As we read in verse seven of the prior chapter; "The fear [revere, give reverence] of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction". When you revere the Lord, you don't have to fear evil, laugh at it. When you have God's Wisdom, you are smarter than they are. The point is not to be conceded, for there is only one language that evil understands, and that is the language of wisdom burning their conscience, rather then them burning somebody. The point is that the Christian has to prove that you are wiser than they are, in order for those without wisdom to listen to you. The satisfaction of doing evil to the innocent, makes them feel they are superior, for they just cannot see that there is nothing superior to divine wisdom that comes only through the Word, from the Spirit of God. However it is only you, individually, that must reach out and search for it. It takes study on your part, and your reverence to the Lord God Almighty.

When you turn to the Lord, He made a promise to us individually in verse twenty three of the prior chapter; "Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you." You do the turning and searching, and the Spirit opens your mind to accept that knowledge with understanding, as you seek the truth. Remember that Proverbs in the Hebrew is "Mishlai" and means "Rules", a set of rules given to govern your life by. It is the rules that allow us to have the wisdom of God to govern our decisions in everyday life, for family life as well as our business and community. We will see the blessings that wisdom will bring us when we seek wisdom.

Proverbs 2:1 "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And hide my commandments with thee;"

This is wisdom speaking, the wisdom that comes from God. In the word "hide" should read "lay up"; and it is used in the sense of laying up treasures for a latter time. You hide those truths of wisdom in your mind for those times when this wisdom is needed. Don't forget it, for set of instructions gives you the common sense to live your everyday life and make you successful. Though you have the wisdom stored in your memory, it is up to you to put them into practice.

Proverbs 2:2 "So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thine heart to understanding;"

To "incline thine ear unto wisdom" is to "focus your mind", to point your mind to the direction that the understanding comes from. When a dog hears a strange sound, it's head points to the direction it comes from. Likewise, when God's instructions are coming to you, pay attention to the wisdom and let it's understanding sink into your mind. Give your full attention to the wisdom being taught, then put that knowledge to use in life.

Proverbs 2:3 "Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, And liftest up thy voice for understanding;"

"If thou criest after knowledge", is like your crying out for food or water when you are starving. That is the same drive that we must have in seeking for understanding of wisdom. Notice it is you that feels the need for the water and food, not someone else, and it is only you that can discipline your mind to accept the wisdom of knowledge to gain from it.

Proverbs 2:4 "If thou seekest her a silver, And searchest for her as for hid treasures;"

Some men have spent their entire life looking for their gold or silver strike, and that is the same sense of effort that is necessary when you seek for the hidden treasures of wisdom. You and only you can put knowledge and truth in your mind; that brings peace in your life. This is not saying that you have to become a fanatic, but seeking to have knowledge to make the right choices, guided by the Word of God.

Proverbs 2:5 "Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God."

This gets right back to Proverbs 1:7; "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:" It's only common sense. Stop and think for a moment, the way you treat others will bring a like response from them. If you treat workers under you or your family in a wicked manner, they will reject what you say and close their mind to you. When you respond to them with a loving and caring manner, they will listen to you, and seek to please you. To "revere" [fear] the Lord is to seek to please him, and the only way we can understand how to please the Lord is to know what He expects from us. We gain that knowledge through His Word. When we please Him, He in turn pours out His blessings upon us individually.

Proverbs 2:6 "For the Lord giveth wisdom: Out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."

Don't ever forget this, "For the Lord giveth wisdom:", you must seek it first, then the Lord giveth wisdom. The mouth of the Lord is the words written in His Word, the Bible, from cover to cover. Pay attention to the condition God has set for getting the wisdom, and that it is you that must seek the truth. Just as that gold miner sought his wealth, you must focus on the knowledge written to gain the understanding of the subject being taught. The entire Word of God comes from [YHVH] Father's mouth, through the Prophets, Apostles, and by the Lord Jesus Christ. You must seek to study to find the truth.

Proverbs 2:7 "He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly."

This is a promise that God is making to you individually, and you can count on it. When you seek the truth, God will lay up sound wisdom in your heart and mind when that wisdom is necessary for you to act upon. A "buckler" is a shield, and when you try to walk uprightly in accordance with God's instruction given you through His Word, God will be there to shield you from those unforeseen things in your life. The Father goes before you to protect you, for the "Sword of the Lord" that protects you is the Word. There are other wisdom's, such as the wisdom of the world which is not sound. It cannot be depended upon. Our creator's wisdom is always sound, for He knows all and controls all, and sound wisdom comes only from Father. That wisdom the Father gives us when we seek it, will act as a shield in front of each of us, to protect us from the worldly spiritual darts.

Proverbs 2:8 "He keepeth the paths of judgment, And preserveth the way of His saints."

Those righteous paths that you try to walk upon, our Father preserves those ways to keep us from stumbling in these times where and when it seems hard to stay on that path. You may fall, and He may cause you to fall at times in His correction of your ways, however that should not lessen your faith because the wisdom within you should warn you that you had it coming. God is always fair. Remember this is talking about those "paths of judgment" and God is always the judge concerning another man's soul. "God preserveth the way of His saints"...it is talking about the correction of God's saints, and the preservation of their souls. It is not talking about those that care less about God and His Ways. The qualifier is whether you love Father and seek to follow Him. The others have the free will to fall into any pit that they choose.

Proverbs 2:9 "Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and Judgment, And equity; yea, every good path."

When you seek wisdom, you will understand what true righteousness and judgment truly is. You will learn to find those paths of righteousness, and discern the good paths from the evil ones.

