Delighting in the Good Path
The Right Path
Discerning God's Ways in a World of Darkness
Thank you for joining me today as we reflect together on Proverbs 2:9-15, a passage that illuminates the stark contrast between the paths of wisdom and folly. In this devotional, we’ll explore how God’s wisdom not only protects us from the dark roads of wickedness but also enables us to walk confidently in the light of his truth.
Let’s begin by reading the following passage:
Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. (Proverbs 2:9-15)
The Glorious Fruit of Wisdom’s Labor
This passage continues Solomon’s instruction that began earlier in the chapter, where he urged his son to seek wisdom diligently. The word “then” that opens verse 9 signals the results of that pursuit. When we earnestly seek God’s wisdom, applying ourselves to understanding his Word and ways with the intensity of one searching for hidden treasure, there are profound results.
First, we gain understanding of “righteousness and justice and equity, every good path.” These aren’t merely abstract concepts but the very character of God applied to human conduct. Righteousness speaks to moral uprightness, justice to fair dealings with others, and equity to a sense of what’s appropriate in each situation. Together, they constitute “every good path” available to us - the manifold ways we might walk that honor God and benefit our neighbors.
As J.I. Packer once observed, “Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.” This definition captures the essence of what Solomon describes - not merely knowledge, but the discernment to apply that knowledge rightly in the complex circumstances of life. The wise person doesn’t simply know facts; they understand how to navigate life’s moral terrain as they make decisions and act upon them.
Wisdom’s Protective Embrace
Solomon continues by explaining how wisdom becomes internalized: “for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Notice the progression - wisdom doesn’t remain an external standard but penetrates to our core, transforming our desires. When God’s truth sinks deep within us, we find ourselves naturally drawn to what pleases him. Knowledge becomes “pleasant” to our soul, not burdensome.
This transformation creates a powerful protective mechanism in our lives. “Discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,” Solomon writes. These personified virtues act as guardians, alerting us to danger and steering us from harm.
In Knowing God, Packer elaborates on this protective function: “There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.” God’s wisdom protects us not by keeping us ignorant of evil, but by helping us recognize it clearly for what it is.
The protection wisdom offers isn’t merely theoretical but intensely practical. It delivers us “from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech.” In Solomon’s day, as in ours, dangerous people often revealed themselves through corrupt communication - lies, flattery, slander, and seductive words. A person saturated with God’s wisdom develops discernment that can detect such perversions of truth, even when they come wrapped in appealing packages.
The Dark Alternative
As we continue in Proverbs 2, Solomon turns to a sobering description of those who reject wisdom’s path. They are characterized as those “who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness.” This language is significant - these individuals aren’t merely ignorant of righteousness but have deliberately abandoned it. They’ve exchanged light for darkness, clarity for confusion.
What makes this exchange particularly tragic is the perverse delight these individuals take in evil. They “rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil.” Their moral compass has become so distorted that they find pleasure not in what builds up but in what destroys. They celebrate not wisdom but foolishness, not virtue but vice.
As C.S. Lewis powerfully observed in The Screwtape Letters, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” This is precisely the danger Solomon warns against - not a dramatic plunge into wickedness, but a gradual forsaking of uprightness that eventually leads to delighting in evil.
Jesus himself echoed this warning when he said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23). Our moral vision, shaped by what we love and value, determines whether we walk in light or darkness. (See Monday’s Bible Study for more on this text.)
Twisted Paths Leading Nowhere
The final characteristic Solomon attributes to those who reject wisdom is the crookedness of their paths: “men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.” This imagery contrasts sharply with the “every good path” mentioned in verse 9. While wisdom leads to straight, reliable paths, foolishness results in twisted, unpredictable ones.
These crooked paths represent lives of inconsistency and unreliability. The fool can’t be trusted because their course changes with their impulses. They lack the stable center that wisdom provides, the fixed point of reference that keeps the righteous oriented toward truth.
C.S. Lewis explains this phenomenon: “Wickedness, when you examine it, turns out to be the pursuit of some good in the wrong way. You can be good for the mere sake of goodness; you cannot be bad for the mere sake of badness.” The wicked described in Proverbs are pursuing what they perceive as good - pleasure, advantage, power - but in ways that ultimately lead to destruction.
The Apostle Paul offers a similar assessment in Romans 3:15-17, quoting from Isaiah: “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” This New Testament echo of Solomon’s wisdom reminds us that the crooked paths of the foolish lead not only to their own destruction but bring misery to all who encounter them.
