paul writes, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom 8:9).

2. A mark of ultimate victory (i.e. ornament of grace) (Prv 1:9; 2 Tim 4:8; Jas 1:12; 1 Pet 5:4)

Explanation: This is most likely something similar to the victor’s wreath given to those who won Olympic competitions. The New Testament pictures these as rewards to faithful Christians who follow wisdom’s path to the end.

Application: When you follow the wisdom of a relationship with Christ, all that is represented by the phrase “ornament of grace” is yours. An ornament symbolizes attractiveness or beauty. Walking with Christ will bring beauty to your inner self, and such inner beauty radiates outward until it shines through in your physical countenance. Consider how Peter counsels wives to ornament themselves, “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Pet 3:3–4). But this is not just any kind of attractiveness or beauty, this ornament provides grace. Grace always blesses those who are impacted by it. Ephesians 4:29 shows how our communication can bring grace to those who hear it, and 1 Peter 4:10 instructs us to use our spiritual gifts to serve one another as a means of sharing the grace that we have received from God with others.

B. For following folly’s enticements (Prv 1:11–14)

1. Acceptance by your peers (Prv 1:11–12, 14)

Explanation: Satan knows the powerful pull that being part of a group has. Down through the ages, children have despised the wise counsel of experienced parents or mentors and prized the counsel of their peers, as if age must result in the incapacity to see things as they really are and youth alone can perceive the true nature of things in life. The young tend to think, “Those older people are just stuck in the mud. They don’t understand. They have forgotten what it was like to be in our position.”

Exhortation: Stop and think about how Satan has always worked before you let him sell you this bill of goods! In the garden of Eden, God promised true life. Satan took the path to death, disguised it as a better way to life, and deceived Eve so that she chose death over life. For the young to choose the foolish counsel of their inexperienced peers because it is called wisdom or boldness, and to reject the counsel of their wiser and more experienced elders, calling it foolish, cautious, or too conservative; that is the same pattern of believing Satan’s lies over God’s truth. Stop the cycle! Recognize the pattern! Reject this siren song of sin!

2. A sense of superiority (Prv 1:11–12)

Explanation: While the speaker is not explicitly praising his group for their superiority, we see the belief in their own superiority in the decisions that they make. They make it clear that they believe themselves to be morally superior by having the ability to secretly lie in wait to destroy the “innocent” or blameless. By speaking of “swallowing up” or destroying, they claim God’s own position of having the authority of life and death over people. Like Satan, these enticing sinners desire to claim the throne of God for themselves.

Application: Notice! You do not have to be contemplating murder to be guilty of the folly pictured here. The bottom line of the foolishness that the Father is warning about is simply assuming the position of having the right to control your own life rather than joyfully submitting to following God’s plan. He made you. He knows what will result in your ultimate benefit. Rather than possessing an attitude of entitlement or superiority, we ought to follow Peter’s admonition in 1 Peter 5:5–6: “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”

3. Temporal wealth (Prv 1:13)

Explanation/Quotation: Notice the greed inherent within folly’s enticements. As Bruce Waltke puts it, “The houses of these crooks, who think they are above all laws, are mansions in the best part of the city, with high walls. Powerful people see the world as a place to be conquered; vain artists as a stage from which to win applause; and the covetous as a place of transferring wealth from the bank account of others into their own.”

Application/Quotation: Such is the attitude of folly, while wisdom pursues opposite goals. Again Bruce Waltke states, “Sinners love wealth and use people; saints love people and use wealth to help others.”

Argumentation: Is the world better off because of the greed inherent within our sinful human natures? No! Get rich quick schemes like the lottery, gambling, fake business offers, and email and text scams benefit the crooks smart enough to offer them, leaving the victims poorer and worse off than they were before. Mga kapatid, heed the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy! “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1 Tim 6:9–11).

III. Contrasting Endings Highlighted (Prv 1:9, 15–19)

A. Victory is assured for those who follow wisdom’s path (Prv 1:9)

Quotation: I assure you that I recognize in our passage that “the [path of wisdom] has none of the flashy appeal of the [path of folly, for it offers nothing material, only the hard-won beauty and authority of goodness.” The way of folly “owes its attractiveness to its offer (in common with all temptation) of a quick route to … excitement and power (the youth pictures himself a person to be reckoned with, instead of patronized and kept in his place) and, above all, of acceptance as ‘one of the gang’.”

Illustration: Victory is not always easy, and it is almost never without perceived sacrifice. Consider the Allies in World War II. What did it take in order to defeat Germany, Italy and Japan? Well, there was the “blood, toil, tears and sweat.” mentioned by Winston Churchill. But, while soldiers sacrificed all of those things and more to the point of their very lives, the average citizen was sacrificing those things as well as the rationing of such everyday items as sugar, tires, gasoline, meat, coffee, butter, canned goods, and shoes. However, to live in freedom rather than under the tyranny of such evil and ungodly powers, was more than worth the sacrifice.

B. Self-destruction is assured for those who follow folly’s path (Prv 1:15–19)

Explanation: The sage makes it abundantly clear that folly’s path is harmful to those who follow it. But he also makes clear that it is deceptive. These men think they are going to ambush others and take away their lives, but verse 18 shows that the results they wish upon others are the judgments that they receive upon themselves by following this path. They think that they will prosper and have a long life full of good things. In reality, by making such choices, they forfeit every good thing. In the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, they may have gained the whole world, but they have lost their own souls.

Conclusion:

The siren song of sin promises wealth, excitement, and power; but following it results in poverty, suffering, and death. The wise counsel of God offers suffering, sacrifice, and shame; but following it results in joy, fellowship, and wholeness. Revelation 21:1–7 describes it this way: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Which path will you choose today? The path of folly or the path of wisdom? As God’s representative today, I encourage you to choose the path of wisdom, the path of fellowship with Him.

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