Proverbs 1:17 Commentary and Bible Study

Even the birds are smarter than the foolish. They become wise to the nets. The bird would fight shy of it. Soon enough the trap has to be concealed and the hunter has to become more subtle. But the foolish are like those who set a trap for their own lives and knowingly walk into it. They know the danger; they have been faithfully warned by God in the conscience and in Scripture, but they choose to ignore all the warnings and press on regardless. ‘I will never be happy without sin’, they say. It is like a drug. It satisfies for a time but then I must have more. The situation is like two voices calling us to go in opposite directions. On one side is a trap for souls, on the other side wisdom cries, divine knowledge, moral knowledge, the voice of God. Ultimately wisdom stands for Christ. He speaks knowledge about God, about human nature, about the fall. The world does not believe this – that we are morally fallen and weak. ‘How can you know anything about human nature?’, it asks. One person told me, ‘I am an atheist, but I must believe in human depravity. Not that I believe in God. I know I am inconsistent, but without that you can’t make head or tail of human beings.’ That is why international negotiations so often do not work out. Divine wisdom teaches that God must come and suffer and die for sinners. Human pride won’t have that. Christ has come.