Please do turn your copies of God's word to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter one, and we'll be considering verses eight to 19, but we'll back up to verse seven. Proverbs chapter one, beginning in verse seven. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 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 and 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, and we shall fill our houses with plunder. Throw in your lot among us, and 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. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once again. Oh Lord, we come before you this evening again with a posture of humility, a desire to hear from your word, a desire to be instructed by you so that we might have filled the wisdom that we lack, for you are the source of truth, you are the God only wise, as we sang earlier. So fill us now with the wisdom we need by your spirit and through your word, for Christ's sake, amen. What picture comes to your mind when you think of the word wisdom? If I was to ask you, and I will, to picture in your mind a wise man or a wise woman, what is it that you think of? What is that kind of portrayal and picture that comes to mind? I think it's fair to say that probably the common cultural image of the wise man in broader culture is this image of a lone sage sitting in the Himalayas all alone contemplating the mysteries of life. Or perhaps it's the image of a brilliant but slightly deranged philosopher hidden away in his dark study under a pile of books. Had we never read the book of Proverbs, we might wonder what will come next. Where will the author take us? In verses one to seven, he introduced us to wisdom using all kinds of words, instruction, discipline, prudence, and of course, how wisdom begins with the fear of Yahweh. So where will the author take us next? To the hermit's cave or the philosopher's den? Oh no, we are not taken to any of those places. Where we are taken to is a warm and familiar family scene where dad and mom and their son are having a conversation. And we're told, see, this is where wisdom is found. This is what wisdom looks like. This is wisdom being cultivated. Lest we think that the wisdom and fear of the Lord in Proverbs is some kind of abstract philosophical principle removed from the real world, Solomon would invite us to come with him. and say, look, see this. Wisdom and the fear of the Lord is something that works itself out in the nitty-gritty, ordinary, day-to-day realities of our relationships and even our homes. And especially so in the relationship of parents to their children. Again, in a world where knowledge is so often associated with a cold intellect or an abstract philosophy, Proverbs leads us into the intimate spaces of our homes, where lessons of wisdom are passed down from one generation to another. In the scene set before us, we're shown the loving instruction of wise parents as they call their child away from the path of folly and to the way of wisdom. The child in this passage, which is every child, and thus in a greater sense, every single one of us, is being called to make a choice. The child has before him two paths. One path that leads to ruin, that is initially enticing and promising, but leads to death. But the other path, that at first might seem difficult, boring even, less exciting, but is one that ultimately leads to life, joy, and peace, everlasting. Just as the Father here calls His Son to wise action, so also our Heavenly Father calls us to listen to His voice as He instructs us in the way of wisdom. And so then let us turn our attention to our Lord's instruction that we may be those who are found walking in paths of life. As the Father speaks to His Son, He first commends the way of wisdom, then he condemns the way of wickedness, and finally he contrasts both ways. So first we see the way of wisdom commended. Notice how verse seven seamlessly transitions into verse eight. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Verse eight, hear my son your father's instruction. Wisdom begins with the fear of Yahweh. Last time I said that wisdom begins with the fear of Yahweh doesn't mean that Yahweh is the starting point that we leave and we don't need anymore. No, rather it's better to think of the fear of the Lord or the fear of Yahweh as the soil from which wisdom grows. It is the source of wisdom. It is the source of vitality that wisdom needs to grow. Well, if the fear of the Lord is the soil from which wisdom sprouts, then here we see that one of the first shoots that grows from the soil is parental instruction. So we're taken then from the definition of wisdom in verse seven to an illustration of wisdom being worked out in the home. There we meet a father and a mother as they instruct their child. The father speaks, saying to his son, hear, my son, your father's instruction. The son is called to hear. The Hebrew word for this denotes more than just a kind of a listening, but it's an actual doing, it's a practicing, it's taking these things and living them out. The father isn't saying, son, learn off this list of things or whatever. No, you must practice them in your lives, my son. That's what he's calling him to do. The word translated instruction is the same word used back in verse three. As I explained in that passage, the word has less to do with classroom instruction and more to do with correction and discipline, the kind that comes from parents. And notice in this household that both parents are instructing the child as he