Proverbs 1:24

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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Proverbs 1:23

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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Proverbs 1:22

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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Proverbs 1:21

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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Proverbs 1:18

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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