PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death" (Proverbs 7:22-27).

It's too bad that the that the weight of the warning gets lost in the repetition of it. It’s really too bad, because the picture has been painted there, and then a father turns and says, “Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children!” Why? So you don't wind up shot like an ox. So you don't wind up like a bird in a snare. So you don't wind up dead somewhere.

“O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth,” and once again the emphasis is on the words. “Let not thine heart decline to her ways,” once again you are told what to do with your feelings. You're told what to do with your passions. “Let not thine heart,” okay, do not let it go there. Do not let your thoughts go there. Do not let your affections go there. Do not let your passions take that route. “Well, I can't help it!” Yes, you can. Yes, you certainly can. You can. You can.

“Let not thine heart decline to her ways,” she's always down. She's always down. You never go up to meet her. She's always down, it's always a decline.

“Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.” Samson, David, Solomon, many a strong man. It doesn't matter how strong you think you are.

Verse 27, “Her house is the way to hell,” there is no better way to go to hell than the emphasis on structure. “Her house is the way to hell.” A church isn’t a “house of God,” it is best to emphasize the personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You can send an entire generation of people to hell emphasizing the house. We have to be careful. “Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”

Daily Bible study is necessary if we are going to begin our day with the right attitude and the right spiritual diet. Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, so let's read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let's keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread! Ideally, a chapter or two of Proverbs will fit in nicely with a good plan of reading our Bibles through each year.

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