GW, AK – Proverbs 9:9-18

    

9Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,
            Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

      10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
            And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

      11For by me your days will be multiplied,
            And years of life will be added to you.

      12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
            And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

      13The woman of folly is boisterous,
            She is naive and knows nothing.

      14She sits at the doorway of her house,
            On a seat by the high places of the city,

      15Calling to those who pass by,
            Who are making their paths straight:

      16“Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
            And to him who lacks understanding she says,

      17“Stolen water is sweet;
            And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

      18But he does not know that the dead are there,
            That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

As we continue, let me be frank. I despise wisdom. Better said, my carnal flesh hates wisdom. It (my flesh) is diametrically opposed to the things of God and the fear and love of the Lord. And thus as such, we have a problem. In verse 9 “Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.” This is to say the righteous man (or woman) in the eyes of the Lord will receive instruction and be wiser. What is not said is how they would receive this instruction. In my opinion. it can potentially be from anywhere but for true admiration and understanding of the Lord, it must stem from His Word! Therefore, if you are to receive the instruction given, your wisdom will increase therefore equipping you to do more, see more, be more effective in Him!

Next, as follows in many walks of life, “10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Apply that to any number of situations, vocations, callings, employs, extracurricular activities, or even vacations! Fear Him in the King that He is but love Him for the kind and approachable friend He can be! That I believe is perhaps something that I have missed too often. I see Jesus high and lifted up on His throne, all too often though removed from the approachable position as a friend. I sing “what a friend we have in Jesus” from afar because if I really believed that, I would crawl up in His lap and rest. And I mean this in no effeminate manner. But just simply to rest. To gain true understanding (from Him) and rest.

11 For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.

How to understand this? Honestly there are days I no longer want to live on this earth. I’ve had enough, I’ve seen enough, I’ve done enough, I’ve bled enough, I’ve taken enough. Or so I thought. Then I look to the cross and see that He bled and died for ALL that I have ever done and all that the world has done. So, to see that my days will be multiplied seems to be an opportunity the Lord provides to use you and I further as a blessing to others potentially. Not that we are or necessarily will be. Rather it is yet another offer of mercy and grace by the Father to extend His forgiveness to all who will call on Jesus’s name!

As a warning “12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.” I have taken this multiple ways, but I believe the correlation in Galatians 6:4-5 is best “But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load.” You’re boasting, your gloating, your good ideas, and your follies and failures you will be responsible for. The good news is that despite my failures and yours, we can have that debt paid in the light of Christ’s forgiveness and grace. Not that humanity’s debt is paid automatically but for those who surrender to the greatness and grace of Jesus, their debt is paid in full!

13 The woman of folly is boisterous, She is naive and knows nothing.

Remember this woman of folly mentioned before? Now we are formally introduced. She is כְּ֭סִילוּת (stupid), הֹֽמִיָּ֑ה (boisterous-loud, growls), naive (to be spacious, wide or open (פָתָה) perhaps better said for today “open-minded” when it comes to the existence of many paths to heaven. Further she “knows nothing.” Now do we have any points of similarity with this personification of open-mindedness and today’s culture? Too often you hear the phrase when passed away loved ones come up in conversation, “well at least he/she is in a better place.” To make that true assessment, the person must have trusted in the Savior Jesus Christ or else they are going to be burning in torment for not trusting in the only Savior. This is why it is no laughing manner and there is no life wasted for all humans should hear the salvation story of Jesus Christ!

14 She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high places of the city,

She (Ms. Folly) sits at the doorway of her house but the high places of the city. Ms. Folly is sitting at the doorway to conduct her business of impropriety. She is allowed to construct her place of business in the city because man (as in man and woman) are drawn to sin. Further, it is in the high places because in part we all are drawn to our pagan sinful desires. In borrowing from a more recent cinema experience, Kylo Ren from Star Wars states “Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. It’s the only way to become who you were meant to be.” I’ll spare you the spoilers, but at least in that scene his reasoning was sound. If you are bound by your past, understand you live in the present and can be destined for an eternity of joy with Jesus. However, this is only if you have placed your trust and hope only in Jesus! Forsake the high places of the city and cling to Jesus!

