January 13, 2014
Proverbs 14:12; 16:25
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
I believe every word in the Bible is significant – including the form of the word. For instance, if the word – a noun in this case – is singular or plural, that means something! Such it is in Proverbs 14:12 and Proverbs 16:25 – identical verses, which is significant in that fact of repetition! God does not waste words, and if He deems it necessary to repeat something, then we should sit up and take notice! Here is what it says in these two verses, and I share it in the King James Version:
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the
ways of death.
You see, in 44 translations I checked, only ten of them got it right according to what is written in the original Hebrew! For instance, the New King James Version, which I usually quote translates it thus:
There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
See the difference? The second time way is used, it is changed from plural to singular! I checked the Hebrew and this is the literal translation: “there is way upright to faces of man and last of her ways of death”
Here’s the point: There are so many ways because people try from their own resources to figure out the way of life and living, people who don’t know the One Way – Jesus. People have come up with many religions or no religion. They worship gods of wood and stone or other strange concepts of gods. They focus on materialism and make that their god. Some hero-worship other people. Some worship self. There are a lot more choices. But for all the ways that man has come up with, it is usually only one way that the individual deems right and follows. Hence, the first way in our scripture is singular. However, taken together, mankind has come up with many ways to seek out purpose and proper destiny in life. So the second ways is plural.
But there is another significant word in this scripture, and much of its significance lies in the fact that it is singular! The word is end – singular because there is just one end to the way unregenerate man chooses – death! Many Ways, One Destination!
Compare that to what Jesus said in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” In this verse, there is only One Way and One Destination! And that Way is the Lord Jesus Christ! There are other verses that back this up:
• John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does
not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on
him.”
• Acts 4:12 – “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name
under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
• I Timothy 2:5 – “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and
men, the Man Christ Jesus….”
• I John 5:11 through 13 – “And this is the testimony: that God has given us
eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things
have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that
you may know that you have eternal life….”
…and many others besides.
So if you have a problem with the ‘narrow-mindedness’ of Christians who insist on only One Way to God and eternal life, your argument is not with His followers, but with Jesus Christ Himself!
So what way are you following? And what is your destination? There are a lot of choices to follow, but every one of them leads to one end – death! …everyone of them, that is, except One Way, and that One Way is Jesus Christ! Follow Him!