Posted by Jeff Short on May 30, 2016 · 1 Comment
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
– Proverbs 1:24
Wisdom has called and, from verse 22, has long called. Wisdom has stretched out the hand, which is a token of sincerity. But this has been refused and gone without regard. These last few verses set up the verses to the end of the chapter, which make plain the consequences upon the simple, scorners, and fools is deserved. They have refused and deliberately ignored wisdom to their own destruction.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 29, 2016 · 1 Comment
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
– Proverbs 1:23
Reproof is a correction and a refutation. Wisdom is ever present to refute the reason of folly. The urging to turn is to turn back from the way of folly and embrace wisdom. Wisdom is not natural to man but can be had. The repenters receive the Spirit of God and thereby the spiritual faculty to understand wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:14). This is where the difficulty comes in for foolish men. God is not stingy to distribute wisdom (Jame 1:5), but men are stingy with their repentance.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 28, 2016 · 1 Comment
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
– Proverbs 1:22
Wisdom not only cries out about the good way but also in warning for those who refuse it. God’s wisdom is not practical advice that we may take, discard, or amend at our pleasure. It is the way of life and the way of folly is the way of death. To refuse wisdom is to go to destruction, which is repeatedly made plain in Proverbs.
Simple ones are ignorant, naïve, and gullible. They are easily persuaded and led this way or that. They come to trouble through a lack of knowledge and discernment. They plunge headlong and do not consider the end of the way they’re going.
Scorners are mockers and cynics. They simultaneously reject and despise wisdom. They are skeptics, “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). They will not receive wisdom. They do not err for any lack of intelligence but for a love of their own intelligence.
Fools are the most commonly met in Proverbs. The word points to stupidity and stubbornness. It is not however a commentary on their mental faculty or ability. A fool is one who takes in all counsels without discernment and just as freely pours them forth. A fool is impatient to learn wisdom and prefers what intuitively appeals at the moment. They lay nothing by true wisdom and will not receive correction.
In verse 22, wisdom confronts these three common characters directly. Their problem is that they “love simplicity,” “delight in their scorning,” and “hate knowledge.” Self-willfulness is prominent in all three. They reject wisdom because they prefer their own way.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 27, 2016 · 1 Comment
She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
– Proverbs 1:21
Concourse means noise, such as made by a large crowd of people. Again, wisdom is personified as walking among the crowds in the common places—the gates, in the city, without, and in the streets. So wisdom is shown as having much to do with common life and is not reserved for the pursuit of scholars in towers. Wisdom is not only there but also crying out. The crying and uttering in these passages also give a sense of urgency to heed wisdom’s counsel.
Wisdom is personified in the feminine, chiefly because the Hebrew word is feminine and so naturally gets the feminine pronouns. Lady wisdom is also the counter figure to the foolish woman and the strange woman throughout Proverbs. I’m quite intrigued by the feminine motif throughout Proverbs but don’t have the wisdom to understand it fully.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 25, 2016 · 2 Comments
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
– Proverbs 1:20
Thus far we have seen two different ways and two different ends—the way and end of folly and the way and end of wisdom. Verses 10-19 showed the way and end of folly through the sinners’ enticement. Verses 20-33 now show the calling of wisdom.
Solomon shows that wisdom is accessible. Wisdom here cries and utters her voice in the streets. Wisdom cries openly. The streets are the common place of common men and women. The rest of the passage also bears out that wisdom is accessible. So wisdom is not some secret or mystical knowledge only for a few initiates like the Gnostics taught.
Solomon warns that sinners are calling and compelling us to go their way. He also teaches that wisdom is in the common spaces and cries out to be heard and followed. A part of his aim is to teach us to discern the call of wisdom and walk in the good way.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 23, 2016 · 1 Comment
So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
– Proverbs 1:19
It is a mark of wisdom in Proverbs to look ahead and consider the end of one’s actions. It is equally a mark of folly to rush ahead without due consideration of the consequences. Fools either fail to consider the consequences or they lack wisdom so their assessment of the consequences is false.
Solomon identifies the “ways” of those motivated by greed. He has many things to say in Proverbs concerning ill-gotten gain, the lust for it, and the ruin it brings. Paul identified such greed as “the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10) and “idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 20, 2016 · 1 Comment
And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
– Proverbs 1:18
The sinners are deceived in thinking their traps are for someone else. They will be taken in their own traps. The trap of folly runs throughout Proverbs. Fools are taken down in their own foolishness. Solomon is exposing the folly for what it is. They are making plans out of greed but they are the ones that will come to ruin.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 19, 2016 · 1 Comment
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird,
– Proverbs 1:17
Solomon here contrasts the greedy company with a natural bird. A bird has preservation instincts so that it will avoid an obvious trap it sees being set. So the bird has a kind of wisdom. This contrasts with the greedy who run into a trap because they are blinded by their folly.
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 18, 2016 · Leave a Comment
For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
– Proverbs 1:16
The end goal for the company was the treasure (Proverbs 1:13-14). Solomon later identifies their motivation by being “greedy for gain” (Proverbs 1:19). Their greed has so clouded their judgment and overridden their sense that they are quick to commit other crimes in order to achieve their end. Robbing a rich house sounds appealing but shedding blood sounds repelling. However, shedding blood might be necessary in order to rob the house. In that case, they’re quick to shed blood. Solomon exposes the way of folly as a complicated and compounded way of evil.
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Proverbs 1:24
Posted by Jeff Short on May 30, 2016 · 1 Comment
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Wisdom has called and, from verse 22, has long called. Wisdom has stretched out the hand, which is a token of sincerity. But this has been refused and gone without regard. These last few verses set up the verses to the end of the chapter, which make plain the consequences upon the simple, scorners, and fools is deserved. They have refused and deliberately ignored wisdom to their own destruction.– Proverbs 1:24
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