Proverbs 1:10-19,  My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

The father counsels his son about the danger of enticements.

Watch out son when sinners entice you.

Don't you give your consent.

Sinners always have motives that advance their cause while they convince you that your cause will prosper.

Enticements play to your natural tendency toward greed.

As the serpent in the garden enticed Eve so will sinners entice you.

The Bible tells us that the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field.

Subtle means sly in design, cunning, insinuating.

The serpent was crafty and included in his discussion with Eve, implications, hints, suggestions that catered to her flesh.

That is what enticements are designed to do.

By his subtlety he enticed her to sin. She consented to his denial of God's word!

The serpent planted the seed of doubt of God's care for Eve.

Eve thought the serpent was interested in her welfare more than God but the serpent only used her to excercise his hatred for God.

He, as all who entice, have motives that are hidden from those that are expressed.

We are to be distrustful of enticements for God does not use enticements.

God desires Volunteers and those who are enticed are not volunteers!

They have simply sold their will for some benefit to the flesh.

It is God's will that we worship him in truth from a pure heart.

An enticed heart is not a pure heart.

An enticed heart is devoted to the enticement.

We are to focus our eyes on God and enticements are simply designed to take away that focus.

My son, you will meet with many who wish to corrupt you.

You will be tempted by those who do not wish to sin alone.

They will say, Come with us for sin desires company.

Sinners desire to reproduce themselves in others.

My son, you must resolve through the grace of God to refuse to comply with any suggestion or advice which will cause you to err from the words of knowledge.

That is why you must know the words of knowledge.

The words of knowledge equip you to refuse that kind of suggestion or advice.

The words of knowledge are powerful as a two edged sword.

You cannot arm your child with any more powerful weapon than the word of God.

Most children are naked of weapons in this world and succumb to any enticement because they are not armed.

It is the fathers responsibility to arm his son with spiritual weapons to withstand the enticements of the world.

It is the father's responsibility to instruct the son that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

He is to equip his son with the whole amour of God, that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

This world is bent on having disarmed victims to serve up to the devil.

(Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul, and take to arm you for the fight the panoply of God, that having all things done and all your conflicts past ye may o'ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.)

These words: Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: most likely are not the words of the seducers to the son but they are the words of the heart of the seducers.

Most likely they do not allow these words to come out but only allow words of enticement to come out.

As the serpent to Eve painted a rosy picture of her rebellion, seducers also paint such a picture.

They allow these words to pass their lips:  Come with us, We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

For we are all jolly good fellows.

We are a close knit team of jolly good fellows.

We are Robin Hood and the merry men of Sherwood Forest.

Come with us and be one of us. Learn our handshake!

Join our gang and you'll belong, otherwise you'll have no place.

Everything will come out alright if you join up with us.

Happy days are here again!

We will insure that everything is covered. No one will discover!

There are fat cats out there who deserve to be robbed.

They have made themselves rich by taking from people like you and me.

We deserve to share in their riches, dont we?

We deserve to have a piece of the action.

My son, do not listen to their plea but remove the cover of deceit that they present.

Paul said this this way in Ephesians 5:11,... have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Why do you deserve a piece of the action?

Why are you exempt from honest labor?

How can you say that your actions will not result in your death.

What about your conscience toward God?

Doesn't God tell us to not seek to be rich?

How can you keep your sin hidden?

How can you trust thieves to share a common purse?

Tell them that they all must appear before God and be accountable for their actions.

Things may be jolly and the camaraderie for a time exciting but what about after when one of the jolly fellows is caught.

Where then will his loyalty lie?

Will he remember you or will he give you up in trying to save his own neck?

Plea bargains are popular with prosecutors don't you know?

Proverbs 1:15,16,  My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

My son your greatest strength to combat the enticement of sinners is the strength of separation.

Without separation you will put confidence in the flesh and God's word says to put no confidence in the flesh.

Putting no confidence in the flesh is strength but putting any confidence in the flesh is weakness.

Don't think you are wiser than God!

Don't think by your testimony, you can win them by compromising the word of God and joining them or being around them.

They are experts in corruption and you are a victim to be won.

Conversation with them may seem profitable at first for it is designed to lull you into complaisance and soon you will be in their net.

No one becomes degenerate at once.

You must not take the first step and God gives you the instruction that is needed to keep you from the first step.

Separation is the wisdom of God and is the strength that God gives you.

Walk not thou in the way with them.

Don't even cross paths with them.

Stay away from them and stay away from where they go.

If they hang around a certain door at school go out of school another way.

If they gather at the ball field on the 1st base side you stay on the third base side.

Avoid them, go out from among them, son, and be ye separate!

Be ye separate even if it means being alone.

There are much worse things than being alone.

Our country's founding father and first President, George Washington wrote in his Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation:

Psalm 1:1,  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

They are bent toward evil.

Their whole thought tends to evil and the only sure safety is to flee.

Proverbs 1:17,  Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

We think it silly to set the capture net in the sight of a bird.

Surely this is a waste of our time to reveal to a bird how we intend to trap the bird.

Even a bird will accept that knowledge and avoid the net because he sees what is going on.

He sees the net in place for the purpose of his capture,

But the sinner who is captured in sin cannot turn from sin even though he knows that the net is set for him.

He has no power to avoid the net.

He is armed with no weapon in contrast to the godly man who is armed with the word of God.

As Proverbs 16:18 reminds us the proud man will continue to be proud in the face of destruction and the man with a haughty spirit will continue to be haughty in the face of an inescapable fall.

The principal of God is clear.

Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.  He will not avoid the net!

The father in verse 11 told the son that the sinners lurk privily or privately for the innocent without cause.

But in verse 18 the father tells the son that in reality they:

There are two views here. Notice how the heart of the sinner deceitfully reveals itself to the sinner.

The sinner's view has him laying a trap for innocents but God's view is of him laying a trap for himself.

Ask Haman who was bent upon laying a trap for Mordecai.

As David wrote in Psalm 7:15,16,  He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

The wicked think their plans will result in one thing but God ordains another quite different result.

This is wisdom from the father to the son.

Who are you going to believe son?

If you fear God you will believe God.

Luke recorded the words of Jesus Christ in chapter 9:24,  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

The man who is greedy of gain desires to save his life.

He thinks only that life is gotten by his own efforts so he desires to heap up to himself riches by any means.

But the father's instruction to his son is light from the scriptures which says:

Proverbs 1:19,  So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

Instead of bringing life to those who are greedy of gain their very ways take away life.

Greed promises gain but greed only delivers loss.

These are the principles that the father is to teach the son.

Article by dr. bill Hall in "The Projector" for Proverbs 1:1-11, consent thou not