Walking in His Ways - Part 5 - The Protected Path of Wisdom

Intro

Proverbs 2:1–8 (KJV 1900)

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words,

And hide my commandments with thee;

2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom,

And apply thine heart to understanding;

3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge,

And liftest up thy voice for understanding;

4 If thou seekest her as silver,

And searchest for her as for hid treasures;

5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord giveth wisdom:

Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous:

He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

8 He keepeth the paths of judgment,

And preserveth the way of his saints.

The words “path” and “way” are found almost 100 times in Proverbs…

Why? It takes Godly wisdom to walk in all His ways…

By way of introduction: What is wisdom?

Job said in Job 28:12

Job 28:12 (KJV 1900)

12 But where shall wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

Job 28:20 (KJV 1900)

20 Whence then cometh wisdom?

And where is the place of understanding?

Job 28:28 (KJV 1900)

28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.

- If we’re going to love God properly, we will obey Him, seek wisdom and understanding of God and fear the Lord.

Psalm 111:10 (KJV 1900)

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:

A good understanding have all they that do his commandments:

His praise endureth for ever.

Proverbs 4:7 (KJV 1900)

7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:

And with all thy getting get understanding.

Definition of wisdom: What you do with what you know…

You can have:

Knowledge: where to go, why you should go there… (WHAT)

AND Understanding: How to get there… (WHY)

But without wisdom: (GO)… Wisdom is the GOING…

I may KNOW with knowledge… I may understand HOW with understanding, but I don’t go anywhere without wisdom which is the application of the knowledge and understanding…

With so many distractions, detours, roadblocks, construction zones and dangerous roads in our Christian walk, we MUST exercise Godly wisdom in order to navigate our path…

(PRAY)

The Protected Path of Wisdom

1. Wisdom Walks to God

Look at the wording: “He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.”… “He keepeth the paths, preserveth the way…”

Buckler: shield, piece of defensive armor

Merriam webster defines it as: very useful in causing stones or darts to glance off

Why would that be useful?

Ephesians 6:10–16 (KJV 1900)

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

As we walk with God, we have fiery darts of the wicked being shot at us left and right from Satan…

We need the Buckler to help us deflect those attacks so that we aren’t slowed down in our path…

There is protection from God when we walk His path…

He will get us where He wants us to go...

He will provide for us where He wants us to go…

BUT, we’re not on God’s path without Godly wisdom…

Obtaining spiritual wisdom is not a once a week thing… It requires a daily discipline of a lifetime…

He is a buckler (a shield) for who? For those who walk uprightly…

Read on in our text

Proverbs 2:10–12 (KJV 1900)

10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart,

And knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11 Discretion shall preserve thee,

Understanding shall keep thee:

12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man,

From the man that speaketh froward things;

Wisdom Walks to God

2. Wickedness Walks Away from God

Proverbs 2:12–19 (KJV 1900)

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.

Froward: perverse; not willing to yield or comply with what is required

We see 2 people here: the evil man and the strange woman…

These are the people Solomon warns us of in Proverbs 1:10-19

Proverbs 1:10–19 (KJV 1900)

10 My son, if sinners entice thee,

Consent thou not.

11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood,

Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave;

And whole, as those that go down into the pit:

13 We shall find all precious substance,

We shall fill our houses with spoil:

14 Cast in thy lot among us;

Let us all have one purse:

15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them;

Refrain thy foot from their path:

16 For their feet run to evil,

And make haste to shed blood.

17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

18 And they lay wait for their own blood;

They lurk privily for their own lives.

19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain;

Which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

a.) Protection from the evil man

It is the evil man and the man that speaketh froward (perverse or rebellious) things who leave the paths of uprightness…

Why? So they can “walk in the ways of darkness” verse 13

Wisdom protects us from these people…

What are the other results of these evil men who refuse wisdom?

They rejoice to do evil (vs. 14)

They delight in forwardness of the wicked (vs. 14)

What does their path look like? Crooked…

Proverbs 2:15 (KJV 1900)

15 Whose ways are crooked,

And they froward in their paths:

b.) Protection from the strange woman

Who is this person?

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 7:5-27

Proverbs 7:5–27 (KJV 1900)

5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman,

From the stranger which flattereth with her words.

6 For at the window of my house

I looked through my casement,

7 And beheld among the simple ones,

I discerned among the youths,

A young man void of understanding,

8 Passing through the street near her corner;

And he went the way to her house,

9 In the twilight, in the evening,

In the black and dark night:

10 And, behold, there met him a woman

With the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

11 (She is loud and stubborn;

Her feet abide not in her house:

12 Now is she without, now in the streets,

And lieth in wait at every corner.)

13 So she caught him, and kissed him,

And with an impudent face said unto him,

14 I have peace offerings with me;

This day have I payed my vows.

15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee,

Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry,

With carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed

With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning:

Let us solace ourselves with loves.

19 For the goodman is not at home,

He is gone a long journey:

20 He hath taken a bag of money with him,

And will come home at the day appointed.

21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,

With the flattering of her lips she forced him.

22 He goeth after her straightway,

As an ox goeth to the slaughter,

Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;

23 Till a dart strike through his liver;

As a bird hasteth to the snare,

And knoweth not that it is for his life.

24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children,

And attend to the words of my mouth.

25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways,

Go not astray in her paths.

26 For she hath cast down many wounded:

Yea, many strong men have been slain by her.

27 Her house is the way to hell,

Going down to the chambers of death.

In our text: (Proverbs 2)

The one who flattereth with her words…

She forsakes the guide of her youth…

She forgets the covenant of her God…

Her house inclineth unto death and her paths unto the dead…

Look at this terrifying statement in Proverbs 2:19

Proverbs 2:19 (KJV 1900)

19 None that go unto her return again,

Neither take they hold of the paths of life.

Her path is the path of sin…

Her path is the path that leads directly to the cemetery rather than life in God…

Now the turn

Wisdom Walks to God

Wickedness Walks Away from God

3. Wisdom to Walk After Good Men

Proverbs 2:20–22 (KJV 1900)

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.

“Walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.”

You shouldn’t have to start from scratch…

There IS good, righteous, upright men in the Bible to follow…

Hebrews 12:1–2 (KJV 1900)

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

There SHOULD BE good, righteous, upright men in this church to follow as well…