1 Wisdom has built her spacious house with seven pillars. 2She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. 3She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. 4"Come home with me," she urges the simple. To those without good judgment, she says, 5"Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. 6Leave your foolish ways behind, and begin to live; learn how to be wise."
7Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get a smart retort. Anyone who rebukes the wicked will get hurt. 8So don't bother rebuking mockers; they will only hate you. But the wise, when rebuked, will love you all the more. 9Teach the wise, and they will be wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn more.
10Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.
11Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. 12If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
Folly Calls for a Hearing
13The woman named Folly is loud and brash. She is ignorant and doesn't even know it. 14She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city. 15She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business. 16"Come home with me," she urges the simple. To those without good judgment, she says, 17"Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best!" 18But the men don't realize that her former guests are now in the grave.[a]
Footnotes:
a. Proverbs 9:18 Hebrew in Sheol.
3 comments:
So, do you think that adultery was a problem back then? Since Solomon does not mention it much, I sorta doubt it.
Ok, seriously, it was then and still is right. Even if just with out eyes and mind! So, what can we do?
Apparently seek wisdom!
10Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.
So what is the first step - FEAR.
Fear seems to get lost in our society because no one wants to label our heavenly Father as one who needs to be feared. Our modern culture seems to dictate that having to fear God makes Him bad and then it is harder to witness. Our pastor preached a few weeks ago on how Jesus is always pictured as this very gentle always well kept person who is always gently herding His sheep, etc. You understand where I am going, this is most like not very accurate. Picture the scene in the temple flipping tables!!!
Anyway, point is, we are God's children and should obey His commands and seek wisdom for our own sake and our families. Having a healthy fear of something is a good thing.
Father, give us the drive to seek You daily and to grow spiritually continuously.
In Christ,
cas
Pr 9
Had to skip 8 to get to this one. Two things jumped out at me this morning.
First:
7Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get a smart retort. Anyone who rebukes the wicked will get hurt. 8So don't bother rebuking mockers; they will only hate you. But the wise, when rebuked, will love you all the more. 9Teach the wise, and they will be wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn more.
Consider the corollary, those who respond to rebuke with hatred and inflicting injury are wicked, so learn to take rebuke and criticism WISELY, and love those who critique you. We are how we respond. It is very easy to take criticism very badly, but that's not what God wants. He wants us to love those who try and help.
Also, cas comments about Jesus were echoed in Church Sunday from our youth minister who is leaving to start up a church in West Texas. He said that he wanted to leave us not with the picture of Christ on the cross, cause its hard to turn young men on to someone who seems so fragile and at their moment of pain, but instead to worship a Christ who is on the Throne, tattooed with "Lord of Lords and King of Kings" on his thigh, someone who is just waiting, itching, to jump off the Throne and end all of this nonsense. That's someone who is much easier to die for, to live for, to fight for, to change your life for.
Father, thank You for Your Son, whom we can live and die for, and we can change our lives for. Help us to grow in our wisdom and truly live. Continue watching over these men, and let us have a safe vacation In Jesus' name,
Amen
crb
Fear and Understanding of the Lord are the first keys to gaining wisdom. So - this means READING and studying the Bible. just another (obvious) reason why we should be engaged in this blog.
I have always thought verse 7 was interesting and hard to accept...when i see someone mocking someone/something, i want to "set them straight". i get all righteous. it seems natural to rebuke a mocker and not someone who is wise. This was a good lesson to me.
Father - i know i am busy as i am sure all these men are. i run out of time in my day and admittedly dont always make you first. If i truly stopped, and thought about the consequences, i am sure i would prioritize more as i would fear you more. Help us to do this. Help us to fear you so that we gain wisdom. Amen.
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