This chapter contrast Wisdom and Her privileges as compared to
foolishness and its verdict.
1 Wisdom
hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven
pillars:
Wisdom has formed herself already and her structure is strong as
indicated by her seven pillars. Some
have thought “seven pillars” to be figurative, yet if it is figurative, to what
it refers would be open to many interpretations. I would suspect it to be referring to the
strengths and principles in which she is formed in us. Some say, "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy." - Jas 3:17 KJV, is a list of the
seven pillars. There is also the list
from Pr 2:1-4, " hide, incline, apply, criest, liftest, seekest and searchest." I personally think the later is more in
line with the Fear of the LORD especially since in verse 5 it says,
"Then"
2 She
hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her
table.
She is ready for the feast of those who abide! Your offer is to receive it and commit to it
in such a way as you have never committed to anything in your whole life short
of salvation itself! She owns the
privilege to boast of her display. Her
beast and wine and table are set before Sovereignty’s Perfection. They are laid at the feet of our Lord on your
behalf.
3 She
hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the
highest places of the city,
Painted here in these last two verses is a feast. We who have Wisdom are guest at this feast
and guest of honor at that. She has
ordered Her maidens to care for us while we feast. The music is playing
and She is still beckoning all to come to Her from the most obvious and
prominent parts of the city.
4 Whoso
is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth
understanding, she saith to him,
Before we have Wisdom we are
simpletons. "Let him turn in
hither" is a distinct change of path but also even a more a change in
purpose. Our purpose changes when Wisdom
is present in us. The materials
available have changed. Not to mention
that which we worked so hard to build, once revealed by the Light suddenly seems
useless. Our direction changes, we can
suddenly see our folly and begin to put ourselves back together. This time fashioned as God intended.
5 Come,
eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
The bread is just that, bread and the wine
however, is something special. The word
is formed from an unused Hebrew root word meaning effervesce. That means it is special and particularly
perfect. It would be the perfection of
the finest champagne. What Wisdom is
saying, for the best life has to offer, a life with Her is precisely that,
perfection. There will be no finer table
from which to eat.
6 Forsake
the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
This could be understood in such a way as to indicate hanging with
the foolish leads to death. No pun
intended.
It strikes me sometimes how in this day and age
many seem to clamor at the injustice dealt to those foolish enough to fall into
trouble. Often as news unfolds about the
perpetrator we hear that there were other areas of
their life full of calamities as well.
We are not to run from everyone that does something stupid however. Else,
we should run from ourselves.
Nevertheless, we should avoid those repeating their foolishness and
those who plot to continue feeding in that fellowship.
7 He
that reproveth a scorner getteth
to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
We discussed the scorner earlier and what a wretched core a
scorner has in them. If you try to
correct or instruct a scorner, you will receive shame. Why is that?
We often contemplate trying to help those who don’t understand or see
things the way we do, yet it says here to stay away from them basically. The scorner is one who will despise just
about everything. They are drunk with
their opinion and scoff at most anything that varies even slightly from their
mindset. If you know someone that is
always negative and finds fault with all that is outside of their thinking,
this person could be labeled a scorner.
If you have met someone like that they tend to never listen anyway, they
tend to discuss only from the perspective of righting your thinking to
theirs. I think that is the point being
made here. You can discuss and explain
till you are blue in the face and never see them waver from their
position. The danger in trying to
administer reasoning to them is you will find yourself answering questions that
always start with, “Well, what about this?”
Then you may end up justifying your own understanding and if you are not
well prepared you could end up either finding holes in your understanding or
shame for not being as well founded as you had thought you were.
I used to think that there was a certain amount of wickedness that
was unavoidable. I used to think that
some of that wickedness on display was to ensure the end-result was always
revealed and that being the case, one with Wisdom would grow. However, I am convinced, if I see wickedness I am nowhere close to where Wisdom wants me. Wisdom is Truth and Truth and wickedness only
mix in the end for the sake of Judgment.
The end of this verse where it refers to “blot” is talking about a moral
stain. Rebuking or judging a wicked man
is not a task we should concern ourselves with.
8 Reprove
not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
“Reprove” means to judge or correct. When you disclose to a scorner their scorn,
you are sure to feel the rage of their habitation. A wise man once told me the scenario of what
would bring a man to yell at his wife for his own shortcomings. He told me there are things a man knows he
should be doing or not doing, his conscience will puncture his soul while his
thoughts are on those topics. The man is
unable to elude those thoughts and inner feelings
until he actually does something about them.
