The Path: Direction Determines Destination

Let us pray…Gracious and loving God, on this night that we remember that we are from dust and to dust we shall all return, open our hearts, minds, and our spirits to hear your still speaking voice, Amen.

If I were to ask you how to get to Wind Gap or the Poconos, how would you tell me to get there from here? If I were to ask you how to get to Washington, DC, how would you tell me to get there? What is common in both of those questions? The directions that you give me determine where I will end up in my travels, right? I mean if I was asking for directions to the Poconos and you told me to go West and South, would it get me there?

What is common in both of those questions? The directions that you give me determine where I will end up in my travels, right? I mean if I was asking for directions to the Poconos and you told me to go West and South, would it get me there?

I am sure you have guessed by now that tonight, we will be talking a bit about the how of where we go determines where we will end up, at least I hope you have gotten that…so for the next few moments, we are going to spend some time contemplating how what we do and the decisions we make determine what our life will end up looking like when we look back over it.

As we delve into the book of Proverbs this Lent, I pray that something from these studies will spark in your heart to see that our hearts will lead us on the path that God has for us to take…in my mind, it is only when we follow and accept that God has led us to something that real, significant ministry can happen. With me on this so far?

So What is the Book of Proverbs?

In ancient Israel, there were three groups of people who communicated on behalf of God.

1. The Priests – They gave The Law.

2. The Prophets – They gave direction and correction.

3. The Sages – they gave counsel.

The books of Proverbs and its surrounding books—Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon—are books written by sages. Scholars called these books “Wisdom Literature.” Here’s the thing about intelligence vs. wisdom…having intelligence means you know something about something. Having wisdom means you know what to do with your intelligence in various situations. What this means is that you can be smart without being wise. Wisdom literature was written to make us wise – to help us know what to do in specific situations.

Having intelligence means you know things. Having wisdom means you know what to do in various situations. So you can be smart without being wise. Wisdom literature was written to make us wise – to help us know what to do in specific situations.

The book of Proverbs was written primarily by King Solomon, purported to be one of the wisest men who ever lived. The Bible says of Solomon in 1 Kings: He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom. ()

He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

In today’s society, Solomon would the kind of person with master’s degree in literature, some sort of recording deal for all his songs, plus PhDs in philosophy, zoology, ornithology, herpetology, ichthyology, and a few other “ologies” I didn’t have time to look up. For all of his degrees and wisdom, some of his most prolific writings came in the form of songs (in the book of Psalms) and these writings in the book of Proverbs. Now, we believe that Solomon died in 931 B.C., so most of the book of Proverbs was written by then. But Solomon didn’t write all the proverbs. We believe he wrote chapters 1-24, but chapters 25-29 were compiled 200 years later by men in the day of King Hezekiah. Chapter 30 was written by a man named Agur son of Jakeh, and chapter 31 was written by King Lemuel. We have no idea who those two men were; we just know they were very wise as well, otherwise, their writings would not appear in this book.

Solomon died in 931 B.C., so most of this book was written by then. But Solomon didn’t write all the proverbs. We believe he wrote chapters 1-24, but chapters 25-29 were compiled 200 years later by men in the day of King Hezekiah. (We know that because says…

These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah.)

So that gets us some background…what exactly does this Proverb hold for us in the 21st Century…let’s take a look at the whole of the story...

Chapter 30 was written by a man named Agur son of Jakeh, and chapter 31 was written by King Lemuel. We have no idea who those two men were; we just know they were very wise as well.

The Road You’re on Determines your Destination

Like I said at the beginning of this time of reflection, if we want to go to a specific place, we take a certain path that will get us there. And again, our lives, choices that we make and don’t make, also determine where we will land for a period of time. When we spend time listening for God’s voice, whether that be with our guts, as in gut instincts, through the voices of those around us, or wherever else you may see God’s instruction for you, it must be a time that we set aside to listen. Notice that tonight so far, I have not mentioned our intentions. You see there is a huge difference between our intentions and our direction. Our intentions might be in the right place but our actions, i.e. the direction we take, truly determines what happens no matter what our intention was. Does that make sense? Good, because I am beginning to feel like I am walking in circles here and that is not the direction I want us to take tonight…

So let’s get ourselves back on the right path here, pun intended, and talk a little bit about the story that Solomon wrote…and to get us in the mood, let’s set the stage a bit…so we have Solomon telling a first person story. He tells us, in the first few verses of this Proverb that he is standing at his bedroom window in some city and looking down over the city streets. He can see the activity and we know that it is very near dark…and he starts the story telling us what he is seeing...

