Title What Way
[Min Byeong-seok’s Proverbs Explained] 41 What kind of road
(Text: Proverbs 16: 22 - 25)
Today's exposition of Proverbs will give you grace as you ponder the word on “a certain way.” The same words are found in Proverbs 14:12. Even then, I received grace with these words, but today, let's look at the meaning of these words from a slightly different angle.
A certain way in Proverbs is a way of life that life considers worthwhile. Our Lord spoke of the broad way and the narrow way earlier about the way of life. There are only two paths in life. One is the way of death and the other is the way of life. A certain way refers to a case in which a person seems beautiful, upright, righteous, and just, but that way is not the way to life as a result.
There is only one way to life. It is Jesus Christ who said that I am the way, the truth, and the life. But today, many people are hesitant to walk on this path of life, and there are many people who seek a certain path. Not only that, there are cases where, while walking on a certain path, they mistakenly think that they are walking on the path of life. Then, among the characters in the Bible, we will find out who are the people who forsook the true path and followed what path, and what path they took and what became of them.
1. people who have walked a certain path
(1) A certain path of Eve: Among those who walked a certain path, Eve was the first person to be picked. He knew the way to life. In Genesis 2, God said to Adam, “You may eat from any tree of the garden, but you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat of it you will surely die.” However, one day Eve met a snake and learned a new way. I have been told, ‘Even if you eat, you will not die; on the day you eat, you will become like God. Eve hesitated between the two paths to choose. In the meantime, he came to see the fruit. Therefore, Eve was so enchanted by its fruit that it appeared to be a tree that was pleasing to the eye, pleasing to the eye, and desirable enough to make one wise.
At this time, Eve followed her own judgment rather than God's word. The path he had chosen seemed wiser than the path of blessing that God had spoken of. At this time, Eve became the first human to choose a certain path. What, then, did Eve's course bring to him? Did you really become like God after you ate the forbidden fruit as you wanted? no. According to the words in today's text, the path he chose was ultimately the path of death. God said to Eve: “Why did you do this? I will greatly increase the pain of childbearing and you will labor and bear children, and you will long for your husband, and he will rule over you.” No matter how good the ‘some road’ that departs from the Word of God, it will eventually lead to death.
(2) A certain path that Lot walked: Next, we will look at the ‘some road’ that Lot walked. Lot was Abraham's nephew, and he followed Abraham's uncle, Abraham, when he left the land of Ur of Chaldea. When Lot came out of Egypt, he had to choose his own path because of a dispute over his and his uncle's possessions. At this time, Abraham said to Lot: “We are one flesh and blood; neither me nor you nor my shepherd nor your shepherd should quarrel with one another, is not the whole earth before you? Leave me. If you are left, I will right; if you right, I will be left.
At this uncle's words, Lot looked around. He was able to see the Jordan surrounding the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He said that the land was like the garden of the Lord and the land of Egypt. Lot chose the waters and fertile fields and went east and left Abraham. So, what was this path that Lot took? God gave the fertile land to his nephew and appeared to Abraham standing in a dry wilderness, saying, 'Lift up your eyes and look from where you are to the east, west, north, south, and east, and I will give you and your descendants the land that you see. I will give it to you.'
Although Lot had the wisdom to choose a place that was pleasing to people, the path he walked was not approved by God. Lot was invaded by the allied forces of King Shinar, and his wealth was plundered, and even his wife and children were taken prisoner. Where is that? On the day when the land of Sodom was judged by heavenly fire, the wife who looked back became a pillar of salt, and she lived a shameful life and had a tragic end. Lot, who thought he would be happy, walked “a certain way” that was not God’s way, and he ended up falling into destruction.
Lot's way is always tempting our hearts and our eyes. That road is likely to lead to a truly fertile place, and it looks like a road where abundant blessings are being prepared. However, we must not walk in search of a path without God's promises. Because in the end it is destruction and destruction.
(3) The way of Balaam: The next person named Balaam is a person who walks a certain path and eventually leads to destruction. Balaam prophesied God's will in the heathen world, rebuked them with the word of God, blessed those who walked on the right path in God's name, and cursed sinners in God's name. He was a prophet of God.