When the wife comes along and does the reminding, bingo, the man is able to fight back without hurting himself,
seemingly. Sometimes it is a simple
snide remark initially and if she persists, she is bound to receive an unjust
tongue-lashing. Now the wife is
persistent because, out of love for her mate, she justifies her actions and
continues. Here is the trick, if the man
is able to glean a trace of Wisdom, he can recognize
his condition and get busy with the actions he should have been busy with in
the first place. The point here is that
we can easily become a scorner. It is
not so hard to take a position and glue yourself to a mindset.
If we have Wisdom and are wise, it goes without saying, we have
been rebuked a time or two along the way.
How do we respond? Are we willing
to listen to chastening and make adjustments? The contrast in this verse is
interesting. The scorner being corrected
will hate thee but the wise man will love thee. If while you are reading this
you are having trouble putting yourself on one side or the other it is time to
stop. Take inventory of your
condition. First of all
you have to be careful considering yourself to be a wise man. Secondly, you have to
ask the LORD for genuine humbleness from Him.
If someone came up to you and said, “You are pretty stupid about
that!” Would you immediately punch the
person in the nose? There is something
else we have to get through our minds and hearts, the
LORD may not send the most respected authority in a subject to rebuke us of a
certain misjudgment. Often the rebuke is
not an open rebuke but instead more subtle.
When the rebuke comes, if your initial thoughts are along the lines of
questioning your own position first, then you have exemplified Wisdom. Learn to fashion yourself around Truth and
NOT personal exaltation.
9 Give
instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he
will increase in learning.
You have heard the saying, “The rich get richer.” Well this is saying the wise get wiser. We have also heard, “it takes money to make
money.” Well I suppose it could be said
then that it takes Wisdom to get Wisdom.
If you become wise and cannot become any wiser
then you are not as wise as you think you are.
We need to be careful with our opinion of ourselves.
I have often talked to businessmen about how they got started and
what happened along the way that brought them to a successful point. Without exception, during tough times they
sought counsel. During prosperous times
they sought counsel and yes during just everyday times they sought insight from
other businessmen. Do you see a
pattern? When we possess Wisdom we will seek it and be expected to give it! That requires us to be in tune with Wisdom
and Truth constantly.
10 The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge
of the holy is understanding.
We have to have the right perspective of
where we are with the LORD in order to begin having Wisdom. Without this key component it is
impossible. Salvation is mandatory (see
the appendix on Salvation). Wisdom is
only granted to them in the position of being one of His Children.
It is interesting here that the “beginning of Wisdom” and
“knowledge of the holy” are distinct and separated. The word “holy” for some reason is not
capitalized which would indicate “of the LORD” in the KJV. The word means consecrated and is used
throughout the Old Testament describing the sanctified and Holy. Isaiah 5:16 “But the LORD of hosts shall
be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in
righteousness.” Having knowledge of
the holy is mentioned in the New Testament in James 2:19 "You believe
that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
(NIV) Having
knowledge of the holy is not enough to save you. I have heard many say, “I believe there is a
higher being.” The lack of understanding
is the key component of their delusion.
They have knowledge but lack understanding.
11 For
by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be
increased.
It is not that difficult to look at the reality of this
statement. The fountain of youth resides
in making good decisions and keeping ourselves at peace. There is only one place to find True Peace
and that is being one with Wisdom. For
by Wisdom one is able to make their way through life
without many of the standard hardships.
Look at it this way, lets say there are
two guys; one that fashions his life around Wisdom and the other is detestably
wicked. The one having Wisdom will
always follow truth, thus, never really having to worry about what he
says. Nor will he have to maintain
enumerable connections to lies and plots.
This would render freedom and peace to conduct himself worry-free. The people along his path in life will
consist of those with similar character.
His concern is with truth and righteousness. On the other hand, the wicked one if he were
to have any conscience left in him would always have to concern himself with
what others know about him. Everything
is at stake because the person he tries to be is supported by lies. This puts a tremendous (unnecessary) load on
the brain and metabolic system; we like to call it stress. Folks that’s just the internal part, think
about his path through life. Along the
way at any given time another wicked one might attack. Here are just a few verses to firm up what I
am speaking of here:
Proverbs 10:3 "The LORD will not
suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth
away the substance of the wicked." The wicked have to
always seek substance because it leaves as fast as it appears. Proverbs 10:24 "The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the
desire of the righteous shall be granted." Our prayer should be, grant me the desires of
my heart oh LORD but first create in me righteous desires. Proverbs 10:27 "The fear of the LORD prolongeth
days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened." Proverbs
11:5 "The righteousness of the perfect shall
direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness." Remember the saying, “given enough rope and
he will hang himself?” This verse has
the same sort of meaning.
