Set to dark modeSet to dark modeProverbs 9 Commentary
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Solomon describes Lady Wisdom’s efforts to construct a sturdy dwelling and invites us all to dwell there with her.
Wisdom calls out to the naïve and the fools, inviting them to the table she has prepared.
There are two ways to respond to the correction and teaching of Wisdom. The first is to scoff and the second is to accept and apply. Which reaction we choose reveals which path we have chosen.
Solomon is setting the stakes for the two life paths we can follow—wisdom or wickedness. Life or death. At the hinge of his presentation, he returns to one of the cornerstones of the path of wisdom: the fear of God.
Folly’s strategies are meant to deceive and confuse, but the differences in messaging show that folly is the way to death and only wisdom is the path of life.
In Chapter 9, Solomon gives a direct juxtaposition between the way of folly and the way of Wisdom. The ways of Wisdom are described in verses 1-6 and the ways of folly in verses 13-18. In the middle, verses 7-12, there is a strong and direct description of the differences between these two paths, with "the fear of the Lord" the focal point of that distinction.
In the first third of this chapter, Lady Wisdom is seen building her house at the very top of the city (the place of prominence and visibility), constructing her sturdy and grand dwelling (complete with seven pillars). She is preparing food and wine, setting a table for a communal meal. With the preparations ready, she calls out for the naïve (untrained novices) to turn in and join her at the table she has prepared.
In the latter third of the chapter, the woman of Folly is unabashedly stealing many of Wisdom's tactics. Her house is "near" the top of the city, she is looking to intercept those who might otherwise land at Lady Wisdom's table. She calls out to the impressionable.
But Folly's message reveals that she is not like Wisdom at all. Whereas wisdom invites others to a table she has prepared, Folly promotes hoarding, thievery, and isolation. Wisdom offers wine and food as symbols of life, to be enjoyed in fellowship with one another. Folly suggests food and wine (symbols of life) are meant to be consumed in secrecy.
The way of Folly leads to death and the way of Wisdom to life, abundant and eternal.
The heart of Chapter 9 is the middle third (vv 7-12). In it, Solomon says wisdom is the key to abundance. It adds quality (and sometimes quantity) to life. Wisdom serves our best interest. Folly's mimicking ways are a perversion. They are untrue and ineffective. And those who reject the message of Wisdom are committing themselves to the danger of Folly's path. The way back begins with fearing the Lord, heeding the instruction of Wisdom's messengers and turning away from Folly into the dwelling of Wisdom, which has been carefully prepared for us.
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