Three Bewares

INTRODUCTION

My dad held a few jobs for Dominion in his many years with the company.

One of them was being a “meter-reader.”

Nowadays, the job has been made easier by technology, but in the 90’s you still had to walk up to every meter in order to read it.

One thing that no meter-reader wants to see is the meter behind a gated fence that has a “Beware of Dog,” sign on it.

I specifically recall my father coming home with pretty deep teeth marks from a dog on his calf one time.

I noted in my mind that I hoped to avoid any jobs where I had to regularly enter into peoples’ yards.

Sometimes when we see “Beware,” signs, it means, “Proceed with caution.”

Other times, “Beware,” signs mean, “Turn back or you will die.”

Even a “Beware of Dog” sign doesn’t strike as much fear into us as a “Beware of Electricity” sign might or a “Beware of Water Currents” sign during hurricane season at the beach.

Tonight in Proverbs, we get a “Beware” sign that means, “Turn back or you will die.”

CONTEXT

Two weeks ago, we saw that the thirty one chapter of Proverbs can be split up into seven collections.

We examined the preamble of the first collection in 1:1-7 and it served as an instruction manual for the entire book.

Now we enter into the “Prologue” of the first collection, which will go on until we arrive at chapter 9.

In this passage tonight, we see Solomon, the primary author of Proverbs, taking a fatherly tone and addressing his son.

On one hand, we can read these as wise words being offered by Israel’s wise king to his son, Rehoboam.

On the other hand, we can read these as wise words for any Jewish parent to offer to their children.

Solomon always has a wider purpose than his own household when he is giving out his wisdom.

He wants to address Rehoboam, but he wants every father and mother to address their child with God’s wisdom.

Moreover, we can confidently say that God wants all of His children to have this wisdom and to live by it.

And as we hear Solomon’s words, we can draw out three “Bewares,” tonight that must be paid attention to:

1. Beware the neglect of authoritative instruction (v. 8-9).

2. Beware the enticement of unjust evildoers (v. 10-14).

3. Beware the folly of corrupting covetousness (v. 15-19).

Proverbs 1:8–19 ESV

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”— my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.

BEWARE THE NEGLECT OF AUTHORITATIVE INSTRUCTION (v. 8-9)

We begin tonight with Solomon’s call for his son to hear his instruction and his mother’s teaching.

So this provides us with our first BEWARE:

1. Beware the neglect of authoritative instruction (v. 8-9).

God has put multiple sources of authority in our lives in this fallen world.

There is the authority of the local church and the governing authority of her pastors.

There is the authority of government with everyone from Presidents to policemen.

There is the authority of the workplace with employers and supervisors.

There may be times in our lives that we do not like the authorities that God has placed over us.

There may be election seasons where we even seek to change the authority that God has placed over us.

But at the end of the day, these authorities are there and they are given to us by God to help curb our sinful desires, which have plagued us since birth.

Imagine a world where there was no authority and everyone was able to do as they see fit with no consequences.

It would be pure anarchy.

One of the most important sources of authority in our lives are parents.

Unfortunately not every parent approaches there position of authority with godliness.

Some parents are overbearing and domineering.

Some parents are absent and neglectful.

But ideally, a parent is leading their child with affection and with authority—the same way God deals with us.

The Bible calls on all people everywhere to honor their father and mother.

Exodus 20:12 ESV

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

In many ways, verse 8 is Solomon re-emphasizing the 5th Commandment.

The fifth commandment is seen as the first commandment on the 2nd Table of the Law.

The First Table of the Law is focused on how we are to relate to God.

No other gods.

No idols.

No blaspheming the Lord’s name.

No transgression of the Lord’s Sabbath.

The Second Table of the Law is focused on how we deal with our neighbors:

Almost all of these commandments are stated negatively as “shalt not,” commands.

Shall not murder

Shall not commit adultery

Shall not steal

Shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

Shall not covet

The only one that is stands out as being stated positively is the 5th Commandment:

Honor your father and your mother...

Solomon is re-stating this by saying, “Hear my instruction and forsake not your mother’s teaching.”

