Proverbs 15.19
“The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.”
Solomon again uses the two-path metaphor to emphasize the difference between wisdom and foolishness; between obeying God and disobeying him. The two Hebrew words used here — derek and orah — are synonyms. They both mean “path” or “way.”
A repeated theme in Proverbs (indeed the whole Bible) is that there is a way that God wants us to go about life. There are standards he wants us to know and obey. There is a path he wants us to follow. Musar — often translated “instruction” — is the process of learning to live the life to which the Lord calls us. It is learning to stay on the path, and being responsive to the Lord’s correction and reproof when we stray off-path.
This is life lived within the structure of the law. Life lived in alignment with God’s principles. Life and work done in obedience to the Lord’s revealed system of moral standards.
In this verse Solomon says that the path of the lazy person — “the sluggard” — is like a hedge of thorns. In other words, the path that the lazy person takes is full of obstacles and problems that the lazy person himself created through defiance of God’s standards.
The sluggard is morally disobedient, relationally selfish, and functionally deficient. He is continually pricked and cut by the thorns of sin until the thorns eventually hedge him in. The thorns of sin restrict him.
In other words, the foolish sluggard is in a jail of his own making.
In contrast to the thorny and restricted path of the sluggard is the much smoother path of the wise, hard-working person. The wise person is morally consistent, relationally kind and respectful, and functionally skilled. Therefore, the path he creates moves easier and at greater speed.
I’ve talked with many parents over the years whose adult children are living with them because their children took the wrong path. They got themselves into trouble and hedged in by the thorns of sin. In many of the cases, the children rejected God’s path, made a series of bad decisions, lacked a work ethic, and got involved with a bad crowd. In almost every situation, substance abuse was a contributing factor.
In other words, they took the wrong path and became entrapped in a hedge of thorns.
This verse can be applied to American society in our time. Our nation has rejected the way and path of God, and as a result has made a series of very bad choices. We are getting hedged in by the thorns of sin.
It is of utmost importance then, that the followers of Jesus stay on path. The cultural health of our society will require spiritual revival and renewal, and it must start with the church.
Trust God, get on path and stay on path. If you see someone drifting off path, reach out. Help them return to the way of the kingdom.
