Wisdom vs Folly

In fact, verses 4-11 speak as if it is trying to convince us of its worth, that all it says is true. “what my lips say is right”, “my mouth tells the truth.”, “ALL the words of my mouth are righteous”, “none are deceptive”, “all of them are clear”. That is 5 times in 7 verses that it tries to convince us of the truth of its words. It is also trying to say “there are a lot of people who will tell you what they say is the truth, but in actuality they are deceiving you.”

So how do you know what you find valuable? Where you spend your time.

-Where does your time go?

-What do you spend your time doing?

Now when you think about where you spend your time the next question you should ask, is “what lie might this thing be telling me in order to convince me I should spend more time doing it?” “If I just have those shoes I will be happy”, “I can just become a great Call of Duty player I will feel validated”, “I I just make this comment and get someone to laugh then I will be funny and get more friends”. We spend a lot of our time on pointless things. So we don’t have to think about what is causing us pain, so that we can try and improve our self-image, so that we can be more popular. I spend more time than I would like to admit doing things that later I say “I could have done something so much more productive.” But productive doesn’t mean doing homework, or your chores, or playing a sport. What I am defining as productive now is, how is this making you a better person? Sometimes doing something fun helps to relieve stress, but also doing your homework helps to develop work ethic and basic understanding of the information you need in life. What will help you prosper? What will hinder your ability to prosper? What it teachers is not how to live recklessly but carefully.

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

This leads to what is said next about wisdom. That wisdom hates evil and the fear of the Lord is to hate evil.

Why does fear of the Lord mean you hate evil? Because you know that you cannot have fear of the Lord with love for evil, pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.

What does it mean to fear the Lord? It is to recognize, and have faith in, the authority of God. Let’s say that my 4 year old son came up to you, and he said “you are under arrest”. What is your reaction going to be? Probably to laugh, maybe to play and say ‘oh no!’. You aren’t going to have any fear of my 4 year old. Now if a legit police office came here and said “you are under arrest” you are going to be terrified about what might happen. So if you “fear” the police, then you are going to “hate” those things that might get you arrested in that they will be of no interest to you.

To “fear” God means to recognize that there is an eternal consequence to not living for Him. But, then, as it says next “I love those who love me”. So wisdom isn’t trying to make it hard for us. It wants us to prosper, it wants to keep us from destructive actions, it wants us to have a life of happiness.

Jesus is our ultimate wisdom

What does this text tell us about wisdom? Wisdom was the foundation for all creation! But if you think about that it makes sense. Because of all the universe is held together by the laws of God. God created the laws of gravity and physics, he created all living organisms, he is the source of all life. All things were created by reason, he did not have to learn how to make them after the fact. Wisdom was with God before creation. It was made by his wisdom, and the God who created all things calls us to listen to His words to us. Have you ever tried to make something without reading the directions. Maybe a Lego set? Or furniture? If you don’t use the instructions what is bound to happen is that you will not complete it the way that you want to. It will fall apart, it will break, it will not work properly. Because this wisdom that is talked about is the activity of the Son of God, Jesus. Jesus, expressed in creation and through God’s Word, the character of God.

True wisdom is rooted in the fear of the Lord and consists in the moral discipline of conforming to God’s law. So if we decide to live contrary to the wisdom of God, the wisdom that created everything discussed in this chapter. All of the stars and planets, all of the oceans and seas, and everything else in creation. If that is what we live contrary to then it is folly, because these are the principles by which God created everything in the universe, including us. We would be going against the instructions. Which might seem fun, but isn’t going to lead to life. While on the other hand v. 30-31 show us that wisdom was designed by God to give us joy, to bring a sense of awe and wonder to everything he created. Wisdom shows in how it created all things and holds all things together, that it leads us to glorifying God. Wisdom in creation showed us just how good things can be when we seek the Lord. The warning then given is that to miss wisdom, is to embrace death, is to embrace evil and the destruction that comes with it.

Wisdom vs folly

What chapter 8 describes to us is Woman Wisdom, a woman that leads to the path of life, who was there from the beginning of creation, that comes from God. But in chapter 9 we get another woman, Woman Folly. Both reach out, both want a relationship with the son.

The picture that chapter 9 gives us is of this young man walking along and as he walks this path he comes along two women, both from the “heights of the city” and they give an invitation to him. An invitation to enjoy food, and to a relationship.

What do these women say? How are they described by the father?

Woman wisdom:

-Lives at the high point of the city, which is the temple of God, representing God

-Actively prepares the meal and invites

-Bold

-unafraid

-Full of understanding and truth,

-wholesome behavior and not deceptive

-Good judgment in decisions

-Common sense, success, insight, and strength

-Stays far away from evil, pride arrogance

-She does what is right, not just what is easy or enjoyable

Woman folly

-At the door of the highest city, hoping to stop us before we enter in to God’s presence. She hopes to take our attention away before we can enjoy the goodness that God offers.

-She sits, hoping someone else will do the work for her

-Brash (not bold)

-Looking for trouble, being in places that she shouldn’t be

-Ignorant, and even ignorant about her ignorance. She is so ignorant that she doesn’t even recognize that her guests have already gone to the grave.

-She promised them life, flourishing, money, fame, happiness. But they have gone to the grave.

-inexperienced

-Finds joy in wrongdoing

Who are they calling out to?

-The inexperienced, immature

-Those lacking good judgment and sense

-The foolish

-Those considered as close as sons

Both wisdom and folly are calling out to them. Why is this the audience they call out to?

What do they call us to do?

Wisdom calls us to enjoy the banquet that she has prepared. While folly calls us to take the meal from someone else, to get the easy money. Which one you follow will determine your fate. Though folly, at first, is inviting and has fun, it results in death, drought, and suffering. Wisdom brings health, joy, and peace. Proverbs 1:32-33 “For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to me will live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.””

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