God’s discernment

Psalm 139:1–4 NLT

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.

Proverbs 7:7–8 The Message

Watching the mindless crowd stroll by, I spotted a young man without any sense Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived, then turning up the path to her house.

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See also ; ; ; ; God alone knows our hidden faults.

Let’s digest this for a moment…we have a very apt description of two individuals here, a young man with no sense and a woman of questionable morals. Now, I am not real fond of this story but there is something important in these descriptions that I want to tease out for us this evening...

Jesus Christ’s discernment

In ancient Jewish literature, in particular the book of Proverbs, the writers use women to describe a couple different things. The first being an actual woman but women are also used as metaphors for wisdom, beauty, and teaching. So, in my mind, this is more about who we are listening to rather than about the fact that there is a woman, like Eve, tempting a man to get himself into trouble. Can we all agree that we will look at this story from the perspective of the teaching that is meant rather than the fact that there is a woman used as an instrument of that teaching?

With that out of the way, Solomon goes on to tell us some more about this young man and the woman he is going to see...

John 2:25 NLT

No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.

Proverbs 7:10 NLT

The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

Proverbs 7:9–10 NLT

It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell. The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

Proverbs 7:10–11 NLT

The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart. She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.

See also Jesus Christ discerns the thoughts of the teachers of the law; Jesus Christ discerns the source of Peter’s words; Jesus Christ discerns the true motive of his questioners; Jesus Christ sees into the heart of Nathaniel; Jesus Christ has perfect discernment of right and wrong.

Evil spirits’ discernment

So, Solomon goes on to tell us that this “teacher” approached this young person dressed in a fashion that would imply that she was going to do something to tempt the young man away from his own morals. Now, if we all think back to the time in our lives when we were just starting out on our own. Maybe that was in college or maybe that was the first time we moved out into an apartment of our own…we might have felt that desire and need to be the maker of our own decisions, right? I mean we had freedom and were able to do what we wanted, when we wanted and maybe some of the decisions we made were not the best…anyone else encounter this in their lives? Right…well in this case, Solomon is using the world’s oldest known profession to make a point.

Mark 1:23–24 NLT

Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

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To the extent that this woman, this teacher, is trying to seduce this young man to do something that will lead him in one direction, which might be a really wrong direction for his life, I think Solomon is trying to make a different kind of point here. We are often faced with many different decisions in our lives and depending upon which one we make, it will affect our lives for a period of time. The path we are on is based upon a decision we have already made and each time we make a decision, the path changes. So this Proverb is trying to make a very distinct point about the decisions we make and how they affect our lives and the paths that we take to get to our ultimate destination…let’s look a little further on in the story to get to this through Solomon’s eyes and what he witnesses...

Discernment in those who govern

Prov7.24

Proverbs 7:24–27 NLT

So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words. Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path. For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims. Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.

Joseph:

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Here, Solomon takes us directly to the point of this whole story…do not follow those false teachers, the ones who would tempt you to make a bad decision because it is the path of destruction. So, this begs the question…how do we know if we are following the right or wrong teacher in our own lives? For most of us, this will depend upon the destination that we have landed into. For some of us, we will search and search and never know for certain. The issue at hand is how Solomon tries to tease this out just a bit more for us. I want us to look at a few key words in this portion of the Proverb…obviously, we have been speaking about paths tonight and it is right there in the passage but aside from that, there is ruin, many, victims, road, and death. While we don’t have time to go through all of these words (and I invite you to do some more prayer and study of what these might mean), I want to focus on the words many and road...

Solomon:

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There are a few key words for us tonight…obviously, we have been speaking about paths all night and it is right there in the passage but aside from that, there is ruin, many, victims, road, and death. While we don’t have time to go through all of these words (and I invite you to do some more prayer and study of what these might mean), I want to focus on the words many and road...

