* This drawing is in The French Bible, Authorized, 1683 with the titled "La Sainte Bible / traduite en françois sur la Vulgate; avec des notes courtes tirées des SS. Peres & des meilleurs interprétes, pour l'intelligence des endroits les plus difficiles, La traduction du Pseautier selon l'Hébreu à côté de la Vulgate, et La concorde des quatre évangelistes: le tout divisé en trois tomes ...". Among frolicking children, a crowned woman representing Wisdom streams a ribbon inscribed with scripture (Proverbs 9:4): "Quiconque est simple, vienne a moi" (French for "Whoever is simple, let him come to me"). The artist and engraver, Jacobus Harrewijn (1660-1727), has placed his signature in the bottom center. Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
>1. Is wisdom hidden from anyone? (1-3)
* Proverbs 9:1-3 "Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city."
* "Wisdom has built her house"
* "she has hewn out its seven pillars"
* "She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine"
* "she has also set her table"
* "She has sent out her maids"
* "she calls from the highest point of the city."
>What does wisdom say to those who lack judgment and why this? (4)
* Proverbs 9:4 "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment."
* "Let all who are simple come in here!"
* "she says to those who lack judgment."
*
>What does wisdom say is required in order to receive the food and drink she offers?
* Proverbs 9:5-6 "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding."
* "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed"
* "Leave your simple ways and you will live"
* "walk in the way of understanding."
* Just say yes. The simplest thing to tell someone. Sometimes the hardest to do. Self is the only thing keeping me from "Yes".
How many times do I need to say yes? Every time.
Who's fault is it when I don't answer? Mine. Blaming others and excuses are for fools. A fool is an addict that has good reasons to reject wisdom.
Wisdom calls out every day, every moment, every fool-hearty decision, "Come... Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding." (5-6). A fool's first step is to admit they are the only reason they are where they are.
Impossible is the task of convincing a fool to say yes to wisdom for the only person to accept that they are a fool is themselves. Do not bother a fool as he dies in indecision and misery. He must find pleasure in rejecting wisdom as she calls, "I have prepared meat for you."
Can't make a call go thru if there are no lines on the pole.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 9:1-6.
* An abandoned century old cement telegraph pole found along a railroad line in southwest Georgia. The lines have long disappeared from the glass insulators still on the cross bars. Leafless vines, shrub, and trees surround it.
>2. Why is it wise to determine what should be and not be said to someone? (7-8)
* Proverbs 9:7-8 "Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you."
* "Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult"
* "whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse"
* "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you"
* "rebuke a wise man and he will love you."
>How is a person's response to the good news determined by their heart and mind-set? (9)
* Proverbs 9:9 "Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."
* "Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still"
* "teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."
* Instruction, teaching, correction, and rebuke are methods to help a person grow in character, knowledge, and sometimes wisdom. However, that is all dependent on the attitude of the supplier and receiver.
Just because I intend to help someone doesn't mean I am wise. I need to weigh attitudes and situations. I could be well intended, but become destructive in the process.
Mockers are people with internal conflicts. They defy and renounce truth and good things, not only to their own detriment and destruction but that of others. They are provokers of others to wrong, strife, and evil. They are often wicked people though not noticeable on the outside. They demand respect while having little concern for others.
Wisdom instructs me to not correct a mocker or a wicked person. Doing so invites insult, abuse, and hate. Such were the reactions of the religious leaders to Jesus.
Flipping these verses to personal evaluations I learn that I am righteous when I am teachable. I can grow intellectually when I remember that I can learn from others. When I have a problem learning I need to examine my heart. What emotions and thoughts are keeping me from humility and self-value?
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 9:7-9.
>3. Who is the Holy One? (10)
* Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
* "The fear of the LORD"
* "is the beginning of wisdom"
* "knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
* Luke 1:35 The angel answered (Mary), "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."
* 1 Samuel 2:2 "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God."
* Job 6:10 "Then I would still have this consolation-- my joy in unrelenting pain-- that I had not denied the words of the Holy One."
* Psalm 22:3-4 "Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them."
* Mark 1:24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
* Psalm 16:8-11 found in Peter's speech at Pentecost (Acts 2) clearly shows that Jesus is the Holy One.
>In the end who is cause of our life and eternal destiny? (11-12)
* Proverbs 9:11-12 "For through me 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."
* "For through me your days will be many"
* "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."
* Jesus is the Holy One (10). Knowing him is understanding. The fear of the Lord is loving reverence and submission to him. This is the beginning of wisdom.
Jesus is life. Through him, my days are extended (11). Whether like James the first to be martyred (only a few years after Jesus' resurrection) or his brother John who was the last apostle to be martyred, he was a very old man; Jesus promises eternal life through him.
Jesus proclaimed, ""I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." (John 5:24) He also declared, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life." (John 6:44-48)
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 9:10-13.