In order to live a long prosperous life
we must have Wisdom.
12 If
thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest,
thou alone shalt bear it.
Let me warn you about something here, it seems as with any
blessing from our wonderful Maker, there is an abusive nature to which corrupts
the gift and makes us essentially worthless and in some cases
even wicked. We would have been better
off not ever having the gift at all. By
abusing it, in this case by scorning, those transgressions end in humility and
pain. This verse is basically saying that we do not need to run down to the
T-Shirt shop and get a dozen shirts made that say something like, “I am the
wisest man alive!”
Remember what a scorner is?
One who mocks and is arrogant.
When we are wise we need to keep in check how
we conduct ourselves. Becoming arrogant
or mocking in our behavior means we will bear the punishment as if we were
wicked. The proper conduct is fashioned
around “the Fear of the LORD” and in this case, a fear of becoming arrogant
with the gifts of God.
13 A
foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth
nothing.
Just in case you were concerned about the word clamorous here, it
is not very good at all. The original
Hebrew root was used to describe something very distracting and confusing as
well as noisy. Sounds like some of the
politicians we hear now and then or one of those special interest groups. Where they say a lot
but the meaning is still unclear. A
foolish woman is described as clamorous, simple and knowing nothing. That is a pretty empty vessel if you ask
me. Don’t confuse this with someone who
is outgoing in their personality, no, it is much more serious than that. In fact, they may seem innocent because they
are simple, they may even seem quiet because they know nothing. But rest assured they cause calamity just the
same.
The word “foolish” is interesting as well; it is only used once in
the entire Bible. It has the connotation
of stupidity but more seriously the Hebrew root means arrogant. Suddenly the depravation of this person
perpetually feeds itself. They build all
they have on their delusion. As you can
imagine, in the end, there is confusion and disorder. The word “simple” is only used here in this
verse and nowhere else in the Bible as well.
It means simple but in a sense of open minded or easily deceived. This arrogant stupidity is a dangerous thing
because they have no regard for anyone or anything but themselves. If we look at it this way; having a set of
principles means when something is contrary to those principles
they are unacceptable. “A foolish” woman
or man will lack these principles and accept anything that seems fitting at the
time. The old saying, “If the shoe fits”
mentality.
14 For
she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in
the high places of the city,
This person, the foolish woman, sits in a seat of prominence in
the city. That is not necessarily a good
thing. I am sure it was well known among
those concerning themselves with her behavior to be the topic of
discussion. Everyone knows she stands at
her doorway and why she stands there.
Because of her stupidity she takes a seat of prominence in the high
places of the city. This is more a
vantage point than a place of respect.
She positions herself here to propagate her calamity.
15 To
call passengers who go right on their ways:
You should go back to Chapter 2 and read verses 10 through
22. It is implied here that those passing
by are on a path. If you find yourself
on a path that takes you close to a place like this, be warned. Subtlety is often used
and the unsuspecting victim will find themselves waking from a distant dream to
find their surroundings substantially different than they once knew.
16 Whoso
is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth
understanding, she saith to him,
Once she grabs the attention of the simple one, even though he
wants understanding and possibly voices it as well, she is poised. She is always ready for a battle, the same
battle that took place in the garden, one of subtlety and deceit.
17 Stolen
waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
Stolen waters and bread eaten in secret are not really indicating
the things one would find at suppertime.
These are symbolic of the fruits of the moment. The jest here is simple; she is unveiling her
wares, which are seemingly the best around.
They cannot be out in the open because they would be revealed as either
counterfeits or the thievery by which they were acquired would unveil her
wicked intentions. Another aspect to
consider here as well is that when secret sin is committed the sinner begins
down the dark path of self-deception.
Thinking the sin is secret and that their forbidden pleasures are better
than the riches of a wholesome life is the most rebellious act one
commits. Adam and Eve had this same
issue when Satan deceived them in the garden.
18 But
he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her
guests are in the depths of hell.
Now for the finale of the previous verse; the ringing of deception
in the loins of the simple coupled with the mindset of the all-knowing fool
entwined in his own justifications cannot see or hear the wailing. The only hope once we have fallen prey to her
is to beg with all our being for forgiveness.
It strikes me too that the path out of this sin is riddled with those
slain by pride and justifications. Any
hint of unwillingness to come clean means the desire of these forbidden fruits
is not fully removed. The rebellion is
still in us. It takes strength and
fortitude to gain the momentum against the flesh.