Proverbs 1:12 “like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit”
As a young man, I found myself sometimes walking through life with people who did not have my best interests at heart. Sometimes they deliberately meant me harm, but more often than not they were simply wandering through life and were easily distracted and ambushed by opportunities that were full of false promise. Alcohol, drugs, gambling……they all seem to hold out the promise of “good times” and to be honest everyone wants at some point to “fit in” and even be part of the in-crowd.
It makes me think now about the amazing story that John Bunyan wrote, called Pilgrim’s Progress. In part of the story, as the Pilgrim of the title walks through a town called Vanity Fair all the inhabitants see him and think he is a fool – even his language is different. The Pilgrim’s name is Christian, and his companion is called Faithful. The prince who runs Vanity Fair has a stated position of destroying all Christians. It’s a fantastic story and in many places has great insights. So many things will position themselves to try and to “take us out” – there is actually a proactive power behind these, and a clear intention at work. Don’t be fooled by the bright lights and noise of the fair. Stay on your path each day – run in your lane!
KNOWLDEGE
The sense here is to be completely free from those people who would give instructions from God. The imagery is of completeness to the actions of being separated from these people, they would be so far removed as is possible, it would be like they had gone to the grave, or fallen down the deepest well shaft – there is no way back for them. There is a completeness to the whole picture, they would be wholly swallowed up, not even the slightest trace would be left.
It reminds us of a reverse picture in Psalm 1 – Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers — the blessed man takes not even the slightest part of his life in companionship with these types of people (or habits?) who are intent on leading others away from God to oblivion. We start to realise that our enemy has no mercy and will not stop when we are in pain or trouble, but is intent on our utter destruction
UNDERSTANDING: Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live? In Hebrew, the word for “swallow” is pronounced “bala” and this word appears 43 times in the Old Testament. Its meanings in English are translated as, swallowed; destroy; wits’ end; consume; and, devoured. There are people whose actions and/or intentions will cause your life to be consumed or devoured, with no benefit at all for you. That’s a sobering reflection.
WISDOM: what habits, thought patterns, or people, are leading you away from God? What or who is currently in your life that you need to completely remove and be separated from – what will your life look like if you do that?
Matt 5:30 And if your right-hand causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose [utterly destroyed, bring to nothing, put to death] one of your members than that your whole body go into hell
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Self-Assurance is a beautiful Influencing Strength – backing yourself can work for and against God. You back yourself even when no one else does, and are willing to leave the well-trodden path to take the risk. You walk with such confidence that others will follow you, and you are not threatened by others’ excellence in any area. Be careful to consider the moral and ethical implications of your decisions and stay humble, teachable and kind. Stubbornness has two sides of the coin, create space for others to ask questions so as to improve the journey and the outcome.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version: [consumed by our own desires we never really live, and in the end we carry the responsibility for rejecting God into the afterlife]
PRAYER: Thank you God for today. Please help me Father to have great discernment and insights each day, that would come straight from being with you. Thank you.
Thanks for that. So insightful. And I loved the example from Pilgrims Progress which helped shape my beliefs as a child.
Great insight into this verse. Thank you for breaking it down Allan. Loved the questions about what habit and what person that’s in my life that’s leading me away from God. Great instructions for Living. Back myself, trust God and trust my instincts.
So much packed into a small verse. Been fooled and distracted by things that appear to be good, staying the path, staying humble, kind and teachable. Back myself, listen to the right voices and take people on the journey. This is Gold.
Without wisdom, death and destruction is what awaits. It’s important to remain focused on Jesus, his call and our relationship with Him. Salvation is mine, salvation from all Solomon writes about in vs 12, all I need do is walk in this salvation.
A good reminder to be vigilant. My struggle is with technology distraction and I know I am not alone. In itself it is not a problem but when it takes me away from my purpose and from God or wastes the valuable time He has given me for the day then it is definitely a problem. Business wise I have heaps of supervision for the clinical side and for my wellbeing but what I need is support around business side of things and Godly support.
‘Stay in your path run in straight line’ in each day take intentional effort to identify what and who will derail you from the “ lane” and need to prune down or cut it off at beginning. If we aren’t constantly checking Sometimes it can creeps without warning and rotten some brunches.
Thank you for reminding this trough scripture and your personal experience!
Again this warns us of the dangers of having wrong influences in our lives which can take us right off course & risk us suffering great loss. We need to be on guard about making wrong financial decisions which often happens by deceptive advertising & by persuasive people who only have one agenda in mind ie gain for themselves & no real regard for others’ welfare
Today’s scripture paints a very clear picture of what life will look like when we are tempted by the enemy ,
It talks about a physical and spiritual death to the life in this world ,
We need to be wise in who we let into our lives,
And who speak over our lives
So stay in the blessing God has for you and turn away from bad company ,or anything that draws you away from God.
Thank you pastor Allan
I loved the breakdown of this verse it gave me a deeper understanding of its meaning.
I also thought the links you made to the other verses in the Bible were amazing to show the connectedness of scriptures.
Another powerful devotional that’s made me consider areas in my life that need growth.
“stay humble, teachable and kind.”
Something everyone can take home as a life goal.
“consumed by our own desires we never really live.” Wow! That is powerful. I pray my desires will always be those of the Lords.
I appreciate the way that your posts make me look at myself
And make me realise how much more I could be doing
My personal struggle is trying to take work colleagues who are christians on a journey for the better but meeting stubborn resistance and trying to break that bondage for the better
Taking the higher road and seeking god first ….
It’s a bigger picture
“If you are in a position where you find yourself going it alone, have trusted people who can speak into your life so you can check your compass and temper your passion with compassion, then continue to back yourself.“ love all this.. leaves no excuses – we should always let wise counsel into our lives.
Great insight. Importance of being vigilant and knowing what we believe to avoid being dragged away by bad influences. The enemy is on the lookout seeking those to devour.
Love the PIlgrim’s Progress
By reading this first thing that came to mind was There is another In the fire! Whatever I’m going through He is there with me – also wisdom discernment is important God gave us guidance morals to see the difference
someone wrote a book called good or God
Is this good for my own benefit and not to glorify and honor God.
God gave us freedom to choose let’s be wise and choose Him.
Its basically giving us instruction to not even put yourself in a position when you know the surrounding are bad for you and better to cut of anything or anyone who puts you that position, as hard as it can be sometimes.
Amen.
“Don’t be fooled by the bright lights and noise of the fair. Stay on your path each day – run in your lane!”
Eyes on Jesus!