continues, and forsake not your mother's teaching. The language of to forsake not positively means to do what his mother has taught and instructed him. In this picture of the home, the mother plays an active role in teaching and shaping the character of her son. Both mother and father are to train the child and to be active in raising them. Both the mother and father have the responsibility to teach and lead in the home. This pattern of a father and mother teaching and nurturing children isn't just a good idea. It's not a suggestion. Actually, it is the way that God has created reality, the world that we live in. It is God's pattern for life. Parents are not the ultimate and final authority. They themselves are subordinate to God. God is the final authority. And so parents are not given a blank slate to do whatever they like or choose whatever kind of parenting philosophy they want. No, God has commanded parents certain things. And so parents are to parent in the fear of the Lord according to his word and what he has commanded. And as parents dutifully train their children, so their children are also to obey their parents. Now because of sin, many of us have not experienced the blessing of having a godly mom and dad in the home, raising us wisely. But it is how God has designed the world, and therefore it is best for all of our households It isn't the role of the state to raise our children. No, the state does not have parental authority over our children, as our president has claimed. That is not true. And we certainly don't want our children raised by their peers. As parents, we can choose to delegate certain parts of their training and instruction to teachers and schools, but ultimately, parents are responsible for the shaping of their child's character. Well, if all of this is true, if this is the way that God has designed the world to work, well, then we should see this reflected in the world around us. We should see this reflected in reality, and we do. Studies show that children raised in a home with a father and a mother who are married tend to function much better in society. Conversely, if we break God's pattern, we should expect a negative outcome. Just like rough sandpaper is not designed for you to wash your car with. No, you know what's going to happen if you try to do that. You'll make a mess of your car. You'll strip the paint. Likewise, when we take something like marriage and intercourse and all the things that go along with that, and we use it contrary to its design, well, we expect brokenness. And that's what we see. So much of our problems as a society, I think, today are due to this, the dismantling and undermining of the family structure. And our country has a real problem with this. As of 2021, 40% of babies are born to unwed mothers. How many more babies are not born at all? This dismantling and undermining of the family isn't something that has happened accidentally or coincidentally. No, there are even political groups and lobbies actively working to destroy the family. Organizations like BLM, who have as one of their stated goals the destruction of the nuclear family. But when you try to go against nature, what you'll find is that nature doesn't break, you break. And we've seen a lot of brokenness because of this attempt to dismantle and destroy the family. As G.K. Chesterton said, this triangle of truisms of a father, a mother, and a child cannot be destroyed. It can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it. What Chesterton is saying is that the family forms the foundation of human society. It is that way because God made it that way. And for a civilization to undermine the family, it is essentially for that civilization, that nation, that people to hit the self-destruct button. So I think it explains in large measure why our country is the way it is. But it's easy for us to be frustrated with the world and frustrated with perhaps other people and how they raise their children. It's easy for us to be frustrated with the lack of direction that many young people have in the world around us. But the reality is we can do very little to change that. But we can work to change the world in which God has placed us. If you are a mom or a dad, God has given you such a precious responsibility to shape the lives of your children. You can't guarantee their outcome, but you can do your best, like the father and mother in this section of scripture, to warn them of the dangers of folly and lead them in the way of wisdom. Just like this father, you are to commend to them the way of wisdom. This isn't something that happens as a once-off conversation. No, it's something ongoing. Just as the dad says here, don't forget previous instruction from me and your mom. And so we ought to think of instruction as something that's a regular part of family life, not something that's once-off. Isn't this what we see in Deuteronomy chapter six? Israel is given the creed that they are to recite, and then they're instructed as follows. These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. When you sit, when you walk, when you lie down, when you rise, what is this a picture of? It's a picture of all of life. All of life. God says you are to take your child by the hand and you're to lead them and guide them and instruct them and nurture them and teach them. Parental instruction is not the one big conversation and then you're done. We talk about having the talk. Where did that come from? That's not biblical. What's biblical is Deuteronomy chapter six, where