“Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path” (NKJV) or “course” (NASU) (Proverbs 2:9). The Hebrew word for “course” refers to a track left by a wagon or cart from constant use. It has the idea of “entrenchment.” It reminds me of a sign I saw in Africa that said (loosely translated), “Choose your path carefully, because you’ll be in it for the next 25 miles.” The deep ruts created through years of use made it virtually impossible to get one’s wagon out. Once you got on that road, you were most likely going to have to stay on it. Solomon wanted his son to find a good rut, a course that is a wise, God-approved course. Of course, implied in this is that there is a bad course. Solomon talked about the “way of evil” (Proverbs 2:12; 4:14) and the “ways of darkness” (Proverbs 2:13). It was his son’s choice. He needed to choose well.
We make choices every day. We make a choice to pray or not to pray, to read the Bible or to read everything but the Bible, to concentrate on being holy or casually going through our day without much resolve and to be active in the work of God or be a couch potato.
Today we might say, “You’re in a rut.” Well, is it a good rut or a bad one? If good, well! If bad, then get out of it immediately!