Solomon will talk in this way over 12 times in the first 8 chapters.

Some form of — “Hear my words, son…don’t forsake teaching.”

An example is what we see to start chapter 4:

Proverbs 4:1 ESV

Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,

We need the the strong and repeated warnings from Proverbs when it comes to not neglecting authoritative instruction, because thanks to the Fall, it is not in our nature to be submissive to it.

There is a reason that most little boys don’t run around pretending to be pastors, but pirates.

There is a reason why when young men start watching X-Men, they often like Wolverine over Cyclops.

We are attracted to the James Dean figures of the world.

We love a rebel, because we are born rebels.

We cannot forget what Solomon himself says of human depravity.

Ecclesiastes 9:3 ESV

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

It is the madness of sin that leads us to be rigorously rebellious from birth.

Adam fell in the Garden and we all fell with him and in him. We have inherited his corrupted nature.

And that plays out in us naturally rebelling against God and the authority He has put in place, just like Adam in the Garden.

Praise God that if you are believer tonight, Christ has saved you by His grace.

Your corrupt, dead hart was regenerated and resurrected by the very power that raised Christ from the dead.

You have been given a new nature and a new heart.

One that is not dead to God.

One that is justified before His throne.

One that is enabled by the Spirit to obey Him.

One that can work out salvation with fear and trembling and we are being sanctified.

But the reality that we are still being sanctified, should cause us to realize that we still need to listen in the way Solomon is calling us.

We cannot afford to neglect the authoritative wisdom that God gives us in His Word, any more than Solomon’s son can afford to ignore and neglect parental instruction and teaching.

If I told you that I wanted to climb Denali—the highest mountain peak in North America—and I also told you that I have never climbed a mountain and I am not a very good outdoorsman, you would probably be worried.

You would probably say, “Are you going to hire a guide?”

And this would be good counsel.

I am no boy scout.

I played baseball and bass drums growing up.

I have a religion degree and an evangelism degree.

That’s not getting me up the mountain.

My knowledge and ability is insufficient.

On our own, we are the same when it comes to climbing the mountain of daily life.

We do not have the knowledge within us to scale the mountain.

We do not have the spiritual ability in and of ourselves to get to the pinnacle.

We need a guide.

We need God’s authoritative wisdom.

And you see in verse 9 that when we do submit ourselves to authoritative instruction, it is good for our soul.

Solomon says that his instruction and his mother’s teaching are like:

A graceful garland for the head

A pendant for the neck.

The garland refers to the wreath worn my military leaders as they would return from war.

If they were victorious, they wore the garland as a sign of their victory and the life they possess after putting their enemies to death.

The pendant is likely referring to what was worn around the neck of Egyptian high judges.

The jewelry showed that they were men of dignity and they live an exemplary life.

Solomon’s point is not hard to grasp.

A child-like submission to God-given instruction and teaching will lead to life and honor.

Not necessarily an easy life.

But a life of victory and dignity.

Solomon’s warning comes with a promise—much like the 5th Commandment which promises that, in general, those who honor their mother and father will live long in the land.

Rebelliousness on the other hand, leads to danger and death.

BEWARE THE ENTICEMENT OF UNJUST EVILDOERS (v. 10-14)

Having issued the warning to pay attention and informing his son of the reward that comes with listening to the authoritative wisdom that God is giving him, Solomon begins to instruct.

And his instruction has to do with the allurement of sinful people.

2. Beware the enticement of unjust evildoers (v. 10-14)

When Solomon used the Hebrew word hatta, which translates to sinners, evil has made its first appearance in the book of Proverbs.

The King is warning his son not to be enticed, or mislead, by sinners.

He says “Do not consent,” if they try.

Don’t give in. Don’t go along with with them. Don’t give them your “Yes.”

In verses 11-14, Solomon is giving a hypothetical.

What parent has not done this?

Son—be careful at school today. If someone in class starts talking to you, just ignore them and look at the teacher.”

Daughter—remember who you are at this sleepover. One of the girls coming doesn’t have the best reputation. If anyone tries to hand you anything to inhale, you say, “No.”

