“Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.”– Proverbs 2:9
During the days of Noah the thoughts of man’s heart were only evil continually, and judgment came. During the times of the Judges everyman did that which was right in his own eyes, and those were terrible times. In the last day perilous times will come and evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse. Yet all this could have been avoided by doing as we are instructed in Proverbs 2. Our text tells us that the person who receives God’s word, obeys God’s commands, and seeks God’s wisdom will “understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path“. This promise is explained well in the following from the Baptist Bible Hour:
“With all the new philosophy, technology, and insight that we have in our day, is this promise still relevant? You may be asking yourself, “Do I need to understand these things?”
The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” You need to understand righteousness; you need to understand judgment and equity (justice). You see, these truths are not like Plato’s philosophy, or Shakespeare’s observations, or Isaac Newton’s theories. These truths are more like law of gravity; it never becomes irrelevant and always needs to be understood.
If you do not understand what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, how to make wise decisions, what is fair and equitable — then you will be like the person jumping off a building that does not understand the law of gravity. Thinking you are too enlightened or educated for “that nonsense” will not keep you from crashing to the ground.
Similarly, if you do not understand the eternal and unchanging standard of righteousness, which is founded in God’s good and immutable character, then you will come crashing down sooner or later. Life will be like studying for the wrong test, or preparing for the wrong calamity—you will be caught suddenly and tragically unawares. There is no defying or suspending the truth of God.
But to those who pursue God’s truth, they are promised understanding of “every good path.” Think of it! God’s wisdom for every moment, every action, every decision. The promise—and the danger—could not be greater.”
