Listen and avoid

If a plane crashes on the border between the United States and Canada, where do they bury the survivors?

Survivors aren’t buried!

Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the tallest mountain on Earth?

Mount Everest

Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?

Neither. They both weigh exactly one pound

If you have a bowl with six apples and you take away four, how many do you have?

The four you took

How many animals did Moses take into the ark?

None because it was Noah who built and loaded the ark

If you have a hole that is 5 feet deep, 5 feet wide, and 5 feet long, how much dirt is in the hole?

None, there is no dirt in a hole

An electric train is moving north at 100mph and a wind is blowing to the west at 10mph. Which way does the smoke blow?

There is no smoke on an electric train?

How many times can you subtract 10 from 100?

Once. Next time you would be subtracting 10 from 90.

If you had only one match, and entered a dark room containing an oil lamp, some newspaper, and some kindling wood, which would you light first?

(The match.)

Some months have 31 days, others have 30 days. How many have 28 days?

(All months have 28 days.)

It isn’t hard to gain wisdom

The father shows His child two ways to live. One is the way of listening to the instruction of their parents, the other of the world.

This book shows us from the beginning that these are sayings to be passed down from parent to child.

To listen to the parents instruction and teaching will bring him a reward of life, a badge of honor. Something that reveals the child of being worthy of respect by others, someone that others trust.

Wisdom is given “on the street.” It isn’t out of reach for the common man, but available to everyone. Wisdom is clearly spoken out to those willing to listen. Wisdom isn’t like a buried treasure, rather it is there for the taking. On fact it “cries out” it isn’t trying to hide in plain sight. It isn’t abstract or hard to understand. To reject wisdom is to reject God and His Word that He has given us.

The structure of 20-33 show that Wisdom seeks to appeal to us. It is offered to the inexperienced ones, to mockers, and to fools. The call to them is to listen to wisdom and this response is given with a warning.

The world wants to give you instant satisfaction, not something that is lasting

What this is contrasted with is a feeling of empowerment, of being part of a gang, of getting easy money, of temptations. The wording given is to show the peer pressure that a young person is susceptible to. But what is also shown is that the path of this group of friends leads to death and destruction.

What is shown about this group of friends is that they jump into trouble, they actively look for it and seek it.

They also take what belongs to others, they take advantage of situations and they connive to get their way. They offer to this child to join them, they promise to share equally in their fortune. But under this is a warning, that they “hurry to shed blood.”

You will have may people who say they are your “friends” but are not looking out for you at all, they are only looking out for their own interests. If a friend offers you alcohol, or asks you to play hooky, or wants you to do something dangerous. They are not looking out for your interests, they are just looking at something that will bring you enjoyment. And everytime that these types of things are offered, they are not looking at what is best for you tomorrow, or next week, or the course of your life. They are just looking at what is fun now.

If you don’t accept wisdom you will face troubles

In the end they will not be loyal, their own dishonestly will be their downfall, it will cause them troubles in life.

Those who do not listen to wisdom are scoffed at when they fall into the trouble of their own doing. By the time they recognize they are in trouble it is too late, they have already fallen in to the trouble that they have created for themselves. If wisdom is ignored, then you will find troubles.

Now, I know many of you are like me when it comes to homework, you procrastinate it, you wait until the last minute to get it done. I am going to tell you that right now there may not seem like there are consequences to that, or maybe you have already seen the drop in your grades, the difficulties of not understanding an assignment and turning in something with little effort being put in and getting a bad grade. But I will tell you, one day you will get to college and it will be even harder. Because when you don’t have parents around to keep you straight, and when your paper isn’t 1-3 pages but 10-20 pages, it is way harder to get something good done on time.

If you don’t follow it there will be consequences. Why are there consequences? Because they “hated knowledge” and “didn’t choose to fear the Lord.” It wasn’t just that they hated, they also weren’t interested, they felt like it was worthless. But they will “eat the fruit of their way.” In other words, they will get what they want but may not understand the payment that comes with it. Because their fate is destruction.

The father here is appealing to the child to not follow this rude, pleading to him. “Please listen to my words. Rather than destruction, listen and live securely. Don’t be forced to sleep with one eye open, but be comforted by wisdom. “