A Difficult Choice

Proverbs 9:4 (BES) Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me: and to them that want understanding she says,

The LXX here uses “foolish” compared to the “naive” of the NASB and the “simple” of the KJV.  It is a condition that most of us suffer from when we’re talking about the wisdom of God.

What struck me here is the fact that in our present condition, whichever of these words you choose, we still have to make decisions.  Further down in the chapter you have evil making the same invitation.  Again, the choice is offered to people.  One of the things that I noticed reading in the Old Testament is this matter of choice is very clear.  Contrary to the understanding that we have in some traditional theology, we have choices.  We decide which way we want to go.  God responds to our decision, but He doesn’t force it on us.

So?  Choices start in every day decisions.  Our motivation and our priorities decide which way we go.  Ultimately we have to decide and make a choice on whether we are going to respond to the offer salvation found in Jesus Christ.  God’s grace is waiting for our decision.  

The Price of Truth

(Pro 9:14 KJV)  For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

You think you have problems.  You do.  The problems you have are nothing new.  One of my problems is trying to find a news source that will actually tell me the truth without the spin.  You all know how hard that is.  Consider this chapter in Proverbs.

We have two women depicted in this chapter.  Much of the descriptions are identical.  They are both sitting calling people to come and partake of their “wisdom”.  They are not the same in spite of the similarities.  The first one’s advice leads to understanding.  This one will lead you to hell.

How do you tell the difference?  The first leads you to greater wisdom.  The second uses the theft.  What did Jesus say?  “By their fruits you shall know them.”

So?  We may not be able to listen to someone short term and know if they speak truth.  The insight comes over time as we watch their patterns and reliability.  This is true of news.  It is true of political leaders.  It is true of Bible teachers.  We can’t get away from paying attention. 

Stay on the Road

Proverbs 9:9 (KJV) Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

There is another place where we get the phrase, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”  This is another approach to that principle and gives us some insight into why the principle is true.

There is an attitude at work here.  This person assumes that there is more to learn.  A know-it-all usually will not admit that evaluation but if you talk to them they always assume they have the final picture.  The wise person on the other hand is willing to listen because he knows that an infinite God always has something else to add.

So?  I trust you have started your journey of faith.  Now the goal is to stay on the road and keep moving.  Keep one eye on the path in front of you and the other on the horizon for the breaking insights.  

Take off Your Boots

Proverbs 9:6 (KJV) Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

I think we have all seen those movie clips where someone is drowning and the hero comes to the rescue.  If the hero wants to live to be lauded there are a couple of things he must do.

First, he needed to learn to swim himself.  If he can’t swim then it isn’t real smart to jump in the deep water.

Second, take off your boots.  It is hard to swim with boots on.  They will do nothing but hold you back.

What does that have to do with this verse?  Notice that this first voice is advising the fool on how to live.  One of the first things us fools need to do is discard the foolishness.  That means we need to be willing to get rid of anything that is holding us back or might weigh us down.  As fools we have a lot we cling to that is either dead weight or totally counter productive.

So?  If you want to move forward in the things of God you need to pause and consider the ideas and habits that might make it impossible to make progress.  We sometimes refer to this as repentance or confession.  Understanding is waiting.  

First Step

Proverbs 9:4 (KJV) Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

It occurred to me this morning that possibly the first step in gaining wisdom is to realize you need input from outside yourself.  I noticed that this is wisdom calling out here and accusing us of being simple.  Actually, as I have read this in the past I have breezed over it because I have not considered myself one of the simple.  Maybe that’s a first step that I need to grasp, or take, if that’s more appropriate.

As a skeptic, I asked a lot of questions.  You can ask stupid questions because you’re not listening.  I’m sure that I have my times when I do that, but most of the time I ask questions because I am listening.  Not only am I listening, but I am remembering things that I’ve heard and read before.  I like to think that most of my questions are based on either a lack of knowledge about something or a perceived inconsistency that I want to resolve.

So?  I plan on continuing to ask questions but I need to begin to assume, as a starting point, that I am not the wise one.  I need to be careful not to try to play “gotcha”.  

Missed It

Proverbs 9:12 (KJV) If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

I recently had the opportunity to preach.  One of the great benefits of preaching is that it forces me to study more, to contemplate what the word is actually saying, to dig into the Greek and Hebrew as much as my limited education will allow.  I treasure the times that I’m able to do that.