we're constantly talking with our children, constantly training them, constantly teaching them in the way of righteousness. So times of instruction in the home must be regular. Times of instruction in the home should also be preemptive. Notice how in our passage, Dad is warning his son about something that has not happened yet. He says, if sinners entice you, do not consent. Dad isn't waiting until Johnny comes home with a gang tattoo on his neck before he warns him of the danger of gangs. No, his conversations are preemptive. Dad takes care to warn his son. The parent in Proverbs isn't afraid. to talk about the difficult topics of life. Sex, sexuality, violence, and all of the deadly enticements of the world. And neither should you be. Because if you are not instructing your child, the reality is someone else is. If you are not talking regularly about sexuality, someone else is. It may be their peers, it may be the media. But make no mistake, they are being instructed. And so, preemptively instruct your children in age-appropriate ways. If that's something that sounds daunting to you because maybe your parents never trained you that way or talked with you that way, send me an email. I can send you resources that are helpful, that deal with how parents can wisely navigate these waters with their young, with their children. And be encouraged. If this is an area that you have been failing in or neglecting as a parent, well, it can be so easy to excuse it by saying, well, I've already failed in this area for so long, or, you know, little Johnny isn't so little anymore. Now he's 12, 13, 14. I'd look like a hypocrite trying to start now. Don't let past failure be an excuse for future failure. Today is the day you change if you have been neglecting these kinds of conversations. And maybe as you think about this, you feel incompetent or inadequate because you feel like you lack the wisdom. Well, in one sense, yes, you do. Yes, you do. Because we all do. We all lack wisdom. But what we are lacking in, the Lord will supply if we go to Him. Dear parents, dear mother, dear father, dear single mother, dear single father, The Lord will supply what is lacking in you. So go to him through the means he has appointed. Go to him in the fear of the Lord. Well, we've seen the way of wisdom commended. Secondly, we see the way of wickedness condemned. So we have been invited to sit in on and maybe eavesdrop in on this conversation between a father and his son. Perhaps it's at a dinner table. Maybe they're on a walk. Maybe they're sitting around a cozy fire just having a chat. And the father begins his warning in verse 10. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. Now we are all sinners, of course, because we all occasionally sin. But these are scandalous sinners. And he says, do not let them entice you. Sin has a way of being enticing, doesn't it? Sin never comes to you dressed like the grim reaper. No, it masks its stench of death with all sorts of flowery fragrances that entice you. It masks the screams and it muffles the screams of pain and debt and gnashing of teeth that lay at the end of its road because it wants to entice you. Sin is enticing because it promises us something that we think we're lacking and we'd be better off with. In the present context, the father is warning his son against being enticed by a gang leader to join his band of cutthroats. And the father doesn't hide the enticements from the son. Notice how from verses 11 to 14, the father is speaking as if he were the gang leader making this enticing offer. He wants his son to hear the best arguments and enticements that the world can offer before he refutes them. So speaking in the voice of the gang leader, the father says, he makes the offer, The first thing the gang leader promises is power. Look at verses 11 and 12. 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. So he invites the young man to join him in lying in wait for blood. They will wait and they will ambush and they will kill without reason. In other words, their killing here is not justified in any kind of way. It's not self-defense. It's pure violence and villainy. And he says they will have so much power, they will be like Sheol. In other words, the grave, the place of the dead beneath the earth. They're claiming for themselves a godlike status, even over death itself. Join us, they say. You'll be your own man. You'll be powerful. The second thing the gang leader promises is profit, in verse 13. We shall find all precious goods and we shall fill our houses with plunder. In the ancient world, it was common for gangs like this to operate on the fringes of society. It's what made traveling through the countryside so dangerous. Think of the parable of the Good Samaritan and how he's attacked by bandits. You know, there were no police that you could call or anything like that. It made traveling very dangerous. And it made robbing very lucrative because most people couldn't defend themselves if attacked by a group of men. And what makes this offer so enticing is that most people in the ancient world were very, very poor. 85% of people would have been involved in food production, and you were responsible for providing food for your own family. And if you didn't provide, you have two options. You either starve to death, or maybe if you're lucky, you can sell yourself and your family into slavery. That was the reality of life in the ancient world. And so for this, to have this offer, join our gang and we'll be rich, we'll just take from other