---

Proverbs 1:8-19

⁸ Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
   and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
⁹for they are a graceful garland for your head
   and pendants for your neck.
¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,
   do not consent.
¹¹If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
    let us ambush the innocent without reason;
¹²like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
   and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
¹³we shall find all precious goods,
   we shall fill our houses with plunder;
¹⁴throw in your lot among us;
   we will all have one purse"-
¹⁵my son, do not walk in the way with them;
    hold back your foot from their paths,
¹⁶for their feet run to evil,
   and they make haste to shed blood.
¹⁷ For in vain is a net spread
   in the sight of any bird,
¹⁸but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
   they set an ambush for their own lives.
¹⁹ Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
   it takes away the life of its possessors.

---

What are we exhorted to do (both positively and negatively)? (verse 8)

---

Proverbs 1:8-9

⁸ Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
   and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
⁹for they are a graceful garland for your head
   and pendants for your neck.

---

What is the motivation offered? (verse 9)

Verses 10 (the principle) and 11-15 (an example) are two if-then sentences indicating the instruction we are to hear and not forsake. Can you summarise the point we are to heed in these verses?

---

Proverbs 1:10-15

(Principle)

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,
   do not consent.

(Example)
¹¹If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
    let us ambush the innocent without reason;
¹²like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
   and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
¹³we shall find all precious goods,
   we shall fill our houses with plunder;
¹⁴throw in your lot among us;
   we will all have one purse"-
¹⁵my son, do not walk in the way with them;
    hold back your foot from their paths,

---

What are the enticements offered in the example? (verses 11-14)

Why shouldn't we consent to join with them? (verses 16-18)

---

Proverbs 1:11-19

¹¹If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
    let us ambush the innocent without reason;
¹²like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
   and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
¹³we shall find all precious goods,
   we shall fill our houses with plunder;
¹⁴throw in your lot among us;
   we will all have one purse"-
¹⁵my son, do not walk in the way with them;
    hold back your foot from their paths,
¹⁶for their feet run to evil,
   and they make haste to shed blood.
¹⁷ For in vain is a net spread
   in the sight of any bird,
¹⁸but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
   they set an ambush for their own lives.
¹⁹ Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
   it takes away the life of its possessors.

---

Verse 19 concludes the lesson with a moral, expanding once again from the example to the general principle. What is the result for those who are greedy for unjust gain?

What kinds of enticements by by sinners do you face in your life at the moment?

In what ways are you consenting to the enticement of sinners? How are you imitating their way of life?

In this meditation we have been warned about consenting to the enticements of sinners. Such enticements, while initially appealing, lead ultimately to death and destruction.

In the next meditation, we will meditate on Proverbs 1:20-33.

Until then may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 

Please fill in your name and email address then click the 'Submit' button below. A copy of your answers will be emailed to you (and to your discipler).