One of the other benefits of preaching is that you never know when you’re going to say something that comes home in your own heart and mind.  That’s the focus of this verse.  I would hope that when I’m teaching or preaching, I’m dispensing some kind of wisdom that I’ve gleaned from the scripture.  The point here is that much if not all of what I glean needs to be applied to myself.

It’s always easy to decide what someone else needs to hear.  It’s always hard to listen to it ourselves.

So?  What is God saying to other people?  Keep in mind he probably is saying it to you first.  I guess I need to listen to that don’t I?  

Some Things Are Worth Repeating

Proverbs 9:10 (KJV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Don’t tell me you’ve never heard this verse before.  The problem with verses we are familiar with, or truth that is often repeated, is that we get used to it and don’t stop to think about it.  It might be useful every month when I read through this chapter of Proverbs to stop and contemplate this as one of those great truths that needs to be reconsidered regularly.

I can’t guarantee I’ll still feel that way next month but right now I need to remind myself about the importance of the fear of the Lord.  This is a stew of ideas.  As in any good stew it has many ingredients and the more they influence each other, the longer they are cooked, the more they are reheated, they just get better.  So start with the craven fear that makes us tremble in the corner when we hear a noise in the dark.  We don’t like to think about that, but that might be a good place to start.  We live in a day where we get complacent and we have great security.  That makes us take things for granted.

So?  Let’s start there this week, this month, today.  God is so holy, so grand, so beyond our understanding that it behooves us to spend a moment trembling in the corner in fear.  Of course that is then mitigated by the fact that we know Jesus loves us, which means that God loves us.  We belong to Him.  That will help us come out of our corner. 

Angle on Repentance

Proverbs 9:6 (KJV) Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

One of the trails my thinking is running down deals with salvation and what’s involved in it.  I’m thinking of words like justification, regeneration, faith, grace, and a word that I never thought was controversial, but evidently is, repentance.

Evidently there are some people that think that repentance is a work of the law and is not necessary.  I find that rather novel and naïve.  Why that comes to mind is that in looking at this verse I see an insight offered about what repentance involves.  Noticed that first word “Forsake”.  I always think of repentance as being a change in direction.  I believe that’s at part of the root of the word, turning.  This gives another view of it.  When you turn. when you change direction. you are forsaking things which have been important to you before.  You are forsaking your goals and possibly your dreams.

So?  Forsake in a sense means to let go.  I understand “let it go” as not just to release your hold upon the rope and sink into the sea but to transfer your grasp to something that will actually save you.  You’re letting go of your own ambitions, strength and wisdom, and instead trusting in God, and in the blood of Jesus.  Just another view of repentance. 

Quite a Pair

Proverbs 9:13 (KJV) A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

The word “simple“ or “naïve“ has the idea of being empty headed or, as I’ve said before, having an open mind.  It’s like driving down the freeway in a pickup loaded with ping-pong balls and having a tailgate down.  That is the kind of openness we are talking about.

Although I won’t consult it for doctrine, the NLT paraphrase has an interesting insight here.  It says,

Proverbs 9:13 (NLT) The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.

That’s quite a pair being ignorant about being ignorant.  It’s ignorant, both looking out and looking in.

So?  The solution to this problem is to close your tailgate and fill your pickup with truth that is vetted by God himself.  Seek wisdom in Him not in your culture, your education, your friends, or within your open mind. 

Time to Grow Up

Proverbs 9:6 (KJV) Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

The word “foolish” here is one that we might want to avoid, but there is a sense in which we all start there.  Some of the synonyms for this are “simple”, “naïve” and so forth.  When we are young, we tend to be simple.  When we are new converts to Jesus and followers of Him, we don’t know much and so we tend to go with what is basic.  That in itself is not a problem.

The problem comes when we refuse to grow.  We are to “forsake” our foolishness.  Part of what that means to me today is that we are to study our Bibles in such a way as to find the deeper meanings that God has given us.  Yes, we can start with the basics.  It’s always good to have a solid foundation of simple truth.  But the thing about the Bible is it meets people at all levels.  Children can sing “Jesus loves me this I know.”  Someone with a PhD in physics can sing the same song, but he will eventually want to go deeper and further and understand it better.