As parents, one of our jobs is to look around the corner and see if there is danger, and then to say to our kids, “Be careful about what is around that corner.”

And we commonly give them hypothetical situations they might find themselves in, so they know how to apply our instruction.

Notice that in this hypothetical, things start out pretty pedestrian. A simple invitation. What could go wrong?

If they say, “Come with us...”

We have to understand that this is how sin usually presents itself.

“No big deal.”

Satan likes to bait the hook in such a way that it looks like just a little worm.

But once we bite down, he sets the hook and drags us off into heinous falls and failures.

What starts as a daily nightcap becomes full blown alcoholism.

What begins as harmless flirtation becomes full blown adultery.

What is nothing but a few harmless minutes scrolling Facebook at its genesis, becomes a full blown social media addiction that adds up to hundreds of hours of your life wasted.

Nobody wakes up and says, “I think I will become a hardened criminal today.”

It is something that starts with a simple invitation to “Come” and join the crowd.

But look at how it escalates quickly.

What begins as a simple invitation turns into the intention to shed blood, almost immediately.

v. 11 depicts evildoers lying in wait like predatory animals, ready to pounce on someone.

The invitation to “Come,” morphs into an invitation to ambush the innocent without reason.

The use of the word innocent demonstrates just how unjust this groups of enticing sinners are.

They know they are sneak-attacking people who have done nothing wrong and they don’t care.

The son’s parental instruction will lead to life, but his partnership with these sinners would be a partnership with death.

You can see in verse 12 that the unjust evildoers desire to emulate Sheol—the grave.

They want to swallow the innocent up whole like the pit of Hell itself.

The swallowing up conjures up images of a shark sneaking up behind a smaller fish and swallowing them whole.

It makes us think of Jonah sinking to the ocean floor and being gobbled up whole by the great fish

They want to plunder their neighbors the way a people would plunder their enemies (v 13).

This shows you how they view their neighbors.

They don’t see them as someone to be loved, but someone they would steal from.

They view their neighbors the way a warring nation would view their enemies.

And in verse 14, you see the full escalation of the initial invitation.

What started as “Come with us,” has turned into, “Let’s steal, murder and plunder,” and afterwards, let’s share a bank account.

Let’s go into business together.

Cast lots with us for the stolen goods and we will divide up one purse as partners.

Aristotle said that human beings are political animals.

What he meant is that we are always seeking to live together for the sake of a common function.

This has never been more clear than with social media.

If you made a Facebook status last Tuesday that says, “Wow—that debate was off the rails!” Then leave it and come back in a week, you will likely see how Aristotle is right.

People who do not even know each other will group up, draw battle line, and starting fighting other strangers in your comments section.

Or just go out on a Saturday morning and see people who previously did not know each other, riding around together on bikes in spandex in groups of 15-20.

They are bound together simply by the common function of riding bikes.

I hang out with more pastors than you all probably do because I am a pastor and they understand my life.

I believe that God made us this way because He designed us for community with Him and community with others who love Him.

After all, this is how we will spend eternity as the citizens of the New Jerusalem.

By His grace and for His glory, we will commune with God and with one another.

He will be out God and we will be His people.

And yet, what Solomon is warning his son about is that this can also work negatively.

People do not always group up for godly functions or even harmless functions.

Often they group up for the sake of evil functions.

This is literally why criminal gangs exist.

We have to be aware of Aristotle’s observation.

We are political animals and we are prone to bad politics, if you will.

Again—our corrupted nature does naturally want to cast our lost with the righteous, but with the wicked.

We don’t naturally want to walk a narrow road with saints, but a broad road with sinners.

And even if you are a Christian, you are not immune from this.

We may think we can keep intimate company with the world and those in it and be just fine, but we can see from Solomon’s warning that it won’t be long before our accepting of an invitation to keep company with evil will turn to full-on evil.

This is why Paul was adamant the Corinthians would guard themselves when it comes to this.

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

People do not want their spouses hanging out with people who have low moral standards.

People do not want their kids hanging out with other kids who seem to have low moral standards.

People won’t even call on a criminal to watch their dog.

