Proverbs 15:24 ESV
The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A24&version=ESV]
At first glance, this verse seems only a recapitulation of the truth that righteousness brings life. Indeed I thought precisely that when I first read it (and it’s not entirely wrong). Yet consider the verse again; parse the sentence. Why does the second half indicate that it is the reason for the second half, the desired fruit of its events? It seems odd to say that the a path which ends in life is instituted because of the avoidance of one which ends in death, almost tautological, almost a worthless saying, and it would be tempting to set aside this odd twist in the sentence as rhetorical affectation. We shall not make that mistake.
‘The path of life’ is not a particularly common phrase in Scripture, but it appears once in Psalms, twice in Proverbs, and once in Acts (quoting the Psalm) (Note that I am only doing a cursory search, so there’s probably a few missed instances). In Psalm 16:11, David says this: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore,” and in Proverbs 2:19, Solomon writes of those who follow after the adulteress, “None who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life,” and in Proverbs 5:6 on the adulteress herself, “She does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.” It is from these three passages that we can get a clearer understanding of what Proverbs 15:24, today’s verse, means by ‘the path of life.’
In Psalm 16:11, David clearly does not distinguish the path of life merely as a place with a certain ending. No, in the context, he clearly intends a path characterized by life, a path whose every step is life, not merely its end point. Of course, as we can see in comparing James to Paul, different authors can use the same terms for different ideas. The use in Proverbs 2:19 or Proverbs 5:6, however, cannot be so easily set aside, not in context of the consistent use of the Hebrew word translated as ‘path’ in both passages.
Throughout Proverbs, the word translated ‘path’ or ‘way’ is not merely defined by its teleology, its end point. That end point is an integral part of it, to be sure, but in uses such as Proverbs 1:19 and 3:6 the intent is clear. For 2:19, we should consider the use of the word in verses 8, 13, and 15. In all of these cases, the path is explicitly described by its own in-progress nature, by what it consists of. It is a path of uprightness or of wickedness, a path which is just or crooked. Meanwhile, in Proverbs 5:6, Solomon follows his explanation of her lack of consideration for the ‘path of life’ with a statement clearly intended to elucidate what that means: “Her ways wander, and she does not know it.” She does not know the path of life, and so she wanders.
The path of life is, then, not merely the path which leads to life; it is a path composed of life, a path which could be called ‘of life’ even without reference to its endpoint. With this in mind, we can understand why the prudent taking that path is caused by the need (we’ll get to this in a moment) for them to evade Sheol (death- here clearly intended as spiritual, not merely physical death). A path characterized by its life-ness is one which will lead away from Sheol. We can, with this understanding, turn to the implicit, easy-to-miss promise of this passage, the hope it should bring us.
The only way that the second part of the verse can be a reason for the first is if God desires the outcome it speaks of. Only if God wishes to preserve His people from Sheol would in order to reach that goal set them on the path of life (and it is His people, for only His people are prudent in the eternal view). We know, therefore, that the “Almighty Judge of good deeds and bad, the Lord God, Head of Heaven and High King of the World” is on our side, leading up, upholding us, guarding us (Beowulf, ln. 180-182). Were we to comprehend the smallest fraction more of this than we do, we would be filled with joy to break mountains, joy overflowing, joy which routs sin, fills lives, and turns the world into a new creation. These are mighty tidings, tidings of “great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).
In pursuance of this purpose, the Lord did not disdain to send His Son, Christ, God in the flesh. As the promise was a shadow, this is the reality of that great joy; as the angels proclaimed: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). In this proverb we see a great strand of the Gospel’s heart, a God who loves His people and would not see any of them perish (John 3:16). Nor shall He, for “Those whom He called… He also glorified” (Rom. 8:30; John 10:28). Blessed, then, are we who can rest upon His effectual purpose to save us, knowing that for all our sin, He is mighty to save (Is. 63:1).
God bless.
Written by Colson Potter
Cited:
Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney, W.W. Norton & Company, 2000.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