So?  Keep growing.  The other part of the Bible is that it is so deep that we will be able to study it in eternity, and keep finding new gems.  Rejoice.  And study.

Pick a Card

Proverbs 9:6 (KJV) Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

In the sense, we are all born “foolish” (6612a). They are different words used for this.  You can say “simple”, you can say “naive”, here it is “foolish”.  The CSB uses it’s own word,

    Proverbs 9:6 (CSB) “Leave inexperience behind, and you will live; pursue the way of understanding.

This translation prefers the word “inexperienced”.  Regardless of the words you choose.  There’s a thought here that needs to be reinforced.  This kind of handicapped mentality is a choice.  You may not have chosen to be there in the first place, after all, we are all born at a very young age.  You have the choice of staying there.  You have the choice of leaving.

This is one of the reasons we encourage people to read their Bibles on a regular basis.  It’s one of the expectations we have from attending worship service and hearing the preaching that comes from the pulpit.  That’s why we attend Sunday school and hear the insights shared by other believers.  We were given constant opportunities to grow.

So?  The choice is up to you.  Pick a card.  Any card.  If you’re looking to get the right one, keep in mind that the dealer has a way of getting you to pick the one he wants.

Interpretations

(Pro 9:16 KJV)  Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

How much flexibility do you allow a translator in conveying the truth of God?  Do you notice in this verse the word in the KJV, “simple” (6612a).  I believe the NASB has “naïve”.  The same word in Hebrew is used earlier in the chapter when wisdom is calling people.  Here it is the opposite of wisdom that is doing the calling with almost an identical spiel.  In the other translations, the same English word is used in both places but here in the Septuagint they substitute a different word.

Proverbs 9:16 (BES) saying, Whoso is most senseless of you, let him turn aside to me; and I exhort those that want prudence, saying,

To be honest, I like the difference.  It gives me an insight into people who respond to the nonsense of the world.  The problem I have is that the Hebrew word is the identical in both places.  I think this is a liberty that should be allowed in the commentary but not in the actual text.

So?  Choose your translation wisely.  Read carefully.  Think deeply.  Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to the understanding you need.

Sound Bites

(Pro 9:13 KJV)  A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

As you read through this chapter in Proverbs, you will notice that you have the wise woman at the beginning, and the foolish woman, toward the end, starting off with exactly the same statements.  I would guess that the foolish woman was quoting the wise woman because she knew that the wise woman had the respect of the people in the community.  Although she was foolish, she knew enough to start off on the right foot.  She knew how to quote wise sayings.

But she didn’t know what she was talking about.

We are surrounded by people who know how to put out great sound bites.  We see it in politics. We see it in the church.  It’s pretty obvious in the news media and in the classroom.  The problem that we have is that often they have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about and what the words mean.

So?  Don’t be that foolish woman.  Look at the words and think about what they mean.  Spend some time contemplating and reading and, while you’re at it, listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying.  You can know. 

Swamp Navigating

(Pro 9:17 KJV)  Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
(Pro 9:18 KJV)  But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

As I read the New American Bible I did not notice anything in the translation and the comments seemed acceptable but they made my mind go on a tangent.  I started thinking about the preaching that goes on in some churches and the teaching in some Christian colleges that ignores the truth of the Bible and instead quote pagan psychologists and philosophers for their points.  Or what if they refer to popular music without tying it into the Word of God.  They are offering  “stolen” (1589) “water” (4325)

That is on them.  Whether you accept what they say is on you.  It is also on me.  That is one reason I try to have my Bible open when someone is sharing “truth”.  

So?  Beware of the deceivers out there.  There is a lot of counterfeit “wisdom” that is masquerading as the real thing.  God has given us His written word and the Holy Spirit to help us through the swamp. 

Jettison

(Pro 9:6 KJV)  Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Isn’t this where it gets difficult?  One reason that death-bed conversions are so sought after is that they don’t require you to “forsake” (5800a).  One reason that so many fall away from the faith is this idea of giving up that which we prefer to cling to.  I wonder if one reason why so many complete the narrow road is because they are carrying so much wide baggage that they can’t get through the tunnels and overpasses without giving something up.  I always enjoy those videos that show a truck speeding under a low overpass and leaving much behind.  When it comes to salvation it isn’t so funny.  In both cases the warning are clear.

