Proverbs 1:10-19 (Berean Study Bible) is an extension of verses 8-9. Listen to your father’s instruction and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. This is why Solomon the king begins with his fatherly address, “My son.” And he’s bold right from the start.
My son, if sinners entice you,
do not yield to them.
If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood,
let us ambush the innocent without cause,
let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
and whole like those descending into the Pit.
We will find all manner of precious goods;
we will fill our houses with plunder.
Throw in your lot with us;
let us all share one purse”—
my son, do not walk the road with them
or set foot upon their path.
For their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed blood.
How futile it is to spread the net
where any bird can see it!
But they lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush their own lives.
Such is the fate of all who are greedy,
whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.
If Sinners Entice You, Do Not Yield
This admonition begins with a general exhortation. Resist the sinner’s temptation to join them in their sin. But then, the wise king gets very specific.
If they say …
He is not addressing the specific sins mentioned, per se. He is taking an example. It is likely a common example from his era, a time of intense brutality. How fitting that the sin he addresses is the sin of violence, which we have seen a lot of recently.
And, in history, it is the first sin recorded after the fall (Genesis 4:8, Berean Study Bible)
Had the police officers who joined Derek Chauvin in his brutal murdering of George Floyd paid heed to this proverb, they wouldn’t be facing charges now. Perhaps they’d have stopped an innocent from being kneed to his death. They would not have lay in wait for blood nor ambushed an innocent man (a legal presumption) without cause.
let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
and whole like those descending into the Pit.
To the ancient Hebrews, Sheol was the place of the dead. It does indeed swallow up the living. Solomon is using a figure of speech to depict the depravity of those who chase after violence. They see treasure where there is death and destruction, but their “plunder” is an evil temptress. It does not deliver on its promised benefits. Nevertheless, such persons want to bring others along with them in their conquest.
The wise king’s instruction is to not walk the road with these persons. Do not walk with them and do not talk with them. “Their feet run to evil” because “they are swift to shed blood.”
Solomon calls this activity futility. Such persons ambush their own lives. The police officer who murdered George Floyd and his accomplices have essentially ended their own lives because “they lie in wait for their own blood.” Such is the fate of the greedy. Those who seek unjust gain by denying life to others are taking their own lives by their own hand. Don’t be like them. Walk the other way. Instead follow the Prince of Peace.
Allen Taylor is the founder and publisher of Crux Publications. He has been walking (and wavering) with the Lord for 28 years. He has served local churches as a Sunday school teacher, a small group leader, a worship leader, a prayer group leader, and a minister of the Word. His journey isn’t over yet, and he still needs discipling.
“I am Not the King” is a personal testimony of how Jesus Christ has worked in my life. It is available at Amazon and Smashwords.