“My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them! They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent! Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death. Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take. Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.” Proverbs 1:10-14 NLT
This scene played out in Proverbs feels way too calm and cavalier – like a dark comedy. It starts so charmingly simple… my child if sinners entice you. Wow! Really? This “enticement” is a gang of thugs planning to jump, murder and rob some innocent passer-by. There’s a even a New Testament version in the gospels on the treacherous and crime-filled road from Jerusalem to Jericho – “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.” Luke 10:30 NLT. Holy moly, did they have ancient gangs in Israel? Proverbs has this sounding like a bunch of J-Higher’s just out looking for trouble, but it’s so mercurially creepy – “hey let’s hide and kill someone just for fun today!” Was that world so cold and calloused? Yep. Is ours pretty much the same today? Yep. How’s that possible? Well, the human heart hasn’t changed much.
Is this how a young man or woman gets jumped into a gang by a simple invitation to play murder? Sadly, yes. Acceptance is huge when you feel abandoned. Have they no conscience, no sense of right and wrong, no feelings for others? Obviously not compared to belonging to something bigger and stronger than themselves. The gang IS family – warped and twisted, but they are together and the “child” would be seen and known.
Do you feel how ridiculous this all sounds? Does it leave you asking the question, “why is this in the Bible and treated so normal, so tolerated? Great! Then you understand this Proverb perfectly.
Without wisdom, discipline or a FATHER figure this is what we get. We get child-thugs without a moral compass or conscience! Get Godly wisdom, give Godly wisdom saving yourself, your kids and our nation.
Prayer
Dad,
It breaks my heart to see evil perpetrating on innocence so young. Yet I know from experience, if there are no responsible adults, no framework or boundaries to guide a child, they become victims of the thug mentality. Like feral cats or packs of coyotes they just romp and roam our neighborhoods looking for trouble “just for fun.” Help us God! Help us as bio parents, foster and adoptive parents and grandparents to do better to raise Godly children. Help us get wisdom and teach wisdom to the next generation.