Proverbs 2:1-22

Continuing on in our series “Through The Proverbs” we come to the second chapter of Proverbs.

PRAYER

Our Father God we pray to you this day that the pearls of wisdom embedded within your Word would come to the forefront and help us in our everyday lives. Help us to use these as you meant them to be used. -Amen

The second of the Proverbs has three “sections” here:

1. THE FIRST is v.1-11 a call to the believer to find and cherish wisdom and understanding. It goes onto give us surety that the Lord will protect us from all manner of evil.
2. THE SECOND is v.12-19 which outlines what exactly we are being protected from. The LORD gives us a clear description of our enemy.
3. THE THIRD is v.20-22 where we learn of the surety of God’s election in our lives and the destiny of the cursed evil ones.

1-5. My son, if you will receive my sayings, And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God.

v.1 begins with a father talking to his son. He says: if you will receive my sayings, the key here is that there is a much stronger tone to the original Hebrew than comes across in the translated version. In the Hebrew the word “sayings” is the word -emer which means literally “chastisements” or “commands”.

It goes on to “command” us to treasure his commandments within you. Within where? Jesus says: “…where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:21

6. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

v.6 doesn’t say that the LORD “may” or “might” give wisdom, it says that the “LORD gives wisdom;” and it follows with two points:

1. From His mouth comes knowledge
2. From His mouth comes understanding

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

The Proverbs say so many things they enlighten us to the methods of God in so many ways. v.7 sets forth the first idea that God specifically holds in “escrow” sound wisdom. His savings and accounting system is far greater than anything man could ever conceive of. When jesus healed, he did it perfectly, when God blessed he did it abundantly. When he says that he has stored up sound wisdom you can guarantee that there is ample “sound wisdom” for all of the upright.

It goes onto say that He is a “shield”. Another famous shield in the Word is found in Ephesians 6:16 “…in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.”

Just like the shield of faith those of us that walk in integrity must have the faith to believe that our God is awesome enough to protect us from the enemy.

We see in Genesis 12:11-20 that Abram (Abraham) began to lose his faith in God’s power. He decided to lie to Pharoah and told his wife to be dishonest. In turn they together fell into sin and were NOT walking in integrity. As a result, they lost the shield of God’s protection and Pharoah nearly sinned with Sarai (Sarah).

Integrity is every Christian’s mantle we MUST wear it boldly and unafraid because our God is powerful and righteous to protect us.

God (who is eternally faithful) had made a promise to Abram and as a result he maintained his integrity despite Abrams apparent loss. He was true to this proverb and kept Abrams feet true despite himself.

9-10. Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

As a result of that integrity, you will be given a spiritual barometer with which to measure and identify the spiritual temperature or temperament of your surroundings. This knowledge will be pleasant the scripture says; because it will be a calming balm to an otherwise nerve racked group.

I had a friend who was a big fan of STAR WARS, he used to say that spiritual discernment was like a tremor in the force. The spirit of those at enmity with Christ will never be at harmony with our own.

11-15. Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things; From those who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness; Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil; Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

Too often fools rush in (like the song goes). Therefore spiritual discretion will guard you. Yet another statement of fact without room for squirming or misinterpretation. If you have discretion rather than rush in fool heartedly, [discretion] will guard (the Hebrew word is -shamar which means “to preserve”) you. Inv. 11-15 both “discretion” and “understanding” are given human traits. Because they are representing God at this moment. Understanding “will watch” it says and then likewise it “will deliver (the orig. Hebrew is -natsal which means ‘to snatch away from’)” you away from evil.

How does it do that? If you understand the nature of evil things or the ways of evil, you will understand how to avoid those traps and snares.

Then it goes onto describe what exactly you are being guarded and steered away from. Take note at the kind of people God wants to “deliver” or “snatch us away from”.

 

1.
Men [people] who speak perverse things

The LORD clearly considers those who speak perverse (and by extension ARE perverse) as things to be “snatched away from. We therefore should avoid or try to avoid the perverted. What is perverse?

• Lack of faith: “Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom is no faithfulness.” Deuteronomy 32:20
  “and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.” 2 Thessalonians 3:2
• A desire to draw away from the things and people of God: “…and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” Acts 20:30
• Those who would look for the easy buck of dishonest gains (money): “A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom To pervert the ways of justice.” Proverbs 17:23-24
  “His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.” 1 Samuel 8:3
• Those who would use the last one to bring shame upon God’s justice: “You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.” Deuteronomy 16:19

 

2.
Those who leave the paths of righteousness for paths of darkness

Everyone who leaves God’s chosen “narrow” path finds only eternal darkness. They do not know nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken. Psalms 82:5

The reason that they leave the path of righteousness is because the path is lit by the light of Christ (our savior) who illumines all parts of our lives but the reprobate doesn’t want their sin illuminated they instead desire to live in darkness and hide their sinful nature from all save God. “And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.” John 3:19

3.
Those who delight in doing evil, and rejoice in its perversity

Liars, thieves, criminals…habitually facing their sin without remorse and seeking only to do it more abundantly, and in some cases even more sinisterly.

Overall the Lord says he wants to “snatch us away from” these types of people. Because they are Vessels of Wrath who by the Devil himself seek to destroy and devour us.

16-17. To deliver you from the strange woman, From the adulteress who flatters with her words; That leaves the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God;

Right along with a lack of faith and a desire to do evil comes the lusts of the flesh. The Bible tells us to beware of this lust, later in Proverbs 23:27 it characterizes lust as a harlot who it says: “…is a deep pit,” and it goes on to personify lust as an “…adulterous woman”.

18-19. For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the dead; None who go to her return again, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

Brethren – DO NOT FALL into that pit because it is a long difficult climb to get out. The LORD shall snatch you away from it if you trust in Him. or if you should succumb to the flesh he will deliver you from it, but not before the fire of hell has burned you sutiably as a reminder to the elect that they are forgiven and should not test the LORD’s mercy, but rather should bow before him thankful that they are not forever swallowed up by it.

20-21. So you will walk in the way of good men, And keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

Notice the posture here…it isn’t an if/then statement. But rather the Lord has given us fair warning of what “could” have befallen us as children of God, then he goes on (much like the previous Proverb) to give us a blessed assurance. “…you will walk in the way of good men,” not “…if you choose to walk…” or “…after you accept me you’ll walk…” but God has given us the assurance that as His children we “…will walk in the way of good men,”

22. But the wicked will be cut off from the land, And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

Finally a last word of warning. In fact – it is said with the same finality that verse 20 uses. “…the wicked will be cut off…” without room for discussion or appeals.

Beloved let us strive to be worthy of our God’s sincere and undying love that we may humbly walk in the light as He is in the light. Never turning to the ungodly for solace or solitude. But rather rejoice that we are not given up to our own fleshly desires. Forever to be in the kingdom to come forever and ever, co-heirs to the kingdom with Christ.

-Amen