You may recall Isaiah’s powerful experience when he had a vision of God in the temple.
His response was: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6.5).
John Oswalt, in his commentary on Isaiah, makes profound observations about Isaiah’s reaction to the presence of God. Here are three ideas worth noting.
(1) Isaiah, who had been pronouncing woe upon others, now must pronounce woe upon himself.
Isaiah recognizes that his character is not anymore in keeping with God’s character than the nation’s.
(2) The primary element of God’s holiness that distinguishes Him from human beings is not His essence, but His character.
(3) Uncleanness was merely a negative, the absence of God’s presence or the presence of that which was contrary to His will and character.
The lips of Isaiah and the people do not belong to God, else they would continually pour forth praise like the seraphim.
Why then are the lips unclean? Because that of which they are in expression, the heart and the will, do not belong to God.
That which God possesses is clean, for it is like Him.
Let’s use these thoughts from Isaiah’s experience with God as a gauge to understand the message of Proverbs 2.
Walk in the Way of the Good
According to Isaiah, behavior reflects our relationship with God and His character. When God is present, we walk a certain way.
Unfortunately, when God seems to be absent from our lives, we take on characteristics that caused Isaiah to cry out, “Woe is me!”
Therefore walk in the way of the good,
and keep to the paths of the just.
For the upright will abide in the land,
and the innocent will remain in it. (Proverbs 2.20-21)
Terms like good, justice, righteous, and upright are used to describe people who act in the best interest of God and other people.
These individuals are not self-centered like the scoffers and fools.
These characteristics are present when we live in an abiding relationship with the Lord.
The “land” or good earth stands in striking contrast to the grave of the dead.
The promise is like the land promised to Israel. Both are the Lord’s climactic gifts to his people.
The picture presented here is that of a land that has been purified of all the wicked people, leaving only the pure and righteous dwellers there.
The Wicked and Treacherous
When God’s presence is absent from a human’s life, they become characterized by wickedness and guilt.
But the wicked will be cut off from the earth,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it. (Proverbs 2.22)
They harbor evil thoughts, words, and deeds. Their antisocial behavior betrays their inner disharmony and unrest. Impious, greedy, and violent, they threaten innocent lives, practice deceit, and cruelty.
Chaff or Prosperity
Psalm 1 presents a contrast between two ways of life. In one, people live connected to God and follow His direction. These people, the Bible says, will prosper.
On the other hand, those who live their lives without God are described as chaff – just the leftovers of life, blown here and there by the wind.
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so
but are like chaff that the wind drives away. (Psalm 1.3-4)
There’s one major point I hope we all understand as we read through comments from John Oswalt’s commentary on Isaiah and these three verses from Proverbs.
If we’re living in an abiding relationship with the Lord, we are going to produce a life that resembles His character and behavior. This life truly lives.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross, Whispering Danny, and I discuss this passage from Proverbs on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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