Posts Tagged: Proverbs 4:14-17

“Don’t Go There!”

On October 2, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

No doubt, you’ve heard the admonition, “Don’t go there!” Sometimes it is used tongue-in-cheek, and sometimes very seriously. It is, I think, most often a very serious conversational clue that someone is about to say something really stupid.

The biblical book of Proverbs frequently warns about being willfully stupid. One of the most serious don’t-go-there passages is Proverbs 4:14-17.

Prov. 4:14       Do not enter the path of the wicked,

                        and do not walk in the way of the evil.

Prov. 4:15       Avoid it; do not go on it;

                        turn away from it and pass on.

Prov. 4:16       For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

                        they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

Prov. 4:17       For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence. (English Standard Version)

One of my favorite commentators on the book of Proverbs, Christine Roy Yoder (pp. 55-56), has the following lapidary comments:

“What follows in 4:12-19, in fact, teems with language of movement—walk, run, stumble, enter, avoid, go, turn away, and pass by.  . . .  The father cautions again about the wicked in general terms . . .  With terse, staccato imperatives, he implores the youth to avoid their path at all costs (4:14-15).

Yoder goes on to point out the lifestyle of the wicked. They can’t sleep unless they’ve harmed someone. Wickedness is their food and drink. She concludes here analysis with these words: “Wickedness is intrinsic to who they are.” The wicked have become what they ate.

The father (teacher?) is warning his son (student?) that, when we start down a certain path, we may already be in trouble. Can we recover ourselves? Other Scriptures, as well as many testimonials from real live people, speak a resounding “Yes!” to the recovery question.

However, speaking of myself and for myself, I would say this: The best thing is to avoid the wrong paths in the first place. As difficult as it is to avoid these paths, it is much easier than getting back on the right path when you’ve gone wrong. It’s not impossible to come to our senses, but why do more harm to others and make our own lives more difficult by getting on the right path?

Why indeed!

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