15 Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight:

It may seem an odd place to stop mid-thought, but this passage resounded with me this morning. The target of the woman of folly is not only those who seek her. It is those also who pass by her and are attempting successfully to make their paths straight! Do you know who this might be? You and I if you have trusted in Jesus! Those the woman of folly is targeting is those who in their daily walk are being conformed to His image (cf. Romans 12). It is exactly those who are attempting to seek the higher things, the narrow way, the smaller door. That is who the woman of folly is crying out to.

Friend, if you are on this path and finding it difficult to scale the heights, hold on to Him! This photo below it just before my wife and I peaked out over the Blue Ridge valley below from Sharp Top.

Blessings as you go!

GW, AK – Proverbs 9:9-18

“Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you alone will bear it. The woman of folly is boisterous, She is naive and knows nothing. She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high places of the city,
Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight: ‘Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,’ And to him who lacks understanding she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet;
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”

For those wishing to increase in Godly wisdom and instruction, with the view that they become more like Christ Who have Himself for us, the matter is at hand. Previously in verse 8 we looked at the man of folly. To say and see you know of someone like this simply turn on the television or watch a characeture on any medium of this trait. The point being, we know what folly looks like!

Follow that “revelation” with “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” In the entirety of the Old Testament for now, that is my favorite verse. The fear of the Lord is not terror such that we would run from Him only but an understanding that He is Jehovah God Almighty. In light of this we really are nothing. Yet as He says elsewhere in 2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Therefore it’s not about us, it’s all about Him. Continuing, “For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.” Thinking back to king Hezekiah “and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life (Isaiah 38:5).” Why did God do this in King Hezekiah’s life? Because King Hezekiah trusted the Lord, turned from the wicked ways of his forefathers, and sought to restore the greatness of the Name of Jehovah God!

Further we read “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.” This speaks to the individuality of accountability to God. Just as you and I seek glory for ourselves at times, likewise we should expect accountability at times for our mistakes! When have you had a bad day at work and fumbled a project? When has a presentation gone awry because of a slide left out? When has a construction project had to be halted because of a wrong calculation? These mishaps are part of our daily life. Yet the question is not if messups will occur but if we as followers of Christ will take advantage of this opportunity to extend grace to the ones who messed up! Extend grace!

Yet again we read “The woman of folly is boisterous, She is naive and knows nothing. She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high places of the city,
Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight:”

Picture this, you are walking with the Lord, you are seeking His face, then on mishap on your part caused a mistake. You immediately are piqued with the inner voice that says “it’s okay, we all mess up. God’s too stringent anyway. Everyone messes up. Just let this one slide. We’ll try harder next time. And with that line of thinking you and I have jumped from the grace and forgiveness vessel onto the tumultuous tide of self-effort and self-defeat! Repent and turn to Christ!

Continuing “She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high places of the city,
Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight: ‘Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,’ And to him who lacks understanding she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.'”

The woman of folly is described as one who sits outside her house on the high places. This is so she can both see all the “opportunities” to deceive and beckon to all tho are listening for her siren call! Notice that her intended audience is believers! The Bible says “Who are making their paths straight…” This is warning those who seek the Lord and fall down. Oh friend, we all screw up royally from time to time. But those deceived into thinking restoration is beyond their grasp are only deceived not forgotten! Friend, simply turn around!

Finally “Stolen water is sweet; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”

Speaking from the mouth of the siren call of folly there is such a plain deception. Stolen water is obviously wrong. Likewise the bread eaten in secret is bread likely stolen. Thus to join Ms. Folly in her indulgences is to cast aside the mission you were on and turn aside. The dead are the only companions who will join you in that final end. To bring to fruition what that looks like flip to 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 “…each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” In culmination rather than turning to the call of the wild, “…seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matt. 6:33, ESV). Blessings as you go!

