Some Wisdom in Proverbs

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

     In this chapter, God through Solomon is telling us about the ways of the lost world and the foolishness that abounds in it. He warns the believer and advises them to stay clear of the path and wisdom of the lost world. While reading this chapter, verse 17 really popped out to me. So many times we read through scripture, I include myself in this, and we just read it. When we truly seek after God, and meditate on his word, God opens our understanding to a verse we've read a dozen times. We then see some new truth or application about it that we hadn't before, and might I say that is such a blessing when that happens.

     Birds tend to flock around areas where schools of fish are under the water. One of the methods fishermen used to determine where to cast their net back in that time was to watch for where the birds would circle. They would fish in that area due to the likelihood that the birds were circling their next meal - the fishermen took advantage of this. Sometimes that would work, other times it was the birds circling around the ship waiting for easy pickings. 

     That being said, the lost world has a different worldview. They have no hope, no faith and no comfort in God. They look everywhere and at anything for a chance to gain prosperity or even to just meet basic needs. They see a bird, that bird is a chance or sign at gaining something, and go after it without thought. They pursue it in vain, thinking that they will find what they need, or that they can earn merit with God through that pursuit. They do not rely in or trust God for direction in life, they act on their own strength, on their own knowledge and come up short. When they see the next bird, they cast out their net in vain only again to return void. They will continue that process over and over again, only to always come back empty handed. They need Christ, as no pursuit of him will ever be in vain, or return void.