This is the first of the 13 discourses, and as I mentioned in the last post, it is about gangs.
My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them.
Proverbs 1:10
Verses 10-14 set this out clearly enough; Solomon has a gang problem. Notice that the “son” is warned to stay away from groups of men who lie in wait to ambush innocent travelers, attack them and steal their possessions. Notice also what might entice a young person into such a life: First there is the excitement of the ambush, then the thrill and power of brutality, then the gaining of the loot, and finally the most important of all, the being part of a group, the companionship.
Sociologists of the present day cite this time and again as a major contributing cause of the allurement of gangs for young people, particularly those who have no sense of belonging anywhere else. Companionship, belonging, power, being “somebody” and oh yes, money, are powerful attractions to the downtrodden in society then and now.
Starting with verse 15, the author gives a different perspective on this issue, for what may at first seem the best way to go is really a trap. Verse 16 gives a legal reason to avoid this lifestyle: Rushing into evil seems to refer to the stealing involved; I seem to recall that there is a commandment about that. Obviously, there is a commandment about the shedding of blood, too… the “lifestyle” of the gang leads straight to Hell’s front door. Verses 17 ff. really make the case, for in these verses Solomon makes the point that the real trap is set for the gangs themselves. Oh, they think they are going to ambush the innocent, and they will snare some into it, but the criminal ends up ruined in the end, for sooner or later they will be caught and dealt with, and in those days, they would be stoned to death, and then what? Doom!
To share birds, nets would be set p in plain sight, and even though the birds would see the nets, they would fly right into them. In the same way, even though every member of a gang knows that he is headed for trouble, he flies right into the trap, for like the stupid bird, he thinks he will be the one who emerges safely, and thus he traps himself.
In contrast, a wise man sees the folly of such a life and avoids it completely.
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