Proverbs 2 … Consider His Path of Life

Originally posted: 12/26/2020

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸ Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones, (2:7-8).

The book of Proverbs is filled with contrasts, contrasting good and evil, the wise and the foolish, the straight and the crooked, the righteous and the wicked. And in today’s reading, we see a contrast between two paths. One is a path that leads to death and darkness and the other is His Path of Life.

Consider His Path of Life

Five times Solomon addresses the paths available to all of mankind, figuratively describing the course of one’s life.

His Path of Life is defined by justice, integrity, preservation, godliness, uprightness, straightness, righteousness and blamelessness. And His Path of Life is clearly revealed in Jesus Christ.

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men, (John 1:5).

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” (John 14:6).

• His Path of Life is the Path of justice, guarded by His wisdom and integrity.
  • He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
    He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
    ⁸ Guarding the paths of justice,
    And He preserves the way of His godly ones, (2:7-8).

• His Path of Life is the Path of the upright, contrasted with the way of evil and darkness.
  • To deliver you from the way of evil,
    From the man who speaks perverse things;
    ¹³ From those who leave the paths of uprightness
    To walk in the ways of darkness; (2:12-13).

• His Path of Life is contrasted with the path of perversity that is crooked and devious.
  • Who delight in doing evil
    And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
    ¹⁵ Whose paths are crooked,
    And who are devious in their ways; (2:14-15).

• His Path of Life is unattainable for those who delight in evil.
  • Who delight in doing evil
    And rejoice in the perversity of evil…
    ¹⁹ None who go to her return again,
    Nor do they reach the paths of life, (2:14, 19).

• His Path of Life is the Path of the righteous; the Path of security and prosperity for the upright and blameless.
  • So you will walk in the way of good men
    And keep to the paths of the righteous.
    ²¹ For the upright will live in the land
    And the blameless will remain in it; (2:20-21).

How do we respond to His Path of Life?

His Word clearly reveals we have the choice of which path we take. Jesus spoke of two courses of life as well; paths that were marked by a point of entry.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it,” (Matthew 7:13-14).

The gate is narrow because there is only One.

“I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture,” (John 10:9 Berean Study Bible).

Jesus is the One and only point of entry to His Path of abundant Life.

“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,” (John 10:9-10).

When we place our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, He places us on His Path of Life and brings us to His freedom, blessing, and abundance. And salvation in Christ is an eternal gift, sealed and guaranteed by His Holy Spirit.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory, (Ephesians 1:13-14).

His salvation is eternal, for His Path of Life is His Gift to us. But, we live in a fallen world; and the tempter is relentless in his work to redirect our focus and steer us down a path that perverts God’s truth.

While we are not in danger of eternal destruction once we have trusted Christ for salvation, when we are lured into following the lies of the enemy, we can be led down some very treacherous paths during this lifetime. That is why we are desperate for His wisdom to deliver us from the way of evil.

And as we considered yesterday, the fear of the Lord is His Gift That Keeps On Giving, and always leads to knowledge and wisdom. His Gift of wisdom will keep us from straying off His Path of Life, and it is there for the receiving, there for the opening, and there for the discovering.

Let us ask God to grow us in our desire for His Word to daily seek understanding and discernment. Oh, that we would give our full attention to His Truth, fully persuaded that the most precious treasure we could ever pursue would be the wisdom and knowledge of God that discerns the fear of the Lord and anchors us on His Path of Life.

My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
² Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
³ For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
⁴ If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding, (2:1-6).

Let’s Grow Together!