people, that sounds enticing for a young man. Here's the leader and he's saying to the young man, look at your dad, look at your old man, he's bent over and he's working in the field, knee deep in muck. You don't wanna be like that, do you? No, join us, you'll be rich, it'll be easy. As we apply this today, There certainly are street gangs today that rob and steal and kill. But enticing gangs are not only found on the mean streets, they're also found on the internet, in chat groups and apps. And as parents, we need to be aware of the influence that these online gangs can have on our children. We need to be aware of their enticing calls. And remembering that just because something does not sound enticing to us, does not mean it won't be enticing to a younger generation that is met with new challenges and difficulties. There's the promise of power, of profit. The third thing they entice him with is the promise of a place. Verse 14, throw in your lot among us, we will all have one purse. Notice what the gang leader is doing here. He's trying to pull him away from his relationship with his parents. Throw in your lot among us. Come and join us and we'll all share one purse. We'll share the loot together. You'll have a place among us where you belong. You know, we will be your family now. We'll provide for you. You won't have to worry about anything. You can rely on us. Yeah, your dad anyway, he's so uptight with all of his warnings and instruction. Come join our family. You can do whatever you want. No judgment here. This promise of a place and belonging can be especially enticing to teenagers because teens love acceptance from other teenagers. They want to fit in. They want somewhere that they can feel they belong. They want something that will give them an identity that they're struggling to attain. And when they don't feel they belong at home, well then they can be especially vulnerable to the enticements of gangs and their peers. And there are all kinds of predatory groups that use these predatory practices to prey on teens and young people, to prey and leverage and take advantage of their desire for identity and community. Those predators may take the form of literal, actual gang leaders and gangs that seek to draw in young, impressionable men or women. They can also take the form of internet chat rooms, social media contacts. There were even sinful groups that called themselves communities that offer a place to belong and a place of identity with flags and banners and all sorts of things. And this is how they all work. They first try to distance the person from their family, weaken those family ties, promising them a new place. Now taking a step back, again, none of this has happened yet. All of this is still the father warning his son of the enticements of the world. And he's saying, son, this is how the voices of the world will call out to you, they will appeal to you, they will entice you, they will pull at your desires, and you will be forced to make a choice. I can't make that choice for you. You must make that choice. I pray that you choose the way of wisdom. Do not be enticed. Do not consent to their ways. Well, having condemned the way of wisdom, sorry, commended the way of wisdom, condemned the way of the wicked. Thirdly, the Father contrasts both ways. The father doesn't just tell the son what to do. Oh, when this happens, just do this. Why, dad? Just do what I tell you. No, the father gives motivations, he gives reasons, he spells out the consequences of both paths. This really is what Proverbs is all about. It's all about the choices we make and how they will ultimately bear fruit, either for life or for death. Let's consider the consequences of the wicked path. In verse 15, the father ends his quotation of the gang leader, and he returns to his own voice, and he says, my son, do not walk in the way with them. Hold back your foot from their paths. So the father is warning his son with this imagery of the path. The path or the way is a metaphor for life and the trajectory of our lives and how we live our lives. And everyone is walking on a path. And there are two paths that we can walk on, a wise, good path and a foolish, evil path. Here the father warns his son to avoid this way of folly, this evil path. The first reason not to walk on this path is verse 16. for their feet run to evil and they make haste to shed blood. The evil one, the gang in this illustration that the father is using, they don't simply lean towards doing evil things. He says that they run on this path. They run towards their wicked goal. They are urgent. He says they make haste to perpetuate violence and shed blood. The second reason not to join the gang comes in verse 17 and 18. 