GW, AK – Proverbs 9:1-8

1 Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;

To set the context of this passage, we must set it amidst the discussion of the time. Thus in chapter 8 we read “1Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice?” Once we get that context you read now that Wisdom has already built her house…” What does this mean? The wisdom of the Lord is already established. The wisdom from above is already built with the comforts in knowing both what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. The understanding mentioned only occurs in reflection on the event! Thus, the only way to cope with the tragedies and rejoice in the victories properly is to “understand” from God’s perspective the “why’s” of life! Thus to hew out her seven pillars is to understand rather than just to “be”. To mold out of the Rock of ages the path for your life is to see the Lord, chisel in hand!

2 She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table;

In this time context, to prepare the food was to prepare for the king’s consumption. Thus it was a careful and deliberate action, every step of the way. For Wisdom to prepare her food is to say that every action taken, every mixture given, every cut of meat and rip of bread was a purposeful action to best satisfy the soul of the One for Whom the meal is prepared! Even the wine with which the recipient is to receive compliments the meal itself! Oh friend, don’t miss that the wine the Lord pours forth is directly from His flesh! In 1 Corinthians 11 we read “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Thus to take full measure of the wine of wisdom we must remember that the blood of the Savior out to flavor every action and interaction we take!

3 She has sent out her maidens, she calls from the tops of the heights of the city:

To send out maidens was to put forth the call to all who were invited that the banquet was complete, it was time to eat! This is not to be missed. Just as Jesus gave the parable of the wedding feast in Luke 14:23-24 and said “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’” The reason for the calling from the city heights was to implore anyone and everyone to come! Just as Jesus died for any person that will bow the knee and receive Christ as Lord over their life! Yet just as He also says “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14).

4 “Whoever is naïve, let him turn in here!”
            To him who lacks understanding she says,

From the context, the prior verse was Wisdom calling from the “tops of the heights of the city.” So it would follow, from the context, that Wisdom is calling from the tops of the city to join her. This would mean an elevation of sorts! But the Lord does not call us to scale the heights on our own! Rather He says “whoever is naieve…to him who lacks understanding…” The Lord is patient and understands we don’t have it all together! What we have and what we need are worlds apart. We need Jesus and we have ourselves. Therefore, we need to ask Christ to be our Lord, Master, Savior, and Friend!

5“Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed.

To a servant, one would assume the Lord and Master to declare “I want more food, I want more drink.” Instead, the Lord here says “come, eat of my food and drink of the wine I have mixed. Do you see the subtle difference? The Father is beckoning you and I to join Him at His banqueting table as His children! He does not see us as servants, He sees us as sons and daughters when we surrender to and invite Him to be our Lord and Savior!

6 “Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.”

We are to forsake folly (the your is added to give clarity) and live. This is so important, so simple, and so oft-overlooked. I am not to “clean up my life.” Only Christ can cleanse us with His blood! We have at best filthy rags to present to Christ in our own power. Yet with His blood covering our sins, we are arrayed in the white robes of righteousness on behalf of Jesus sacrifice! Then as we are set on the right path by His righteousness, we can “proceed in the way…” of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (cf. 1 Corinthians 13).

7He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself.

As the election winds down and regardless of the President elect or sitting president prevails, what is our role? As verse 7 says you and I receive insults if we reprove a wicked man. Likewise, if we correct a scoffer, dishonor comes upon us. So we have to practice something that is often overlooked. Silence. We must at times when confronted with a glaring wrong that has been committed allow the person to reap the fruits of their misdeeds. I am not certain how the election will play out but I do know that the people voted, the votes were tallied, and it would seem that we have the next U.S. president. Yet until he is sworn in in January 2021, we already have a sitting president who holds the office! You and I as Christians must sit in subjection to him until he is re-elected or replaced with another leader.

8Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

As one who in the United States is living through another election season, it has been painfully made clear that we are a nation in need of a Savior. Whether you were for or against the sitting President, the administration has been attacked by the forces of Satan. This is just like the last administration and next administration. We are called and commanded to “1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” in 1 Timothy 2. Did this mention believers? It is implied. Did this mention Non-believers? This is understood. Did this mean outgoing president’s, of course! Did this mean incoming administration’s? Yes! Did this mean administration’s elected for a second term? Yes! Regardless of the status of the leader in power over you, pray for your leaders! Thus, a scoffer can be left to scoff and fade. But to find the wise, simply exhort and rejoice as they have things you and I can learn just as you have things you can share with them!