Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar:
Hosea: 14:10: “He who is wise will consider these words,
He who is prudent will take note of them.
For the paths of the Lord are smooth;
The righteous can walk on them
But the sinners will stumble on them.
Four words I would like to examine here. Path (Derek), smooth (ysahar), walk (Halakah), and stumble (kashol).
There are about six different words in the Hebrew for path. There are many different types of paths. The path to success, the path to a relationship, the path to knowledge. Derek is a path of adventure (loosely put). We often talk of the rough, rocky road we walk. I am guilty of that. Yet in Jesus, the road is never rocky or rough, it is a smooth, ysahar, a straight, direct road. However, it is only smooth and straight when you walk (halkah) the path of righteousness, the steps of Jesus, walking in the center of His will. For then God promises to make our way smooth (Isaiah 26:7). The sinner, well they stumble, kashol to stagger, grow weary.
I know what you are thinking, because I am thinking the same thing. The road I walk is anything but smooth. I am staggering, stumbling, growing weary.
There is an old Rabbinic tale of a man who was in a tavern and gulped down his usual share of wine. Suddenly, he began to scream, “Jews! Save yourselves! Run from this bar to dining room for the barroom is about to collapse. Everyone ran to the dinning room and the man screamed we must run out side, for the whole building is about to collapse. They all ran outside and the man screamed, we are doomed, for the whole world is about to collapse.
By this time the crowd began to wonder about this guy and a spokesman asked: “Why do you think the world is about to collapse?” The man said: “Every time I take a step, I stagger – sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left. This is a clear indication that the bar, the dinning room and world is unstable and on the verge of collapse…”
With that the crowd broke out laughing: “The spokesman said: “My friend, see for yourself, we are walking straight without stumbling, the reason you stumble is because you are drunk.”
Because of the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, He has made our way straight and smooth. If we stumble and stagger on this road of life, it is not because it is unstable and rocky, it is because we are too full of the “wine” of this world rather than the Spirit of God.
Does that not contradict Matthew 7:14: “Narrow (Gk. Thilbo, suffer tribulation) is the way that leads to life?” This is not contradiction when you consider that Derek, represents an adventure. It is a divine video game so to speak. You are safe and sound playing the controls and you navigate through one trial and tribulation after another. At the end of all those trials and difficulties, you reach your goal, you stand up and say: “That was fun.” When we are in the center of God’s Divine Will, we are never in any danger, so we walk through all life’s trials and difficulties experiencing a adventure with Jesus, watching him knock off the bad guys. However, step out of the center of God’s will, well then we begin to stumble, grow weary.
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