Lord of the Wings
The Scriptures never cease to amaze me. Every once in a while, you find pure gold and it overwhelms your soul. Such was the case when preparing for Proverbs class a few days ago. A passage that I have always been familiar with and one that I have never given a second glance suddenly begged me to take another look. Upon first observation it seems quite self-explanatory. The passage is found in Proverbs 1:17— “Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.” Seems pretty straight forward. If you place a net in the sight of a bird, the bird isn’t going to come down and let you catch it. Right?
What other implications could this passage contain? Let’s look at the context first. The father is teaching his son the second lesson of Wisdom—Choose your friends wisely. In verses 10-19 the father teaches his son to stay away from friends who entice, take advantage of the weak, and are selfish and greedy. Let’s read it in its entirety:
Pro 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Pro 1:11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Pro 1:12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
Pro 1:13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
Pro 1:14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
Pro 1:15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
Pro 1:16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
Pro 1:17 Surely in vain at the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
Pro 1:18 But these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.
Pro 1:19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which takes away the life of the owners thereof.
As always, there is a golden truth hidden in the midst. That golden truth is found in (yes you guessed it) verse 17, the net and bird. In the Hebrew language the word for bird comes from two words—lord and wing. The word for lord is Baal. I’m sure you’ve come across this word in the OT where Israel started worshipping false gods, particularly Baal. The word literally means lord or master. It is not always used in the sense of a false god but as a lord or master of the house or in this case, the bird is the master of the sky or lord of the wing! Yup…I couldn’t resist to give this study the title…lord of the wing. Maybe we’ll make a movie out of it some day!
In all seriousness, however, the point behind this illustration is for the son to stay away from friends who entice, boast, take advantage of the weak, and selfishly lust for gain at the expense of others. In the father’s warning he gives a metaphorical example of the bird who sees the net. The net which the bird would never be foolish enough to get caught in. Right?
Well, upon closer look it appears that the text is saying the opposite. How? Verses 18 and 19 state that these evil selfish greedy ‘friends’ are thoughtlessly setting an ambush for their own lives. Their careless actions will eventually take away their very lives (v. 19).
So all of this is good but something doesn’t seem to make sense concerning the bird and the net. A bird isn’t going to go in the net for no reason or will it? Ah! That’s the key. A bird will indeed swoop down into a net—if you put enough food in it.
Birds are the masters of the sky or, lords of the wing, but they are extremely greedy when it comes to food. While they are masters in the air with little to tempt and distract them, upon the ground they are thoughtless of the dangers before them. Because they cannot control their appetites, their appetites end up controlling them. This often leads to them getting easily caught and killed. In verse 19 we see that, “so are the ways of every one who is greedy of gain, which take away the life of the owners thereof.”
Mixed in with this profound truth we see a warning. God closes this section with the phrase “takes away the life of the owners thereof.” The word for owners is the Hebrew word for…Baal. Sound familiar?! Here we see Solomon framing the lord of the wing with the lord who is about to lose his life. Everything comes together as we see both the bird and the greedy fool about to lose their lives because of their selfish appetites. They might be the master/lord of a certain part of their lives but they are blind to the dangers that lurk around the corner. Their greediness is setting a trap that will inevitably lead to their own destruction.
However, there is hope. Later in the book of Proverbs we read that those who keep company with sound wisdom and discretion are guided by the Lord. Such a man does not need to be, “afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be his confidence, and will keep his foot from being caught.” (Proverbs 3:25-26) Those who learn to love what God loves and hate what God hates will be led away from temptation and terror and towards wisdom and delight. Being free as a bird sounds good but true freedom always comes at a price. If we live by the rule of giving more in value than we receive in payment, we may never be free as a bird but we will never be caught in the net of our own making. May we live with this perspective in mind!
Recommended Reading: Proverbs 1, Jill’s Red Bag, The Go-Giver by Bob Burg, Dominic & the Mysterious Letter Case