Proverbs 2:10 "When wisdom entereth into thine heart, And knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;"

Proverbs 2:11 "Discretion shall preserve thee, Understanding shall keep thee:"

When you allow God's wisdom to enter into your soul, through your studying of the Word, then your common sense will preserve you.

Proverbs 2:12 "To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, From the man that speaketh froward things;"

This word for "deliver" should be translated into stronger terms, such as "pluck" or "rescue" you from the evil deeds and ways of evil men and women. God will pluck you out of his grasp when he [she] plots to sidetrack you into falling into their traps. God will save you from the evil words that they say against you, and turn it back on their own head. Many of these traps are hidden in the traditions of men, while these evil ones claim to be servants of God, their traditions are nothing but traps. They are not servants of God, but of the traditions they promote that go against God's Word.

Proverbs 2:13 "Who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness;"

Don't forget, the prince of darkness is Satan. Satan is the prince of this world. So if some tradition is of the "ways of darkness", it is not of God, but of Satan. Those ministers are not minister of God; and Paul addressed these false ministers of Satan in Second Corinthians 11:13, 14.

II Corinthians 11:13 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming [disguising] themselves into the apostles of Christ."

The word "transforming" in the Greek text, is # 3345 in Strong's Greek dictionary; "Metaschematizo, to transfigure or disguise, fig. to apply (by accommodation), change." In other words Paul is warning us of those tradition peddlers that come disguised as ministers of God, when in fact they are Satan's ministers, peddling their traditions and false doctrine that goes against the Word of God.

II Corinthians 11:14 "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."

Why would it be a surprise to you what Satan's ministers do, for they do as their father Satan does. When Satan comes in his role of the Antichrist, he will present himself as the true Christ, working many miracles and supernatural wonders; disguised and changed to appear to be an angel of light.

II Corinthians 11:15 "Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

Remember that Satan and his ministers are not transformed into anything, but they are disguised as being righteous and of God, when in fact they are evil and of Satan. The "prince of darkness" of this world age is Satan, and if you follow the traditions of men that goes against God's Word, you will end up worshipping the first messiah, which will be Satan, at his coming. Next time someone speaks and their words do not go along with God's Word, ask yourself, "Where and in what path is this man [woman] leading me? The "Froward" people are those that think their traditions are more important than God's Word. They miss the mark of wisdom, and God lets them continue down that dark path of confusion.

Proverbs 2:14 "Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the frowardness of wicked;"

This type of person is telling his flock that God spoke to me and told me...,; then they go on with words that came out of their own imaginations. They find delight in their own wickedness. God calls them evil. They even become bold in their wickedness.

Proverbs 2:15 "Whose ways are crooked, And they froward in their paths:"

They are crooked or perverse in the ways they try to lead others. You can probably tell by now, God doesn't like them, or their ways.

Proverbs 2:16 "To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;"

"The strange woman" is a foreign woman. This is talking about a foreign woman that would lead you into "apostasy". This is talking about truths and paths from God's Word, and whether you would allow yourself to led away by her flattering words. To us living in this final general, this old girl is along in years, and is "mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots". She is the old girl world system that Satan ride in on, and takes control of that religious system, after the fall of the one world political system. This old girl will deceive you, and beguile you, just as Satan "beguiled Eve", if you allow him to do so. Mystery Babylon is made up of all those of any religion that will cause you to be drawn to Satan, the false messiah. The warning is that we do not listen to her. An apostate is on that gives up their professed religious belief at a given moment.

Proverbs 2:17 "Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God."

The Word of God is full of many covenants that God has made with those that love and follow Him. If you are not familiar with those covenants, and the requirements that have to be met before you can claim them, how can you declare that they are yours? Ignorance to those covenants places you in the camp of mystery Babylon [the mother of harlots], because you are biblically illiterate. You don't know what God expects of you when His covenants are void in your mind. The "guide of her youth" is the one that we were brought up to worship. This generation is all rapped up in their traditions that they have lost focus to the covenants of the true God.

Proverbs 2:18 "For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead."

That is the way that Satan works, slowly, just a little bit at a time. A change in a word definition to a verse, that changes something of God and attributes it to Satan. Just a little at a time, and in time you come to the point of not knowing what is of God, or what is of Satan. Good becomes bad, and bad becomes good. That's how the rapture doctrine took hold, and that is how many churches are accepting evil things such as sodomy, and making these evils something against what God's Word teaches. In time you will slide right to your spiritual death, as you slide down the world's paths of the dead.

Proverbs 2:19 "None that go unto her return again, Neither take they hold of the paths of life."

The world has no idea in the world what eternal life is. They have listen to to many fairy-tales that told them; "you don't have to understand the Old Testament, or the Book of Revelation", or any one of hundreds of truth of the Scriptures from God. They go off into their man-made religious forms, and if they do not take hold of the paths of life from God's Word, there is no return for them. The man that would mislead masses of people into following lies, claiming to be of God, is more dangerous that a criminal; because it is the eternal souls of the followers that he is tampering with.

Proverbs 2:20 "That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous."

Proverbs 2:21 "For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it."

"The perfect" are the spiritually mature in the Word of God.

Proverbs 2:22 "But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, And the transgressors shall be rooted out of it."

Following judgment, there will be no place for those transgressors that lead other into apostasy. If those that are deceived in this earth age of the flesh, remain deceived at the end of the Millennium age of Christ's kingdom, they will be rooted out and destroyed in the lake of fire.