Do not….

 Do not…..

Do not, do not, do not….

Staring proverbs….there is many many admonishments that start with “do not….” But after their “ do nots” come the Contrasts and results…

I like the positives…the “do this”, it sounds so much better…encouraging…but the writer of proverbs sees the wisdom in “do not”…and lists them time after time…it would be well to listen ….

My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 

my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, 

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. 

My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion, Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, 

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. 

Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you. 

Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you. 

Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm. 

Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,

Proverbs 1:10,15,3:1-2,5,11-12,21,25,27-31 

for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. 

Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 

Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. 

Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. 

Do not enter the path of the wicked, and 

do not walk in the way of the evil. 

Avoid it; 

do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. 

Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Proverbs 4:2,5-6,13-15,19,27 

Contrast…results….

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. 

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 

For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 

Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 

Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 

Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Proverbs 4:18-27

And now, O sons, listen to me, and 

do not depart from the words of my mouth. 

Keep your way far from her, and

 do not go near the door of her house,

Proverbs 5:7-8 

Contrast…results…

lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 

lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, 

when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 

I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 

I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”

Proverbs 5:9-14

She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths,

Proverbs 7:11,23,25 

Result…

for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 7:26-27 

Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. 

(Result…)

Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, 

(Contrast…)but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 8:33-36 

Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

Proverbs 20:22 

Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, 

(Result )for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. 

Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.

Proverbs 22:22-23,28

Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. 

Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 

( result)When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. 

Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; 

do not desire his delicacies, 

(Result)for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. 

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, 

(Result)for he will despise the good sense of your words. 

Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, (because)for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. 

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. 

Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. 

(Result)In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink

Proverbs 23:3-7,9-11,13,31-35

Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. 

What your eyes have seen 

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. 

Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and 

do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. 

Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away. 

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 

Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. 

Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.

Proverbs 25:6-7,27:1,10,30:5-6,10 

Many “do nots”

They have consequences, results….as do the “do this’s”…

Thank YOU….open my eyes to do the right things…