Treasures from the Book of Proverbs 1 verse 12

Calvary greetings in Jesus name. Beloved, it is with great humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I bring you another episode in this journey of divine excavation.

Previously in this series, we’ve discussed:

Today, we take a look at Proverbs 1 verse 12 ‘‘Like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit’’ (ESV)

Ruminating over this verse gradually unearths the salient truths which may never be seen at first glance. In a world of extroverts and busy men, wisdom lies in the bosom of the introvert and ‘lazy’; this is not to encourage laziness, rather it is a call for some interiority. Some people rarely have time to calm down, close the door and prayerfully think, and even when they do, it is either a time for anxiety or plotting evil.

Now a brief look at this interesting verse.

• ‘‘Like Sheol let us swallow them alive’’ – O what a perfect comparison! From this, you’ll understand that Sheol (hell) is a place that swallows the souls of men ALIVE. This writeup is not about hell but it is obvious here that hell actually takes the real essence of men, their souls.

That shows that even when one is physically (medically) dead, he still lives and, no matter his destination, retains his senses as one that is ALIVE: he knows joy, peace, happiness, taste as well as pain, agony, regret etc. We shall return to this point in the future.

That also shows the intent of evil men. Their desire is to totally snuff lives out of innocent men and women. The innocent by his honesty and industry condemns the actions of evil men. So, don’t be surprised when your life is at stake because of the truth.

I’m not amazed when someone tries to excommunicate me because I hate the things that God hates and love what HE loves. Besides the belief in God, whenever you go contrary to the evil at the working place, at home or school, everyone turns red-eye at you.

• ‘Swallowing them up alive’ could also be seen as an attempt to steal that attribute that keeps the innocent man going. Beloved, these men may not succeed to take away your life but they want to take away something that would ultimately result in your death.

You see, our lives are insured with God (of course you know that our hairs are numbered; that God knows the number of hairs you have and to each, he has given a tag. That if number 15 falls off, He knows that number 15, not number 20 fell off) and the devil can do ABSOLUTELY nothing to it without God’s permission. What the devil does is to artfully come in with health deterioration, failures, losses and other misfortunes with the ultimate desire of detaching you from God through your own words.

So, these evil men actually come to swallow our lives (the essence of living) by removing peace, joy and savour from us. The case of Job perfectly describes this.

• O they also come to take our lives by deceit! I want you to understand that when the devil or his cohort has succeeded in making you rescind your stand on truth, justice and all that godliness represents, you are no longer alive; he has swallowed your life up. He may not be able to take your life away nor cause untold troubles and restlessness, but he may gradually pull you closer to himself just to put out your light. I guess this is the most sophisticated and used technique of the enemy.

Life expectancy is improving, some diseases have been eradicated but the number of sinners hasn’t dropped. Satan knows that rampant killings of the innocent could expose his tricks and, probably, make men run to God for safety; so, he prefers subtle, meandering tricks that most times pass unnoticed. Don’t let him swallow you up!

• Also remember that hell does not give back that which it has swallowed except by the power of God.

• ‘‘And whole, like those who go down to the pit’’ – the term ‘pit’ used here refers to the ‘grave’. As the soul goes to hell or heaven, the place of the body is the grave.

Beloved, what baffles me are the analogies used in this verse; these men know exactly what they want to do and are never perturbed by the gravity of their acts. They intend to eat all the constituents of innocent men, leaving these last with nothing but extinction; yes, they wish to extinguish the fire in us, not knowing that we are the reason the hands of God are stayed from unleashing His wrath upon this putrid world.

Hopefully, as we continue with this excavation, we shall get to understand the ultimate goals of evildoers.

• Finally, remember that Solomon was trying to expose the tricks used to lure the innocent into bad companies. These men start with ‘‘come with us’’ and gradually unveil their heinous plans. The Igbo people have a saying that ‘‘whoever dines with the devil, eats with a long spoon’’ but in my humble opinion I’d say, don’t even go to his house not to mention dining with him; turn down his invitations and go do something important with your life. After all, the river drowns only the person that it has seen his legs.

• Always remember that just as the grave is never satisfied, these men are insatiable.

GOOD MUST TRIUMPH OVER EVIL AS WE REMAIN UNYIELDING TO UNGODLY APPEALS!

GOD BLESS YOU

Do remember to send in your messages and comments on what God showed you as you read that verse.