Prov 1:1-7 - Between the Rails

How many of you recognize this song? Play clip of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Q_DlBBfM0

If it seems vaguely familiar, it is currently receiving airplay by a male vocalist as background to a credit card advertisement.

Do “I need it to make me happy?” What if greater happiness is possible without “it”? What if greater happiness is achieved by NOT using the credit card for that item?

How many paths lead to Happiness? How many lead to God?

Philosophy and culture promise many paths to happiness, but many of those disappoint.

2 weeks ago in this room our mission partner preached that the person of Jesus is the way to the Father. Jesus said in Mt 7:13 that the gate that leads to life is narrow, but the gate to destruction is broad and crowded.

What does the path to God look like?

Some describe the path as narrow with a dangerous drop right at the edge, as if one misstep and destruction awaits and obscure with the destination out of view. Some describe the path as confusingand uncertain. And some view the path as tranquil, isolated (only room for Jesus and the pilgrim) and guarded.

Can I introduce a couple ideas that may challenge these images of the path to God? Many view heaven and God as only the end of the path, but 1) I propose that God and peace are the center of the path that results in ultimate presence. Similar to the fictitious poem Footprints in the Sand, sometimes the Holy Spirt leads us, sometimes He encourages from behind, sometimes He comforts besides us, and there are times when he carries us like a loving shepherd or a fellow soldier.

2) I assert that the path is not isolated. As my friend Joshua explained last week, there are others on the journey near us. We are not standing still in a long line, we are pacing forward as individuals within community. And

3) I’m convinced that while the lane is narrow, the shoulders of the path are wide with many distractions.

Over the next 10 weeks we are going to look at the distractions we must avoid and the wisdom me must heed. The wisest man to ever live (besides Jesus who was God in skin) searched for happiness in Ecclesiastes and advised his son in Proverbs of what he discovered.

TRANSITION: Notice the last word of Pro 1.5 before us. Solomon wanted his son to find proper guidance and told him where to look for it.  The Holy Spirit who inspired Solomon also wants us to find this same guidance, as opposed to the fool who despises instruction.

Think of this word guidance like an anchor with a long rope. This idea is the stable point that we will drift around in these 7 verses.

Two Rails (Proverbs 1:1-6)

The Likert Scale

We live in a polarized culture: Are you this or that? Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you prefer this team or that? Do you prefer this activity or that? Then we drift into “how much do you agree?”

How dirty is dirty? Is this outfit clean enough to wear around the house? Clean enough for workwear? Clean enough to be seen in public? Clean enough for a social occasion like weddings or church?

I had a mentor, now deceased, who founded KCYFC. KCYFC was a youth ministry in Kansas City that operated a couple of summer camps that some in this church attended and volunteered. Dr. Al told all in his young preachers’ club “if it’s doubtful, it’s dirty”

3. “Clean enough” introduces a concept that we all have observed but may not know the label: the Likert scale. It is best described as on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10 how much do you agree with this statement?

4. Many of our moral stands also include a scale. Consider the taking of another human life. From just war, to defending the vulnerable, to stand your ground, to self-defense, to involuntary manslaughter, to voluntary manslaughter, to murder; we would have different boundaries of what we consider right or wrong, and which (if any) may justify capital punishment.

TRANSITION: Recognizing the scale, how does Proverbs describe the divide?

The Continental Divide

Those who study earth’s terrain and make maps tell me the there is a point in the Rocky Mountains where rain and snowmelt either begins a journey towards the Atlantic or the Pacific.

The divide in Proverbs is not Republican or Democrat, it is not White or Pigmented, it is not basketball or wrestling. The divide that Solomon wants his son to consider, and for us to understand as well, is between wisdom and foolishness.

On Wednesday of this week many of us were informed of a horrendous event in Minneapolis, MN. While this event is what was broadcast on media, analysts revealed that the offender made a diversion from the safe place of wisdom several years prior.

3. These are the 2 extremes we will see over and over in this series.

I know I’ve used this example before, but I think it is relevant here. When I was in High School, one of my earliest jobs was at Worlds of Fun amusement park. The Taxi cars and the bumper cars worked very differently. The Taxi cars had one rail that determined direction with a device on each car that kept the rail within a 20” gap. One could move as fast or as slow as desired, but everybody moved in one direction. The Bumper cars had a mesh over the track and a driver could travel any direction as long as connected to the mesh. Some in our world view morality as a directed rail, others as an open mesh.