II. Folly's Invitation (9:13-27)
* This drawing is in The English Bible, Authorized, 1683 with the titled "The Holy Bible : containing the Old Testament and the New : newly translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised by His Majesties special command : appointed to be read in churches". This architectural title-page border features seven tapered columns with Roman Corinthian capitals behind an arch decorated with ornamental designs that frames the title and publication information. Above the arch, the cornice forms a triangle that frames Proverbs 9:1, "Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out her seven pillars." Ionic, ornamental capitals flank either side of the proverb. Directly below the publication information is a modified version of printer John Legate's (c. 1562 - 1620/21 C.E.) Alma Mater for Cambridge produced in around 1600, featuring a nude woman adorned with a mural crown holding the sun in one hand and a cup in the other. The woman is flanked by a tree on either side. The rostrum on a pedestal behind which she stands is inscribed with ALMA MATER CANTABRIGIA, which translates "the nourishing mother Cambridge." The surrounding motto, HINC LUCEM ET POCULA SACRA translates "From here, light and sacred draughts," or less literally, "From this place we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge". Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
>4. What is used to help define and explain folly? (13)
* Proverbs 9:13 "The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge."
* "The woman Folly"
* "Folly is loud"
* "she is undisciplined"
* "without knowledge"
>What are the three traits of folly presented?
* Folly is personified as a woman calling out invitations loudly just as wisdom was personified as a woman sending out invitations via her maids. Folly calls to anyone and everyone; no one is excluded.
Folly is leading an undisciplined life. An undisciplined athlete does not have victories. An undisciplined student does not get passing grades. An undisciplined artist does not produce satisfying and enduring work. An undisciplined worker occasionally does work, yet even then it is mediocre. An undisciplined warrior does not win battles.
Folly is without knowledge. Folly does not know the sweet taste of personal victories. Folly does not know the pleasant touch of learning new and exciting things. Folly does not know the excitement of mastering the artist's technique. Folly does not know that steady purposeful work creates a legacy for her succeeding generations. Folly is a religion without the cross and resurrection of Christ.
Folly is loud. Yet that does not mean that folly cannot be ignored.
Listen to the above comments on Proverb 9:13.
>5. Is folly illusive? (14-15)
* Proverbs 9:14-15 "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 go straight on their way."
* "She sits at the door of her house"
* "calling out to those who pass by"
* "who go straight on their way."
>Who traditionally sat at the door of a house and at the highest point of the city?
* "She sits at the door of her house"
* "on a seat at the highest point of the city"
*
>What is folly's intent as presented in verse 15?
* "calling out to those who pass by"
* "who go straight on their way."
*
>6. How is being simple defined here and the rest of Proverbs? (16)
* Proverbs 9:16 "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment."
* "Let all who are simple come in here!" -Wisdom make the exact same declaration.
* "she says to those who lack judgment." -Wisdom make the exact same declaration.
*
* This image showing a young man in front of and looking at two doors labeled FOLLY and WISDOM by unknown author is now in public domain. Proverbs 9:16 is cited.
>What does it mean to lack judgment?
* "lack of judgement"
*
>Why does folly concentrate her call to the simple who lack judgment?
* The wise won't listen to her.
*
>7. What does folly promise? (17)
* Proverbs 9:17 "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!"
* "Stolen water is sweet"
* "food eaten in secret is delicious!"
*
>What does these mean in practical daily living?
* Folly makes it sound like the crap she offers is sweet. She is lying. As the serpent lied to Eve so Folly lies to me. The way of the fool from afar seems excellent. But in a close study, it is rotten smelly meat. No combination of spices makes spoiled food neither taste good nor stay down. No amount of incense and perfume stops a corpse from petrifying and revolting.
Folly is the religion that seeks to destroy those that leave them. Folly is the religion that promises secret ways (17). Folly is a religion that requires fees to obtain its stolen water. Folly is the religion that keeps hidden secrets for their special elite. Folly is the religion that separates families for the good of their organization. Folly is the religion that puts down those who do not belong to them.
Little do those that hear their folly religious deceptions know that the dead are there, that their guests are in the depths of the grave (18).
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 9:13-18.
>8. Who does not know that death are in deceptive promises?
* Proverbs 9:18 "But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave."
* "But little do they know that the dead are there"
* "that her guests are in the depths of the grave."
*
>Are we to blame when we accept deceptive promises of folly living? (John 9:35-41; Romans 1:18-20)
* Romans 1:18-20 "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
* John 9:35-41 "Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."
37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."
* Yes. Each person is to blame for the decisiions, thoughts, and actions we make. He cannot say, "The devil made me do it." Nor can we say, "The devil planted that thought in my head." And we certainly cannot say, "I had not choice."
