Posted on 02/09/2014 11:11:37 AM PST by OneVike
Today's Proverbs paints a vivid picture of wisdom vs folly, personified as two women. One woman, Wisdom, has prepared tasty meat and mixed wine. She sends out her young women to call out from the city’s high places, inviting the naïve and immature to come to her feast. Here they will gain insight and understanding.
Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
Another woman, Folly, has also prepared her feast and bids the simple join her. However, her feast does not lead to wisdom.
The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way . . . but he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Proverb 9
Proverb 9 (NKJV)
The Way of Wisdom
Wisdom's Invitation
01 Wisdom has built her house,
00She has hewn out her seven pillars;
02 She has slaughtered her meat,
00She has mixed her wine,
00She has also furnished her table.
03 She has sent out her maidens,
00She cries out from the highest places of the city,
04 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!"
00As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
05 "Come, eat of my bread
00And drink of the wine I have mixed.
06 Forsake foolishness and live,
00And go in the way of understanding.
07 "He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
00And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
08 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
00Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
09 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
00Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
00And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
00And years of life will be added to you.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
00And if you scoff, you will bear it alone."
The Way of Folly
13 A foolish woman is clamorous;
00She is simple, and knows nothing.
14 For she sits at the door of her house,
00On a seat by the highest places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by,
00Who go straight on their way:
16 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here";
00And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
17 "Stolen water is sweet,
00And bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
00That her guests are in the depths of hell.
The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs by Solomon is to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.
Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.
One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.
We the people are to blame, because we ignored God';s guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.
Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. Today is the 7th, so Proverb 7 should be read. In the Months that have less than 31 days, I just double so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.
Well obviously I’d want to party with the woman of wisdom ‘cause she’s got all the hot young chicks.
Proverbs, chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
The Two Women Invite Passersby to Their Banquets*
Woman Wisdom Issues Her Invitation
1Wisdom has built her house,*
she has set up her seven columns;
2She has prepared her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
3She has sent out her maidservants; she calls*
from the heights out over the city:a
4“Let whoever is naive turn in here;
to any who lack sense I say,
5Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
6Forsake foolishness that you may live;*
advance in the way of understanding.”
Miscellaneous Aphorisms
7Whoever corrects the arrogant earns insults;
and whoever reproves the wicked incurs opprobrium.
8Do not reprove the arrogant, lest they hate you;
reprove the wise, and they will love you.b
9Instruct the wise, and they become still wiser;
teach the just, and they advance in learning.
10The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.c
11For by me your days will be multiplied
and the years of your life increased.d
12If you are wise, wisdom is to your advantage;
if you are arrogant, you alone shall bear it.
Woman Folly Issues Her Invitation
utterly foolish; she knows nothing.
14She sits at the door of her house
upon a seat on the city heights,
15Calling to passersby
as they go on their way straight ahead:
16“Let those who are naive turn in here,
to those who lack sense I say,
17Stolen water is sweet,
and bread taken secretly is pleasing!”*
18Little do they know that the shades are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol!*
* [9:1–6, 13–18] Wisdom and folly are represented as women, each inviting people to her banquet. Wisdom’s banquet symbolizes joy and closeness to God. Unstable and senseless Folly furnishes stolen bread and water of deceit and vice that bring death to her guests. The opposition between wisdom and folly was stated at the beginning of chaps. 1–9 (folly in 1:8–19 and wisdom in 1:20–33) and is maintained throughout, down to this last chapter.
In comparable literature, gods might celebrate their sovereign by building a palace and inviting the other gods to come to a banquet and celebrate with them. Presumably, Woman Wisdom is celebrating her grandeur (just described in chap. 8); her grand house is a symbol of her status as the Lord’s friend. In order to enter the sacred building and take part in the banquet (“eat of my food”), guests must leave aside their old ways (“forsake foolishness”).
Verses 7–12 are unrelated to the two invitations to the banquet. They appear to be based on chap. 1, especially on 1:1–7, 22. The Greek version has added a number of verses after v. 12 and v. 18. In the confusion, 9:11 seems to have been displaced from its original position after 9:6. It has been restored to its original place in the text.
* [9:1] House: house has a symbolic meaning. Woman Wisdom encourages marital fidelity (2:16–19; 5; 6:20–35; 7), which builds up a household (cf. chap. 5). Some scholars propose that an actual seven-pillared house is referred to, but so far none have been unearthed by archaeologists. Seven may simply connote completeness—a great house.
Some scholars see a connection between the woman’s house here and the woman’s house in the final poem (31:10–31). In chap. 9, she invites the young man to enter her house and feast, i.e., to marry her. Chapter 31 shows what happens to the man who marries her; he has a house and enjoys “life” understood as consisting of a suitable wife, children, wealth, and honor.
* [9:3] She calls: i.e., invites; this is done indirectly through her maidservants, but the text could also mean that Wisdom herself publicly proclaims her invitation.
* [9:6] That you may live: life in Proverbs is this-worldly, consisting in fearing God or doing one’s duty toward God, enjoying health and long life, possessing wealth, good reputation, and a family. Such a life cannot be attained without God’s help. Hence Wisdom speaks not of life simply but of life with her; the guest is to live in Wisdom’s house.
* [9:13–18] Woman Folly is the mirror image of Woman Wisdom. Both make identical invitations but only one of the offers is trustworthy. Their hearers must discern which is the true offer. She is depicted with traits of the adulterous woman in 2:16–19; chap. 5; 6:20–35; chap. 7. Woman Folly is restless (cf. 7:11), her path leads to the underworld (2:18; 5:5; 7:27), and she is ignorant (5:6). In this final scene, she appears in single combat with her great nemesis, Woman Wisdom. Though the invitations of the two women appear at first hearing to be the same, they differ profoundly. Wisdom demands that her guests reject their ignorance, whereas Woman Folly trades on their ignorance.
* [9:17] “Stolen water” seems to refer to adultery, for “water” in 5:15–17 refers to the wife’s sexuality; “stolen” refers to stealing the sexuality belonging to another’s household. “Secret” evokes the furtive meeting of the wife and the youth in chap. 7.
* [9:18] The banquet chamber of Folly is a tomb from which no one who enters it is released; cf. 7:27. Shades: the Rephaim, the inhabitants of the underworld.
c. [9:10] Prv 1:7; Jb 28:28; Ps 111:10; Sir 1:16.
It actually has a dual purposeful meaning.
So yes it does compare evil vs good, but it also compares the good woman to an seductress who will destroys a man’s souls.
bkmk
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.