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Examples of spiritual discernment

Solomon uses the word, “many”. He didn’t write “a few,” he wrote Many. Solomon debunked the notion that there was anything unique about what this young person was experiencing. It may have been unique for him, but this experience represents a well-worn path: a path that leads to death despite what the he may have wanted to argue. If Solomon could have called a time-out in the story and gotten this kid's undivided attention, he might have said something along the lines of, "Listen, buddy. I hate to break it to you, but there's nothing unique or special or rare about this. You may have never felt this way before, but a lot of other people have. And if they were here to tell you their stories, you would think twice. You're part of a crowd. A herd. A flock. There is nothing new here. And the outcome is all too predictable. She's done more than capture your imagination. She's writing a script for your future. You are a dead man walking!" So the experiences of others can help us to determine who might be leading us astray. If someone you know has been led astray in the past and their story sounds familiar to what you are experiencing in the moment, then maybe just maybe, you might need to adjust and correct your own path to not follow them...

2 Kings 4:9 NLT

She said to her husband, “I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God.

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Solomon also uses the word “road”. I don’t think he is talking about any of our two lane roads here around the church, he is talking about a 78 type road, where it is sometimes three lanes, full of people who are talking on their phones, listening to audio books, texting, and generally not paying a darn bit of attention to anyone else around them…it’s dangerous and sometimes there are accidents and wrecks that happen. It is not a safe place to be or exist. If you find yourself falling into a pattern of decisions that lead to dangerous situations, maybe there is someone else that you need to be listening to…it’s not rocket science but sometimes it is really hard to see when you are in the midst of of life.

Micaiah discerns that a lying spirit is responsible for false prophecy.

What About Us?

See also Jeremiah knows that the false prophets’ message is not from God; Peter is aware of the deception of Ananias and Sapphira; Peter discerns the true condition of Simon’s heart; Paul discerns the spiritual source of a girl’s fortune-telling ability.

Listen, I get it, we all have goals and good intentions about where we want our lives to go. No matter what our intention is or may be, we all get lost from time to time. Sometimes we need to backtrack and get back to a point where we know where we are so that we can gather our bearings. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always allow us an opportunity to backtrack, does it? When we make a decision, there are consequences to that decision and sometimes that costs us years of our lives to get to a point where the path we are on is somewhat sane and reasonable. The path we choose at those critical junctions in our lives doesn’t just determine our destination for that year or the following year, but sometimes for an entire season of life.

Futher examples of discernment

The principle of the path is operating in your life every minute of every day. You are currently on a financial path of some kind. You are on a relational path. You are continuing down a moral path, an ethical path, an entertainment path. And each of these paths has a destination. We get into trouble, when like the young person in our story, we don’t think that we are on a path but rather just in the midst of an event, a one-time occurrence. The truth however, is that God says your life and its destination isn’t about the immediate, it’s about the ultimate. You can’t trump the principle of the path with good intentions. Our direction, not our intentions, determines our destination. As we move through our study of the Path this Lent, I encourage each of us to consider what path we might be currently on and if there is any place where we need God to change our course, if it needs to be changed at all. That is truly what Lent is about any way…Amen.

David sees through Joab’s ruse; Solomon discerns a child’s true mother; Nehemiah sees through the plot against him.

Which just raises the question again, “Why would a guy like the one in Solomon’s story walk down such a path? How come he doesn’t see what’s coming?”

Lack of discernment

Answer? He doesn’t think it’s a path. He thinks it’s an event, a one-time occurrence. When the truth is, God says your life and its destination isn’t about the immediate, it’s about the ultimate. You can’t trump the principle of the path with good intentions.

Young children lack discernment

Your direction, not your intentions, determines your destination. Some of you have been brokenhearted at various times in your life. You wanted to know, “Why did God let this happen to me?” Answer? He didn’t. He wanted to stop it, but he couldn’t stop you.

Deuteronomy 1:39 NLT

I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it.

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Israel’s lack of discernment

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Those who lack judgment

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Other examples of lack of discernment

the “gods” in the heavenly assembly; the nations who fail to discern God’s plan