The Paths of the Crooked Prov. 2:15 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Prov 2:15 says, “Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths.” Today we will discuss the paths of the crooked. These are paths that run contrary to the paths of the Lord. Whereas the paths of the Lord are straight, the paths of the crooked are crooked. Whereas the paths of the Lord are peaceful, the paths of the crooked are not peaceful. Is 59:8 says, “The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.”
You do not want to be on the paths of the crooked. They are:
The paths of the strange woman – Prov 2:18 says, “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.” Sexual promiscuity is running rampant through our society. This is a crooked path that leads to death. What happens in the heart of men when they are infatuated with a woman is that they feel the strongest natural lust they have ever felt. Infatuation is so strong that men will literally destroy their relationships with their families if they are still living at home, with their friends, with their spouses if they are married, with their churches, and with the Lord. Men will sacrifice anything to infatuation because the feeling is stronger than their love, than their responsibility, than their vows, than their common sense, and their spiritual duty. If you get on this path you will have a very difficult time getting off. That’s why Prov 2:18 says that this path leads to death. If you do ever get off you will have regret for the rest of your life. Many fight with addiction and depression after getting on this path.
The paths of all that forget God – in Job 8:12-13 comparing the rush and the flag to the paths of the crooked, Job says, “Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.” The trouble with the crooked is that they forget God. And the consequence of their forgetfulness is that they wither away and have no hope. The most well-traveled, crooked paths are on college campuses. How many young people have been taught to forget God by professors who have forgotten God [Rom 1:20-22]. As a nation, there are those who would have us forget God. To that I say, “No way.” Look what happens to nations that forget God. Ps 9:17 says, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” The crooked paths of those who forget God lead straight to hell. Do you not remember what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah? If you are forgetting God on the path you are walking, get off that path right now. Many who have gone before you never got off that path and they are in hell even as we speak!
The paths of the destroyer – Ps 17:4 says, “Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” The worst of the paths of the crooked are the paths of that old crooked serpent, the devil. He is the master deceiver. He allures you off the paths of the Lord and onto the paths of the crooked. And when he gets you on his paths, his desire is to destroy you and to take out as many with you as he can. That’s what the military calls collateral damage. There is no limit to the number of paths the devil can offer you to get you off track. He will use possession, education, pride, lust, emotion, ambition, hypocrisy, deception, delusion, covetousness, the love of recognition, the fear of man, the fear of ridicule, unbelief, unforgiveness, bitterness, earthly wisdom, and on and on. Once he gets you on his path you may not even know it because he is so subtle. But when you wipe out for the Lord or, worse yet, wind up in hell, you’ll know. But then it will be too late. The only way to stay off this path is to humbly believe the Bible and follow what it says.
Conclusion: these are three paths on which you never want to walk. If you are on any of them right now, Get Off!! Get on the paths of the Lord.