So?  Be alert for the urging of the Holy Spirit to jettison some cargo or abandon a habit.  Sometimes God can miraculously remove burdens.  Sometimes it is up to you.  Pay attention. 

Cross-Referencing

(Pro 9:11 KJV)  For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

As I was reading this another verse came to mind and I put them together.  Note the words of Jesus,

(Mat 6:27 KJV)  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

We would think this is a rhetorical question and Jesus probably meant it that way in His context but I notice when comparing it with this verse in Proverbs and other cross references suggested that there are ways to extend you life.  To see the point you need to look at the NASB,

(Mat 6:27 NAS77) "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span?

The basic thing Jesus is criticizing is worry or concern.  

Now look at Proverbs again.  It says that wisdom can extend out lives.  One of the key points of wisdom is to fear God, not man.

So?  Life choices based on the wisdom of God do have an effect.  It is up to us to apply what we know to what we do. 

Grandma’s or Fast Food

(Pro 9:4 KJV)  Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

Again I point out that this verse is identical to verse 16.  Every time I go through this chapter I try to put my finger on the differences built around two identical statements.  One leads to wisdom and the other to death.  How can we know which we are listening to?  Today I am noticing the element of preparation.

The first woman spends a lot of time preparing the banquet.  The second sits down and calls.  Think of the difference between dinner at grandma’s and a drive through where the tacos are prepared from the freezer to the fryer to the window.  When it comes to a meal we can tell the difference.  When it comes to Bible teachers I think we can also tell the difference.  The question is, “Do you want to know?”

So?  Consider to whom you listen.  Do their words reflect serious study, contemplation and thought or is it just the current popular jargon of the day.  Partake cautiously.

Fear that Is Foundational

(Pro 9:10 KJV)  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

I spent some time thinking about situations in life where fear has been a key to personal growth.  What situations does a proper fear improve?  The first thing that came to mind was learning to drive.  Do you remember that sense of insecurity that came the first time you got behind the wheel?  Maybe you don’t but I was very much aware of what I did not know and as the car began to move I was ever more aware.  Sometimes the fear morphs into a lack of respect.  Being drafted into the Armed Forces had that effect.  You quickly learn that there are those who are warriors and patriots and those who are looking for an easy paycheck and early retirement.  

Fearing God opens the door to worlds of wonder.  When I watch a sunrise and realize that I know the artist, the glory takes on a whole new meaning.  When I watch my grandchildren and realize that they are unique expressions of the image of God, I can only feel humbled.

So?  Take God seriously.  Fear.  And then move on to all the other doors that will open as you experience a healthy awe and reverence.  If you need a clue watch for the palette of colors used on the clouds before sunrise. 

You Know Better

(Pro 9:6 KJV)  Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

As I read this chapter today my mind was already on the concept of free will and choices.  This reinforced my thinking.  We are given choices in life.  The Old Testament resounds with the call to make the right ones.  It is not demanding perfection but it does require a mind that leans in the right direction.

This verse assumes that we can tell the difference between “folly” (6612a) and “understanding” (998).  I will grant that there are times in life when there are shades of gray but God knows that and allows for our limitations.  What He does not have a place for is the rebellious heart.

So?  Accept responsibility and seek to make righteous decisions.  It makes a difference. 

Chance or Choice

(Pro 9:4 KJV)  Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
(Pro 9:16 KJV)  Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

If you compare verses four and sixteen you will notice that the only difference is the “and” in verse 16.  We have the same call going out in both cases.  The call is the same, the message is totally different.  One leads to life and the other to death.  That is quite a difference when it all starts out the same.  Which one does the listener respond to?  Is it just a matter of chance?  Did it all depend on what part of the city you were in?  I don’t think that is the point.

People tend to respond to the message they want to hear.  We have the same thing going on today.  Some people respond to the prosperity gospel because they are still focused on themselves.  Others listen to the call to repentance because they are aware of their sin.  We all have access to the words of God.  We respond differently.

So?  Which one do you respond to?  To the invitation God wants you to hear or the promises that move you toward your dreams?  Consider wisely.  Some choices you must make yourself.