Proverbs 2 : 12 -22

Proverbs 2 : 12 -22
King James Version (KJV)
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.

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
12 They will save you from the way of eviland from those who speak deceitfully, 13 who leave the paths of honestyto walk the ways of darkness, 14 who delight in doing eviland take joy in being stubbornly deceitful, 15 from those whose tracks are twistedand whose paths are perverse. 16 They will save you from a woman who is a stranger,from a loose woman with smooth talk, 17 who abandons the ruler she had in her youthand forgets the covenant of her God. 18 Her house is sinking toward death,her paths lead to the dead. 19 None who go to her return;they never regain the path to life. 20 Thus you will walk on the way of good peopleand keep to the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright will live in the land,the pure-hearted will remain there; 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,the unfaithful rooted out of it.

We all have heard the idiom that experience is the best teacher, I am sure. To take that one step further: as we become older and more experienced, we become wiser. God’s Word teaches us here that if we seek Him, He will impart this wisdom to us. As previously posted, “if we if you will call for insight and raise your voice for discernment”, “then you will understand the fear of Adonai and find knowledge of God.” We see in these verses today, that God-given wisdom will also save us from the way of evil. It will save us from the liars that will attempt to fill our heads with their myriad deceptions. To be caught in such a web of dishonesty can be very detrimental to your well being. For so many reasons. I know from my own experience, having been on that path. It can cause heartbreak, self hatred, loss of any confidence that you may have ever had. You end up believing all the fabrications that you have been told. Even though you realize, deep within, that it is a lie: you still believe it. To do anything else would be admitting that you placed your trust in something that was beyond damaging to your very soul.
I think that we all have felt that way, at some point in our lives. God would not have us go through that: if we would only allow Him to guide us. To listen to His still small voice.. to seek Him… to seek His Wisdom. We cannot be among the “none who go to her return;they never regain the path to life.” We have to cry for His wisdom: search for His discernment so that we will not be the ones who “forgetteth the covenant of her God.” We all strive daily to know Him more: I pray that we all do. To be among the “will walk on the way of good people and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land, the pure-hearted will remain there;”.
My heartfelt prayer for all of us, myself included, is to be part of the righteous…..to be one of those who can truly call Him Father. May all of you be Blessed by Him as we seek His Wisdom together in this life.

Proverbs 2 : 1-11

King James Version (KJV)
1My son, if you accept my wordsand store up my commands within you,2 turning your ear to wisdomand applying your heart to understanding—3 indeed, if you call out for insightand cry aloud for understanding,4 and if you look for it as for silverand search for it as for hidden treasure,5 then you will understand the fear of the Lordand find the knowledge of God.6 For the Lord gives wisdom;from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.7 He holds success in store for the upright,he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,8 for he guards the course of the justand protects the way of his faithful ones. 9 Then you will understand what is right and justand fair—every good path.10 For wisdom will enter your heart,and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.11 Discretion will protect you,and understanding will guard you.

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
1 My son, if you will receive my wordsand store my commands inside you,2 paying attention to wisdominclining your mind toward understanding —3 yes, if you will call for insightand raise your voice for discernment,4 if you seek it as you would silverand search for it as for hidden treasure —
5 then you will understand the fear of Adonai and find knowledge of God. 6 For Adonai gives wisdom;from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.7 He stores up common sense for the upright,is a shield to those whose conduct is blameless,8 in order to guard the courses of justiceand preserve the way of those faithful to him.9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice,fairness and every good path.10 For wisdom will enter your heart,knowledge will be enjoyable for you,11 discretion will watch over you,and discernment will guard you.

The following words spoken here are very definite. If we accept His words, and seek to understand: seeking it as though it is indeed the treasure of our souls…. then, we will find Him. We will find the Truth that only He can show us. We will find understanding that only He can give to us. Our minds are usually in tune with what we hear. If we hear the “noise” of the world: then, that is what consumes us. We worry more: we see only what the media fills our minds with. On the other hand, if we fill our minds, and our hearts, with His Word: if we seek after Him, we will find Him. It really is that simple. If you hear a song on the radio as you go to work, does it not replay in your head most of the day? If you hear a sermon, do you not remember the words most of the day? What we fill our minds with: that is what consumes us. If we fill it with Him, then He will consume us. Can you think of anything better to consume our minds?
“1My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,5 then you will understand the fear of the Lordand find the knowledge of God.”

Only in Him can we find what our path is meant to be. We may stumble, we may even fall, but, if we truly seek Him…. He will be there to guide us. He doesn’t want us to stumble, nor to fall. As any parent, He wants His children to succeed:to be happy. In the words below, we see a reminder, yet again, of His Love for us. His promise to us. As we seek Him, He guards the course of our lives. We make the choice whether or not to listen to Him. The choice of our decisions reside in us: not Him. As do the results of those decisions. He has promised us wisdom, discretion, and understanding IF we seek Him. It is up to us to seek His path:His guidance. It is up to us to follow where He leads us. In Him, we will find the answers to our questions.
“6 For the Lord gives wisdom;from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.7 He holds success in store for the upright,he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. 9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.10 For wisdom will enter your heart,and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.11 Discretion will protect you,and understanding will guard you.”

In all that we do, let us seek the One Who created us. The One Who is the answer to all of our fears.
May each of you that reads this be blessed without measure, and remember Who holds our successes!