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. The imagery here is something we're somewhat familiar with, the idea of catching a bird. I think it can relate fairly easily to maybe catching a fish. But when you're catching any animal, you want to camouflage and disguise the trap so that the animal doesn't see it. In this case, the bird. A bird is smart enough not to just jump into your trap if it's left uncamouflaged. But... These bandits, the father says, are more foolish than birds. They have less sense than birds. They think that they're setting up a trap to catch other people to profit from them. But in fact, they are setting a trap for themselves. Children, if you've ever been fishing, it's like casting out your line into the water and you've got your hook and you've got your bait. What these people don't realize is they've cast out and they've caught themselves in their own hook. They themselves are the prey and they don't even realize it because of the way they are living. They are lying in ambush for their own lives. Verse 19 makes clear that what is at stake is nothing less than life and death. Verse 19, such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain. It takes away the life of its possessors. They're quick to run down this path. They make haste to do the things on the path. And for a time, as they're cheating and stealing and killing, and they're getting easy money now, it all seems great. But there are consequences. And those consequences, though not immediate, will come. The wicked seem to offer a lot. They seem to get away with a lot. But in the end, the way of the wicked is death. and judgment and misery. And God has created the world even with certain natural consequences for wicked living. If you play with fire, you will get burnt. If you abuse drugs, you will damage your brain. If you abuse alcohol, you will make a mess of your life and you will damage your liver. If you live promiscuously, you will know the pains that are physical, emotional, and spiritual. And wisdom, wisdom allows you to look ahead and to look down the road and to listen to our elders, those older than us in the faith, even those in Proverbs, the very word of God, and to see the consequences of foolish living and thus to avoid it. Wisdom allows you to strip away all of the appearances and enticements that the way of folly promises to offer. It allows you to see the way for what it is, a way of death. Death and judgment is the final consequence of the path of folly. But there are also consequences for taking the path of wisdom, good consequences. Back in verse nine, the father encouraged his son by setting before him the rewards of fearing the Lord. He says, 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. Here the father is setting before the son the joys and the benefits and the rewards of walking the path of wisdom. Notice how the father presents wisdom to the son. Son, wisdom is not a noose around your neck. It's a pendant around your neck. Son, it's not a ball and chain. It's not something that will keep you from enjoying life. It's something that will keep you from sorrow. If the son receives his father's wise instruction, it will be like a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck." Garland was a twisted wreath that one wore on the head ornamentally. There is some discussion as to what exactly This referred to, these kinds of wreaths were used differently at different times in history, but perhaps it's a reference to the wreaths that a victor wore, or a winner of some competition or contest. So it's a symbol of honor. A pendant refers to a kind of a necklace, some kind of ornamental jewelry, jewelry that beautifies a person. And so not only will taking the wise path keep you from ruin, wisdom itself is a precious treasure. It is something honorable like a wreath and something precious like a pendant. Wisdom is beautiful. Wisdom is attractive. And thus to wear wisdom on your head and around your neck makes you attractive. And you know what I'm talking about. There is something that's attractive about a wise person, isn't there? I obviously don't mean physically or romantically, but we all know someone, someone in our life who's a very wise person. Maybe they've since died and gone to be with the Lord, but someone who navigates life with such skill. Maybe they counseled you at a time of great trouble with grace and wisdom and knowledge. Maybe it's someone even who hasn't, by the standards of the world, attained greatness, and yet this person has a wise and humble way about them that's attractive. It's attractive in the sense that you want to be around them, you want to be like them, and you want to spend time with them, so maybe it rubs off on you. It's the complete opposite of the Pharisees in the Gospels. The Pharisees had no wisdom, therefore they only had rules and regulations and stipulations and policies and they beat people over the head with those things. And Jesus says the reason that they're so unattractive and the reason they only have all of these stipulations is because they are not wisdom's children. Jesus says that, they're not wisdom's children. But true wisdom is attractive, and this, dear Christian, is the wisdom that you are called to pursue. This is what makes Christ so admirable and attractive to us, because he is wisdom incarnate, and he is the one to whom you, dear Christian, are being conformed to more and more throughout your lives. As Paul says, it is his struggle that the Colossians' hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Christ is a storehouse of treasure, of wisdom. You see, when we pursue the treasure of wisdom, it is Christ we are pursuing. He is that treasure. And when you pursue him more and more, you will be made like him more and more. And so, beloved, let us pursue Christ. Let us turn our feet from the path of folly. Let us walk in the way of Christ, the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. Let's pray. O God, we come before you as your children, asking that you would teach us, that you would instruct us, that you would correct us. Help us, Lord, especially those of us who are parents, to lead our children well in the fear of the Lord. And we ask that we might all, in light of Paul's prayer and admonition, grow in the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.