Proverbs 1:24

The Bible says in Proverbs 1:24-28, “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;[25] But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:[26] I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;[27] When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.[28] Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:” It cannot be overstated how important it is to respond to the Lord if He speaks to you. You can only turn to the Lord when He comes to you and invites you. If you reject Him, there is no guarantee that He will ever come again to give you another invitation. Notice the words that are used to describe what will happen to those who reject Jesus’ offer to save them: calamity, fear, desolation, destruction, distress, and anguish. Verse 28 describes the situation when it is too late to call upon the Lord. That certainly is what will happen after this life is over for those who did not receive the Lord Jesus in this life when they had the chance. Today is the day of salvation. You have no promise of tomorrow. Turn to Jesus and get saved while you can.

The Bible says in Proverbs 1:29-33, “For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:[30] They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.[31] Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.[32] For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.[33] But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Ultimately, why do lost souls not believe in Jesus: hate. They hate what God offers them, and so they turn away. They “did not choose the fear of the LORD.” In other words, everyone chooses his or her own destiny based upon how they respond to the Lord working in their heart. Looked at it from this point of view, God does not cast anyone into the Lake of Fire. People put themselves there by rejecting the Lord Jesus. When people turn away from the Lord, they do not realize what they are doing to themselves. It says in verse 32, “For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” By turning away from God, they open themselves up to evil, and the evil will destroy them. That is what evil does. God creates, saves, and builds up, but evil destroys.

The Bible says in Proverbs 2:1-5, “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;[2] So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;[3] Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;[4] If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;[5] Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” At the start of this chapter Solomon returns to the theme of the first chapter: the importance of the son listening to the words of the father in order to gain wisdom and to be prepared for life. This time Solomon emphasizes the importance of having a strong desire to find wisdom by seeking it. Finding wisdom needs to be a priority. The phrases used are “incline thine ear, “apply thine heart,” “criest after knowledge,” ”liftest up thy voice,” “seekest her as silver.” Who is it that you should seek wisdom from: from God. And by “seek,” we mean seek diligently. The same message is found in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” God exists and He has infinite knowledge. One part of that knowledge He offers to the human race. That knowledge is more valuable than all the treasures of the world. That is why He gave us the written Word: His Word is truth. That is why Jesus came and called Himself “the Truth.” And so when you hold the Bible in your hands, you are holding a great gold mine, filled with unimaginable riches. The key to that gold mine is unlocked by calling upon the name of Jesus, and then you will have the Holy Spirit to enlighten you to the Book’s knowledge. Of course, you must desire “the knowledge of God.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 2:6-11, “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.[7] He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.[8] He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.[9] Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.[10] When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;[11] Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:” The source of wisdom is God. The source of knowledge is God. The source of understanding is God. Once we learn from God through Christ, the wisdom of God becomes our strength and our guide. Wisdom will protect you because life is made of decisions: one decision after another. If you do not have wisdom from God, you will make the wrong decisions and you will suffer horribly from them. That is why it says in verse 11, “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 2:12-15, “To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;[13] Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;[14] Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;[15] Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:” Once again the Bible returns to the fact that many young people will get corrupted by those who are a bad example and who lead the young people astray. If you have wisdom from God, you will know how to identify the evil people no matter what is their age and to stay away from them. In other words, you will understand the doctrine of separation from evil. You identify them by their speech: “the man that speaketh froward things.” They speak against what is good and true and decent. You identify the evil people by their actions: “Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness.” As Jesus said, “You shall know them by their fruits.” Just look at their lives: what they are actually doing already. That will tell you all that you need to know. You will also know the evil ones by what they love. It says in verse 14 “Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked.” Believers are supposed to love God first of all, and then love their fellow man second of all. Seek that kind of love, and seek the company of others that have it.

The Bible says in Proverbs 2:16-19, “To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;[17] Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.[18] For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.[19] None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.” There are evil men that should be avoided and there are evil women that should be avoided. God’s plan for life for most people regarding the relationships between men and women can be seen in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” Through prayer, and being surrendered to the will of God, and following Jesus in your life, God will lead you to that one person that He wants you to marry. You want to forsake all others and find that one. There have been young men who have caused themselves many sorrows and difficulties because they chased the wrong women. One Biblical example of that is Samson. The same thing can be said about young women. There are people out there who do not care about you who will take advantage of you. Beware. The Lord cares about you. Follow Him, and He will guide you to the one that He has prepared for you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 2:16-22, “To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;[17] Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.[18] For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.[19] None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.[20] That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.[21] For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.[22] But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.” The people who are bad influences are described in very clear terms as being ungodly. In verse 16 she is called “the stranger.” In other words, she is not one of the people of God. One reason that she is not one of the people of God is because she left the good things that she heard as a child. That has happened to many people. They heard the truth when they were young, but they did not take advantage of that fact, and they fell away. They forgot what once they had learned. It says about this wicked woman in verse 17 that she “forgetteth the covenant of her God.” If you want to keep following the Lord, you must remember. You must remember what Jesus did for you on the cross of Calvary. You must remember all the blessings that the Lord has showered upon you: especially when He touched your heart with truths from the Word of God. He gave you Christian friends, and He guided your life. Sadly, some do turn away. We will pray for them, but we must not accompany them on their journey away from God. Anyone who does join in their sinful activities, will experience one sure result as stated in verses 18 and 19: “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.[19] None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.” Here is something important to always do in the face of temptation: think of the long-term results. Sin offers a pleasure for a very short season, but it never ends well. Adultery ends in unwanted pregnancy, or venereal disease, or broken marriage, guilt, or jealousy, shame, and a lost testimony. It will not be worth it. Think of the long-term results.

The Bible says in Proverbs 3:1-2, “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:[2] For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” Once again we see the importance of having a good memory about the Word of God. In the Old Testament they were under law, and so they thought about the law if they served God. The law was all of the Word that they had. In the New Testament time in which we live we are under grace and not under law. I am glad that I get to remember the grace of God that was bestowed upon me through Christ in order to keep close to God. Of course, remembering refers to the mind and what we think about. But to stay focused on the Lord, we must also involve our heart: “let thine heart keep my commandments.” The heart refers to what you love, and it refers to your emotions. You must be emotionally attached to the Lord with love. Jesus said to Peter three times, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” Jesus also said to everyone, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” If you do not have a lot of love for the Lord Jesus, do you think that you are going to keep following Him? No you will not, because you will find something else to love.

Often people think that if they follow the Lord, they will be losing something or giving up. They will be giving up their free will, but they will be gaining greatly. It says in Proverbs 3:2, “For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” You will lose when you do not follow the Lord, and you will gain when you do. One of the lies of the world is to constantly teach that certain pleasures of the flesh are meant to be sought after, and everything will be fine if you seek them and get involved in them. Wrong. “The wages of sin is death.” “Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” Thank God that we have Jesus as our Savior. Thank God that even if you have gone the wrong way for a while, you can turn to Jesus, have your sins forgiven, and start over. God will let you start over. Nice.

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