Wisdom: the quality of having experience, knowledge, and a good judgment.
Folly: lack of good sense; foolishness.
I think that the best way to dig in to this is to divide all of Proverbs 9 into sections:
Proverbs 9:1-6:
Wisdom has built her house;
she has set its seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat and mixed wine;
she has also set her table.
She has sent our her servants, and she calls
from the highest point of the city,
"Let all who are simple come to my house!"
To those who have no sense she says,
"Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways and you will live;
walk in the way of insight.
In these couple verses, wisdom is making herself super attractive and appealing. The image that is portrayed about wisdom is quite something. Wisdom has it's seven pillars and is built at the highest point of the city. I don't know about you but that is where I want to be. She invites those who are simple to come to her house and to those who have no sense she tells them to leave their smile way and that they will live.
Proverbs 9:7-9:
Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.
Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
Personally I love this so much. There is so much truth in this. Seriously think about it! If you ever try to rebuke or correct a mocker what happens, they snap right back at you! On the other hand, when you rebuke someone who is wise, how to they react? They accept the rebuke and take it as something that they can learn from. The wise love it. Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still. Never fear rebuking someone who is wise. There are benefits for both the wise and the person who rebuked the wise.
Proverbs 9:10-12:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For through wisdom your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
One of the easiest things for me to often forget about is fearing the Lord. That's sad because the fear of the Lord is the beginning go wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. What is fear of the Lord? I believe that it is the respect that we should show Him. The one who gave us everything in our life also has the power to take everything away from us in the blink of an eye. The end of those verses talk about how wisdom adds years to your life. Which again, blows my mind. The years might not be physical years, rather maturity. I'm sure we all know that person who acts way more mature than their age, maybe that is just wisdom. I am not sure though! I don't have all the answers. But, it does say that years will be added so that is encouraging!
Proverbs 9:13-18:
Folly is an unruly woman;
she is simple and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
calling out to those who pass by,
who will go straight on their way,
"Let all who are simple come to my house!"
To those who have no sense she says,
"Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is delicious!"
But little do they know that the dead are there,
that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.
A foolish unknowing woman who is simple and knowns nothing is so unattractive. Folly tries to do a lot of the same things as wisdom but is so foolish in all her ways! To anyone who has no sense she tries to tell them that stolen water is sweet and that food eaten in secret is delicious. All the dead are with folly...
I know today's post was long but I hope that you were able to read it all and I hope that there was something that you could take away from it. I believe one of the most important things you could take away is the part about rebuking those who are wise. I cannot stress how important that is.
I hope that you all have a great day today and that you can have an impact on someones life today
~ you are loved ~
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