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The True Path to Wealth (Proverbs 1:9-19)

I. Introduction: Defining True Wealth

A. The World's Definition: What does society tell us is wealth? (Money, power, possessions, influence).

According to Proverbs, True wealth is gained by listening to the wisdom of the Word. It is a wealth of character, peace, and security that physical riches cannot buy.

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C. Context of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:1-9):

Proverbs describes how life is. Reality-Based.

So much of life involves nuanced judgment calls. Wisdom provides the framework for these calls.

(Note: Use your notes on the imagery and sustained arguments of Ch. 1–9.)

II. Foundation of Wisdom: The Voice of Godly Authority (Proverbs 1:8-9)

A. The Command: "Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching." (Proverbs 1:8)

B. The Distinction: Both parents are mentioned as it showed the prominent role of Israel's mothers. No other reference is made in the Egyptian or Babylonian wisdom literature about mothers—this highlights the unique value God places on the home as the primary source of wisdom.

C. The Promise of True Adornment: "For they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck." (Proverbs 1:9)

Application: True wealth is not a gold chain around your neck, but the honor and favor that comes from obedience to godly counsel.

III. The Temptation of False Wealth: The Call of Sinners (Proverbs 1:10-14)

A. The Warning: "My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded." (Proverbs 1:10)

The Power of Association: Unbiblical friendship leads to disaster. (Use the reference: 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Bad company corrupts good morals.")

B. The Sinner's Pitch (The False Promise of Greed):

The temptation is simple: quick, easy, and violent wealth (Proverbs 1:11-14).

Sinners try to succeed by ignoring reality. They promise a share in the loot (a false promise), but they ignore the consequences.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 “The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.”

C. The Sinner's Outcome (The Inevitable Reality Check):

*(Use the reference: Romans 3:16–17, "Ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known.")

The path of greed is not a path to wealth, but a path to ruin.

IV. The Path of True Wealth: Separation and Security (Proverbs 1:15-19)

A. Be Concerned, Be Careful (Separation): "My son, don’t travel that road with them or set foot on their path, because their feet run toward evil and they hurry to shed blood." (Proverbs 1:15-16)

The pursuit of false wealth is active and urgent (Romans 3:15, Isaiah 59:7).

Action: We must actively avoid their path (Proverbs 4:14, Psalm 1:1).

B. Be Realistic (The Sinners’ Folly): "It is useless to spread a net where any bird can see it, but they set an ambush to kill themselves; they attack their own lives." (Proverbs 1:17-18)

Analogy: The bird sees the trap and avoids it; the sinner, blinded by greed, runs into the trap. They are not plotting against others—they are plotting against themselves.

This is the evil's inevitable outcome.

C. Be Thankful (The True Cost of Dishonest Profit): "Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly; it takes the lives of those who receive it." (Proverbs 1:19)

Concrete Examples:

Hackers, Insider Trading, Political Phonies, Bullies.

(You can also apply this to behaviors like Factiousness splitting the church or Neighbors who gossip—behaviors that seek profit/gain (attention, control) dishonestly and ultimately destroy the person.)

The Ultimate Price: The love of money is not just a root of some evil, but it takes the lives of those who pursue it (1 Timothy 6:10). This is the opposite of wealth; it is spiritual bankruptcy.

V. Conclusion: Walking the Word's Path

A. Restatement of Thesis: True wealth is not measured by the accumulation of goods, but by the peace, protection, and wisdom gained from listening to the Word of God.

B. The Way to Peace: "I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow your word." (Psalm 119:101)

C. Final Challenge:

Are you listening to the seductive voice of the sinners' greed, or the protective voice of the Word?

Choose the path of wisdom, and gain the true wealth that lasts forever.