Christ as the Embodiment of Wisdom
When we consider the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, particularly passages like Proverbs 2, we can’t help but see how Jesus Christ stands as the perfect embodiment of this wisdom. In 1 Corinthians 1:30, Paul declares, “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
Jesus himself claimed this connection when he said, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). Jesus is the wisdom of God incarnate, the living demonstration of righteousness, justice, and equity.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus demonstrated the discernment that Proverbs celebrates. When confronted with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), he cut through the hypocrisy of her accusers while neither condoning her sin nor condemning her person - a perfect display of righteousness, justice, and equity applied with wisdom to a complex moral situation.
John Stott beautifully captures this connection: “The incarnation of the Son of God means that God’s search for man preceded and made possible man’s search for God.” In Christ, God’s wisdom has come searching for us, making it possible for us to find the path of life that Solomon describes.
Walking in Wisdom Today
How then shall we apply the wisdom of Proverbs 2:9-15 to our lives today? First, we must recognize that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7) and is perfected in the person of Christ. Our pursuit of wisdom must therefore be Christ-centered, grounded in Scripture and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Second, we must be honest about the competing paths before us. Every day presents choices between the straight paths of righteousness and the crooked paths of expediency. The world around us celebrates those who “rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,” presenting them as clever, liberated, or authentic. God’s wisdom helps us see through these deceptions.
Richard Baxter, the great Puritan pastor, advised: “It is not the reading of many books which is necessary to make one wise, but the well-reading of a few, could they be sure to be the best.” This principle applies perfectly to our situation. While the world bombards us with messages about how to live, the consistent, careful study of Scripture - particularly with the help of tested guides from church history - provides the wisdom we need.
Third, we must recognize that wisdom is communal. Solomon addresses his instructions to “my son,” emphasizing the relational context of wisdom’s transmission. We need fellow believers who can help us discern the straight paths from the crooked ones, who can warn us when we begin to stray.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us in Life Together, “The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth.” This mutual encouragement in wisdom is essential for navigating the moral complexities of our time.
The Heart Transformed by Wisdom
Perhaps the most moving insight from our passage comes in verse 10: “for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” True wisdom doesn’t merely inform our intellect but transforms our desires. When God’s wisdom takes root in our hearts, we begin to love what he loves and hate what he hates.
Jesus emphasized this transformation of desire in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). The wise person doesn’t merely know what is right but hungers for it, finding God’s ways not burdensome but delightful.
Augustine captured this truth in his famous prayer: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” The pleasantness of knowledge that Solomon describes is ultimately the satisfaction of our souls in God himself, the source of all wisdom.
This transformation affects not just our private spiritual lives but our entire approach to the world. A heart filled with God’s wisdom sees differently - recognizing both the beauty of creation and the brokenness of sin, both the image of God in every person and the distortions introduced by the Fall.
Questions for Discussion and Personal Reflection
Proverbs 2:10 says that “wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul." Reflect on a time when God’s wisdom transformed not just what you knew, but what you desired. How did this change manifest in your thoughts, emotions, and actions?
The passage contrasts those who walk on straight paths with those whose “paths are crooked.” Identify an area in your life where you’re tempted to take shortcuts or compromise rather than walking the straight path of integrity. What specific wisdom from Scripture might help you remain faithful in this area?
Solomon describes people who “rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil.” In what subtle ways might our entertainment choices, humor, or conversations reveal a delight in things God considers perverse? How can we cultivate a heart that delights in goodness instead?
Action Steps
1. Set aside 45 minutes this week for a thorough examination of the paths you’re currently walking. Create three columns on a piece of paper labeled “Relationships,” “Media Consumption,” and “Use of Resources.” Under each heading, list your current patterns and honestly evaluate whether they reflect the straight paths of wisdom or the crooked paths described in Proverbs 2:12-15. For each area that needs realignment with God’s wisdom, write a specific, measurable step you’ll take in the coming week. Conclude this exercise by praying through Psalm 139:23-24, asking God to reveal any wayward paths and lead you in the way everlasting.
2. Identify someone in your church community who demonstrates godly wisdom and invite them to meet regularly (at least monthly) for mutual encouragement and accountability in walking wisdom’s path. Come prepared to each meeting with: (1) a passage from Proverbs or another wisdom text you’ve been meditating on, (2) a specific situation where you need discernment, and (3) an area where you’ve seen growth in applying God’s wisdom. Structure your time to include both Scripture reflection and practical application, always concluding with prayer for each other. This partnership will provide the external perspective and encouragement that’s so crucial for maintaining the path of wisdom.
Thank you for joining me today as we’ve reflected on the truths found in Proverbs 2:9-15. My hope is that you were encouraged and blessed by considering the contrast between wisdom’s straight paths and the crooked ways of foolishness. Remember that there are other resources that come out weekly that do not go out via email. Therefore, you can discover more devotionals, Bible studies, and other resources by clicking here: Walking Points. I encourage you to share this post or email with others, to subscribe, and to encourage others to subscribe as well.
Until next time, keep walking wisely, and may the Lord bless you every step of the way.