Where there is evil, there should be a lack of entrusting.

We don’t entrust valuable things to wicked people—and that includes our own hearts and lives.

Again in 2 Corinthians, Paul calls the church in Corinth to guard themselves against intimate dealings with the worldly.

2 Corinthians 6:17 ESV

Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,

This is quoted from the prophet Isaiah who is warning the exiled people to leave Babylon and take nothing with them.

Leave Babylon and the Babylonians behind.

And leave behind the sin that landed you in Exile in the first place.

Similarly, God has rescued us from the world.

He has bought us back while we were still His enemies by paying for our sins with His life’s blood.

Why would we want to stay in the world?

Why would we want to retreat back to it?

But this is exactly what we are doing when we go along with sinners and inevitably begin to adopt their way of life.

We will see Proverbs repeat this principle. An example comes in chapter 24.

Proverbs 24:1–2 ESV

Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.

The teaching here is that we should not even desire to be with evil men.

If we feel that desire rising up, we must cut it off at the knees before desires gives way to full blown sin.

THE INVITATION OF CHRIST

Instead of accepting the invitation of sinners, we must accept the invitation of the Savior.

He reaches out to us and says, “Come,” but his invitation is not to work iniquity, but to find rest.

Matthew 11:28 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

His invitation is not to drink the blood of the innocent, but to drink fully of the Spirit.

John 7:37–39 ESV

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

You will accept one invitation or the other.

In the ultimate sense, you submit to Christ in repentance and faith or you reject Him and cast your lost with the world.

But also, for us as Christians, we cannot make the mistake of rejecting the voice of the Good Shepherd and wandering off into the wilderness with wolves.

If you do that, you will end up like the Psalmist at the end of Psalm 119.

Psalm 119:176 ESV

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

If you belong to the Lord, you will remember His commandments and He will come and get you, but the damage and consequences of committed sin will be no less real.

We see a picture of this in David’s disastrous actions with Bathsheba.

The Lord forgave him, but a man lost his life, a wife was stolen and David’s child died.

And again—this is not likely to happen over night.

Satan is happy to see a slow fade in your life until evil invitations start to be accepted.

BEWARE THE FOLLY OF CORRUPTING COVETOUSNESS (v. 15-19)

So we have had two bewares thus far:

1. Beware the neglect of authoritative instruction (v. 8-9).

2. Beware the enticement of unjust evildoers (v. 10-14).

Now we get to our third and final beware. It comes from verses 15-19:

3. Beware the folly of corrupting covetousness (v. 15-19).

If you go down to verse 19, you see the problem with these unjust evildoers.

They are greedy for unjust gain.

They want what they do not have and they are willing to do anything to get it—so long as its easy.

They aren’t willing to work hard for it in a righteous manner.

They aren’t willing to save money and get it the old-fashioned way.

They are like Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka—they want it now.

At the beginning of this text, we saw Solomon pointing to the principle of the 5th commandment—honor your father and mother.

But here at the end, we see that these people transgress the principle of the 10th commandment—they covet their neighbors stuff and they will cut a throat to get it.

Meaning, their violation of the 10th Commandment, will ultimately lead to a violation of the 6th Commandment—Do not murder.

This is why their feet run to evil and make haste to shed blood (v. 16).

They want that easy money.

Solomon’s son is to hold back his foot from their their way (v. 15).

Their “way,” would mean four things at once to the Hebrew boy.

In one sense, if he walks in the way with them, it means he is copying their character.

If he does that, he is identifying with them.

If he does that, he will join in on their choices.

And then, from those choices, he will inherit their consequences.

Here is a silly illustration:

In 2010, I watched the World Cup and I decided I wanted to keep watching soccer and I wanted to select a team in the English Premier League to support.

After about a month, I fell in love with the all red uniforms of Liverpool, the singing fans at Anfield—the stadium where they play, and the players on the field.

It didn’t take long for me to start to copy the character of the fan-base in the sense that I started talking like them. I would say “boots” instead of “cleats” and “pitch” instead of “field” and “touchline” instead of sidelines.

