Proverbs 2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
The entrance of wisdom will deliver the recipient from the way of the evil man. As we mentioned yesterday, the person who is truly born again, will never follow men like Kenneth Copeland and his ilk. They will reject Calvinism and the New Evangelical movement. Those who receive God’s wisdom, appreciate it. They realize the blessing of heeding God’s wisdom.
The evil man speaks froward things. The word translated as “froward” means “perverse” or “fraudulent”. The men and movements mentioned above all speak froward things. It is so important to accept God’s Word. The multitude of people who love the perversions is sad. God knows we cannot improve on His Word. He gave the Word. He preserved His Word. We can trust Him fully. It is important to know Him.
Verse 13 further describes the evil man. He has left the paths of uprightness. They have no desire for that which is upright. They do not care about truth. They only care about that which feels good. The prosperity movement is governed by evil men.
Evil men walk in the ways of darkness. Darkness is not just going and committing a murder or stealing from a bank. Darkness is false teaching. Darkness is anything that is not of God. God is light.
I John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Evil men rejoice to do evil. They celebrate evil. They promote it. They delight in the frowardness of the wicked. They promote it and they endorse it.
In verse 15 we see that their ways are crooked. God has nothing good to say about these men. Why is it that so many professing Christians love the evil man? The answer is obvious. They do not know the true God.
When God’s wisdom is received by the person, it will deliver that person from the strange woman. The strange woman is the lost woman. She flirts with men. She puts herself out there. She is hungry for attention, but does not know what true love is.
God says she flatters with her words. They had learned the art of subtlety and psychology. They have studied what it takes to break down the heart of the man. King Solomon allowed many strange women to turn his heart away from God. Samson loved strange women. He had no desire for a godly Jewish woman. He loved women that would play with his emotions.
It is surprising that both Samson and Solomon fell in the way they did. Solomon was given great wisdom. Yet he did not draw from that wisdom. Samson was raised as a Nazarite and yet he chose to seek after that which tore him apart. We see the weakness of the flesh.
In verse 17 we see that a woman can be given good advice in her youth, but she can abandon that. She hears it but she does not receive it. She does not appreciate it. She forgets the covenant of her God. There is only one true God. She knew about Him, but turned away from Him. We hear of women who are raised with the Truth, but reject it. They know what the Truth is and they learn how to undermine that.
It is sad to see so many people who will study to find a way to corrupt the Truth and the God-fearing person.
God warns about these dangers because He loves us. In verse 18 He tells us her house is a house of death. I read a statement of an American who targeted a house where several young women lived. They were not upstanding women. They thought life was one big party. Their parents did not seem to have any discernment either. This man entered that house and he murdered several of the women in it. He seemingly has no remorse for what he did. He is in prison now. Those women are in hell now, being tormented day and night.
Those who follow the path of the strange woman are on a path of destruction. In verse 19 we see that those who choose that path do not return again. God is warning that there is a point of no return when a man lives according to his lusts. They never find their way to the path of life. This should be a very sober warning.
In verse 20 we see that God wants the son to walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. God had no pleasure in the path that Samson chose. His parents had no pleasure in that either. His family had to go and get him out of the rubble in the Philistine land. They had to bury their son, not because he was sick or died in battle. He chose to indulge his lusts and it cost him his life.
In verse 21 we are reminded that the upright shall dwell in the land. The perfect shall remain in it. The nation of Israel was physically divided after the death of Solomon. It was already divided spiritually. Eventually the Jews were sent into exile by God. After that, they could go back to their land, but they never knew the glory days of King David. They still do not have that today. However, there is a day coming when the Jews as a nation will repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. They will humble themselves and bow before Him. They will enter the Millennium and they will enjoy the blessings that God promised to Abraham many years before.
In verse 22 we are again assured that the wicked do not have a good end. They will be cut off. Hell is no prize. It is a place of torment. The lake of fire is also no prize. It is the place of eternal torment. God will see to it that the transgressors will be rooted out of the earth. There is no place for the transgressors to hide.
The Bible says that the antichrist will demand that all people alive during his short but brutal rule, take his mark. It will be difficult to escape his wickedness, although some will.
It is far worse to reject the true God and assume you can find your own way. The end of the wicked is in sight. God is in charge of the judgment. Jesus Christ is the Judge. He will judge righteously.
Today is the Lord’s Day. God is giving us another opportunity to go to a good, local church and hear the preaching of His Word. A good local church does not seek to entertain. It seeks to exalt the true God and help the hearers to be sure each one is a true child of God and walking in His wisdom.
Pastor Bartel