“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!
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