Previous Study (Proverbs 5 and Psalm 36)                                                             


Good morning son,

Proverbs 5:21-23 “For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.”

When I was practicing law and in private practice I used to have on my conference table a crystal ball. When a young man would come before me for me to represent him in a juvenile criminal matter, I would place the ball in front of him and tell him I could read his future. I would often be laughed at, and they would always have a certain amount of doubt, but invariably they would ask me to do so. I would then ask them what they were doing now in a number of areas. See, you tell me of your decisions now, you tell me of the “bent” of your heart towards or away from God, I can tell you your future.

Well, actually all I have to do is compare what you have decided to do with what God's word says. I then simply read, what will happen.

A large part of this chapter is spent by the writer telling the young man, his son, to not get with the woman who would offer it up . . . you know, let you have your way with her, indeed entice you to do so. He describes her, tells you how she speaks, and what will happen to you if you follow her into bed. “I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” And then he pens these words:

“For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths. . .”

So . . . So what. What is the big deal? He sees and examines all my ways, all my plans, all the paths I choose to take. So what? What is HE going to do! Others do the same thing and they don't believe in Him, and they seem to get on with THEIR lives. What exactly is this God who so call loves me going to do? I am grown. The preacher man is always telling me I have a choice, so . . . so . . . I have chosen. It isn't God's choice and therefore by default it is not the choice of the preacher man. But it is my choice. And what is God going to do about it?

Yeah, what IS God going to do about it? How is He going to make me pay for my choice? If it is so wrong, what is He going to do to get me to be on His side? What preacher man, what?

Ready for this . . . . . .

He is going to do NOTHING. HE IS GOING TO DO NOTHING. You are going to do it to yourself. You are going to whip yourself. You are going to design your own living hell! You are going to mess your own life up. God, well as to whipping your butt, no my child, He knows that you are going to do a pretty good job of it yourself.

“The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.”

God designed this world and He put certain physical as well as spiritual laws into place. Whether you believe in gravity or not, doesn't matter. The fact that it is does. Gravity is necessary for the world to function correctly. Fight the law of gravity . . . you will loose. Of course you may not think that you are loosing, but that depends on your perspective, where you are viewing the scene.

If you film a person free falling from a plane from the perspective of being side by side with him it would appear to be that he is flying. Indeed he may think so. All his friends falling side by side with him may have the same belief.

Until they hit the ground.

But if you film the free fall from the solid ground, you know he is not flying at all but falling. What you think is happening all depends upon your perspective. What is actually happening does not. You jump out of an airplane you are falling, whether you believe it or not. Whether you believe the law of gravity or not. You will eventually know the truth – when you are a rather large spot on the ground.

So it is with God's laws. You may think that you can ignore them and do your own thing. The truth of the matter be damned.

It is your decision to step outside of the plane. The laws as to the consequences of your decision now take over.

See it is your own evil deeds that will trip you up.

And do you see the progression of bad to worse in the verses – you move from being tripped up, to being tied up, bound by your bad decisions, to dieing due to your own lack of discipline. And WHY do you have no discipline, is that God's fault – no! You have no discipline because you are following after your own foolish desires, your own folly. It is your own folly which destroys the discipline of following and obeying God. It is your own folly that therefore leads you to death.

Does this sound like you?

“An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. The words of his mouth are deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.” Psalm 36:1-4

Pulling the bold words out from above:

1. Do I have no fear of God;
2. Do I flatter myself too much -- for example do I think I can do the crime and not do the time? Do I flatter myself so much that I have come to believe my own press, i.e. I have come to believe that what is wrong is actually good – in other words I can not recognize my sin or hate it because I have “redefined” it as good not evil.
3. Do I find myself having to lie to support my position; or just not tell the whole truth, being careful not to say anything which someone might catch and point out to me is indeed lying.
4. Have I ceased to live wisely and do good – Do I skip out on my responsibilities to support and follow after my particular choice of sin.
5. Do I spend hour after hour, even lying in my bed trying to figure out how to make the evil plans (evil is any act contrary to God's word or order) work out.
6. Have I committed myself to a course of action which is against God's word; have I given my word and am willing to violate God's word – like the law of “gravity” - to do what I think is flying. Have I decided that I will do the wrong thing no matter what.

If the above is true, then you are writing your own sentence, your own judgment. God doesn't have to do anything to you. For you to experience the consequences of your actions and decisions, for you to be ensnared, to be tied and bound, to experience death for it . . . He doesn't have to do anything. Here is one occasion that you can truthfully say “I got this.” As you and I go against His way we each determine our own unique means of destruction. We create our own hell.

And does God want this for you and I. NO!! Not at all! We begin to experience pains and hurts that He never intended for us to go through. But don't ever think that is His fault. It is by yours and my own hand, not God's.

What does God want for you and I?

“O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.”

Psalm 36: 6b-10

What does God want for you and I?

1. To preserve us.
2. To love us unfailingly!
3. To provide a refuge a place of hiding and protection.
4. To prepare a feast for us out of HIS abundance, not limited by our assets or abilities!
5. To give you drink from His “river of delights!”
6. To give you abundant life!
7. To continuously love you!

Death by your own hand based upon your decision to go against Him, or life from His hand in choosing to follow and obey His word. So what should you do?

Assuming that you choose the way of life:

Go back to the beginning of Proverbs 5 for an answer: “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.”

Grab hold of the right perspective. Agree with what God says about where you are and what your decisions are. Examine your decisions in light of His word. Then make corrections as may be required to be in line with God's words.

Otherwise . . . I don't need to tell you. You can read it for yourself.

Got it? Got Word? Then do it.

Love yah,

dad