Keep The Paths Of The Righteous: The Wisdom from the Book of Proverbs
Pastor Ayodeji Peter- Independent Baptist Church Ile-Ife
Other Reference in the Passage
Proverbs 2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and KEEP THE PATHS OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
2 Kings 2:1-15
2:1 And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2:2 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
2:3 And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
2:4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
2:5 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
2:6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
2:7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan
2:8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
2:10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
2:13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
KEEP- to take notice of by appropriate conduct :FULFILL: such as to be faithful to; to act fittingly in relation to; to conform to in habits or conduct.
PATHS- a track specially constructed for a particular use.
Walk in the way of RIGHTEOUS men;
RIGHT-US MEN.. follow the counsels and examples of the godly; he intimates that it is not sufficient to abstain from evil company and practices, but that we must choose the conversation of righteous men.
Illustration: a child needs to hold on to his father’s hand if he wants to start to walk and not fall. (false information from parents is not following the path of the righteous)
hold the right hand. Judas held the wrong hand because of money…
1. Stay in the path righteous men; DAVID
Psalms 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
2. Watch the path of righteous men: JOB
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
3. Speak along the path of righteous men;
Job 32:20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
Psalms 37:30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
Proverbs 13:5 A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
4. Listen to the speech of righteous men;
NOTE: Start soul-winning to drive away bad breath.
5. Hear the song of righteous men: MOSES
We’ll sing the HIT song when we get to heaven. We have the lyrics here with us but when we get to heaven (if you’re coming with me) we’ll sing it together.
Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Revelation 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Revelation 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
DAVID
Psalms 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. Psalms 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
6. Dress like righteous men.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
Matthew 3:4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Mark 1:6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
ISAIAH
Isaiah 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 13:1 Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. Jeremiah 13:2 So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins. Jeremiah 13:11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
Eternal Security in Christ
ELIJAH
2 Kings 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
REBEKAH
Genesis 24:64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 24:65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.
7. Walk like the righteous men:
ENOCH
Genesis 5:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Note: Some need to know how to walk by not dragging their feet on to e ground, shoulders up, twisting body to seduce.
8. Work like the righteous men:
BOAZ
Ruth 2:1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. Ruth 4:9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.
9. RELATE like the righteous men: ABRAHAM
Genesis 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and LAUGHED, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Genesis 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
Genesis 18:12 Therefore Sarah LAUGHED within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
PRAY like the righteous men ELISHA
2 Kings 4:33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
11. Think like the righteous men:
JOSEPH
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
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