Balaam, who had been fulfilling his mission as a prophet well, was tempted one day by King Balak. At the time of the Exodus, King Balak became afraid of the people of Israel who passed through it. So he went to Balaam and told the Israelites that if Balaam hesitated in the name of God, he would give them many treasures and a high position. Balaam prayed all night to inquire of God's will, but his heart was already on the treasures of gold and silver and the honor King Balak spoke of. In the end, he fell into God's trap and followed his covetousness until he was destroyed. Balaam was walking down a certain road and he was destroyed.
Many see Balaam's path as a valid path. I am fascinated by that path. However, when the lure of such temptation is in front of us, we can live our lives successfully only when we have the right attitude of mind and choose the path we should take. We are people who pray all the time. However, not everyone who prays is good at prayer. We must pray according to the Word of God. We need to pray for the will of God to be fulfilled. If you pray for the covetousness of your heart like Balaam, you will eventually follow the path Balaam walked.
2. The Twisted Path of Korah and Jonah
Some of the paths that Korah walked next are the ones that we must keep in mind and examine.
(4) The way of Korah: Korah was one of the noble patriarchs among the Israelites. He was chosen by the general assembly of Israel and also had an influence on Moses. Korah became dissatisfied with what Moses was doing. Because Moses was a leader who received the word from God and preached it and led Israel, he sometimes commanded and rebuked the Israelites with the word of God. To Korah, Moses' behavior like this seemed like a dictatorship, and it seemed bad.
In order to oppose Moses, Korah decided to have his family, his relatives, and high-ranking people around him gather around him to oppose Moses. At this time, the number of people gathered was 250. Korah took them and boldly approached Moses and protested against Moses. Chapter 16 of Numbers talks about this as follows. ‘They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘You are past the fountain. Every congregation is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
Their protest was as follows. You and us are both holy as God's people, so why do you alone want to be exalted among us? Why are you arrogant and commanding and using dictatorship? is that This path of Gorah may seem right in the eyes of people. Therefore, the people who followed Korah also became one group to oppose Moses, the servant of God. But God struck Korah and lifted Moses' hand.
What happened to Korah, who opposed Moses, and the people who followed him? They may have thought they had done the right thing on God's side. But they were doing something against God. They forsook the Word of God and followed a certain path, eventually leading to destruction. Moses brought the whole congregation of Israel together, and Korah and the crowds that followed him. And he said this. “If the Lord does a new thing, and opens his mouth to the earth, and devours these men and all their belongings, and causes them to fall alive into hell, they will know that they have despised the Lord.” As soon as Moses finished speaking these words, the ground where 250 people were standing split open. So the chasm caused Korah and the people who belonged to it to fall alive into hell.
(5) Some Ways of Jonah: We know a man named Jonah. This Jonah was also a person who got confused while walking on a certain road. Jonah has been called by God to go to the city of Nineveh and tell them that if they do not turn from their iniquity, fire will come down from heaven and they will perish like Sodom and Gomorrah. But Jonah did not like to obey God's command. It was because Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, and because these men attacked Israel and trampled them on not once or twice, they considered them enemies, so they wanted to be destroyed in their iniquity.
So Jonah fled to Tarshish and boarded a boat to go down to Joppa. Jonah's way was to disobey God's commission according to his own judgment, and to go his own way. All Christians do not like to bear heavy burdens in order to carry out the mission they have been given. I want to avoid that burden and live as comfortable as possible. It is something that must be done without me, so God entrusts it to him, but he disobeys God's will and walks a certain path according to his own thoughts. What did Jonah meet while going his own way, leaving God's way? During the storm, he had to throw himself into the sea and went into the belly of a whale and suffered unspeakable torment for three days. After that, he went back to Nineveh and eventually walked the path God wanted him to take.
Conclusion: We looked at the different paths of those who went wrong in the Bible this time. We knew that the way of life that is being directed to us at this time is the only way to follow the Lord. The road is narrow. But only there is eternal life and blessings. The path of truth is not in any path that catches our eyes and our hearts. It is only in Jesus Christ, who is the truth. Tired of going down this road? Are you struggling? But be patient and follow this path, there will surely be hope in your future and you will experience the true joy of life. *