If you drive on Highway 50 after the service, you will encounter a Likert scale on the road. In the center you will find a single or double solid line and may find a dotted line on one side or the other where a single solid line is present indicating what direction to move. In some places you will find a single solid or dotted line indicating if you are permitted to change lanes (after signaling) or not. On the edges of the roadway you will find another solid line, then in many places rumble warning strips, then guard rails.

4. Contacting the rail is not good for you or your vehicle, and riding along the rail for extended time only increases the damage to your vehicle. Solomon uses 3 words to describe those who ride the barrier – simple, youth, and fools.

5. The safest place is in the center of your lane, and the most courteous place is in the center of the right most lane. If 3 words describe “ditch dwellers”, notice the richness of being in the center of the safe lane.

6. I just noticed on Thursday when I traveled that highway that even when the single middle line is dashed, indicating it is permitted to be crossed, that dotted like is above a rumble strip so that a traveler is reminded “even if permitted, you must exercise caution if you begin to drift across.

TRANSITION: Proverbs 1:7 identifies the center of the right lane that will permeate this book. Some have written that this verse is a summary of everything I will say in the next few weeks.

The Y in the Road (Proverbs 1:7)

Beginning

While Pro 1.7 is the summary of the entire book, I mentioned earlier that guidance is the key word of this paragraph.

When a boater drops anchor the vessel may drift in several direction depending upon wind and current, but the anchor point remains secure. Occassionally oars or a trolling motor may be necessary to move back toward that perfect center.

Return to Bethel

Would you be surprised to learn that the Hebrew word for return occurs over 1073 times in the Bible? It is a major theme that reminds all of us of our tendency to drift away, to wander off, or to rebel.

A frequent place that people were told to return was Bethel.

A compound word literally house of Elohim (the ultimate God)

73 references in 66 verses

First reference is Gen 12:8 where Abram built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord.

In Gen 35:1 Jacob is told to go up to Bethel.

In Joshua 8, as the conquest begins, it starts near Bethel.

In Judges there are at least 4 returns to Bethel.

From Samuel into the Kings, Bethel recurs over a dozen times.

After the exile, Nehemiah recognizes Bethel.

4. Because we have so many distractions in life, we each need that centering place to which we return.

The Fear of the Lord

I’ve never been NW of Cheyenne, Wyoming. But those who have been to the National Parks, like Glacier and Yellowstone, report frequent sightings of bears, bison and Elk. The existence of these magnificent creatures is not a reason to avoid the parks, but a proper respect for their might and power keeps a distance so as to not interfere with their instinctive behaviors.

Tourists to our own Tallgrass Preserve are instructed of the proper “fear”, the respectful mindset, that these beasts deserve.

It is this awareness, this respect, that Solomon tells us is the starting point for staying in the middle of the correct lane of life.

Fools despise

Money, fame and power are NOT the ingredients that we need to make us happy.

Wisdom is present for those who choose to pursue it! Instruction is available for those who wish to understand the ways of God.

Conclusion:

For those who think the goal of religion is to get to Heaven in the afterlife, Proverbs offers a different perspective. Sid Buzzell writes “Little is said in Proverbs about the afterlife. The stress is on life now.”[i]

The Fear of the Lord is not a trembling before the throne of Judgment (like the Nazis who open the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark); it is a mindset that leads to your TRUE best life now!

Lamps for my Steps

Read the first 7 chapters of Proverbs between now and next Sunday.

Put some time (at least 1 hour) of uninterrupted time in your calendar this week to contemplate the awe of God.

Make a list of 10 things that make you happy, and consider how each item will be part of your life 10 years from now.

Some see the Bible much like a list of do this and don’t do that. But one expert on the book of Proverbs writes, “The purpose of the Book of Proverbs then, is to develop in others, especially the young, a wise, skillful approach to living, which begins with being properly related to the Lord[ii]” Buzzell is onto a key – “being properly related to the Lord” is what we need to make us happy. That proper relation is only found through the sacrifice of the one who died for sin to reconcile us to God. True guidance is something we experience when we

Honestly admit our sin

Recognize that a sinless Savior endured a horrific cross and was raised from the dead.

Agree with God that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient payment for that sin. (faith)

Surrender to a proper fear of God by handing over to Him the steering wheel of our lives. (repent)

It is this act of sacrifice and the response that each of us must make that is celebrated at the Lord’s Table.

[i] Buzzell, Sid S. 1985. “Proverbs.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, 1:904. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[ii] Ibid., 1:904.