Next thing I know, I am buying jerseys and jackets and hats and all kinds of gear and I am identifying with them and considering myself a “Red.”

It wasn’t long before I was making the same choices as other fans—I would choose to support Liverpool no matter what and cheer against Everton and Manchester United no matter what.

And then I am dealing with their consequences—their losses are my losses and their wins are my wins.

Silly illustration about sports fandom, but you can see the progression.

A foot on the path led to a full on identification.

I was walking in the way of Liverpool—which means you are never alone, if you know anything about the club. But I digress.

That silly illustration is a disaster when we relate it to sin.

What begins as a parroting of character, turns to identification, which turns to choices, which becomes devastating consequences.

Who hasn’t seen this happen to someone.

Who hasn’t seen a good kid run with the wrong crowd.

They start to act like the new friends.

Then they start to identify with the new friends.

Then they make the choices of the new friends.

And then, they reap the consequences.

But this is not just a warning for kids.

Marriages end when people allow new crowds to change them.

Character changes when people start identifying with a new scene.

Addictions begin when people make choices they never would have made before, until they met a certain rabble.

And once foolish, crowd-sourced decisions are made, the consequences will be dealt with.

God will not be mocked. A man will reap what he sows.

We must heed Solomon’s words regarding the enticement of unjust evildoers and the corrupting nature of covetousness.

Often, people join up with malicious movements and start practicing sinful patterns because they don’t have something they want.

It might be attention.

It might be friends.

It might be money.

It might be sex.

But whatever the case may be, the covetous desire is nothing but a trap.

We see this in verses 17-18.

In many ways, this is the first true proverb of Proverbs.

Proverbs 1:17–18 ESV

For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.

Even a bird isn’t stupid enough to fly into a trap that they see you setting.

And yet, covetousness men who are bent on easy gain, will walk right into a trap set by their own hands!

When I would play in the rain as a kid, my dad would yell outside and say, “Son—a chicken has a brain this big, but he knows to get out of the rain.”

Well a bird has a brain this big, but he won’t fall for a trap he sees a hunter set.

But these wicked fools depicted by Solomon are too morally blind to avoid traps that they set themselves with their own evil.

The Psalms say it this way:

Psalm 7:15–16 ESV

He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

These people think that by their violent actions, they are gaining the world, but we know what Jesus said:

Matthew 16:26 ESV

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

If we know that the world is only truly gained by surrendering your soul to Christ and receiving the great inheritance of being His co-heirs as He rules and reigns in Heaven...

If we know that the meek and not the proud will inherit the earth...

Then why would we to short-circuit God’s plan and short cut around the Savior, seeking easy gain in this world by casting our lot with sin and sinners?

Well—because we allow evil desire to fester and drag us into the way with them.

We place a foot on their path and we become intoxicated with the bait on the hook.

We must beware.

CONCLUSION

Imagine watching someone walk right past a “Beware of Dogs” sign and right into a pack of rottweilers.

You would say, “What were they thinking?”

But if we hear God’s Word tonight and Solomon’s call to heed the “beware” signs and listen to the authoritative wisdom of God that will keep us from the traps set by evil and the paths of evil men, and we ignore it all—we are like that person.

We are walking right into Satan’s trap.

We are strutting right into sin’s path and asking for the consequences.

And it must be said—this is possible.

After all, Solomon’s son Rehoboam is a tragic case of covetousness leading to division and destruction.

His reign started off okay, but ultimately he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord:

2 Chronicles 12:1 ESV

When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.

And God allowed him to receive the consequences for his evil:

2 Chronicles 12:9–10 ESV

So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made, and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house.

Let us not be like Rehoboam.

Whether you had a godly mother or father who poured out wisdom on you or not—you have a heavenly Father speaking to you tonight.

Those secret desires that have been growing within you—confess them to someone. Bring them into the light so they will die.

Those secret sins that are growing in the darkness—confess them to the Lord and someone else. Bring them into the light so they will die.

The traps you have laid for yourself do not need to be walked into.

Repent.

The Lord is merciful. Heed His wisdom.

Beware the neglect of it.

Beware the enticement.

Beware the corruption.