Proverbs 9:1-18

Proverbs 9:1-18

The introduction of the book of Proverbs wraps up with two invitations to a meal. One invitation is from the woman "Wisdom," who was the subject of chapter 8. Following the invitation in verses 1-6, we have a short endorsement in verses 7-12. The woman, "Folly," extends her contrasting invitation in verses 13-17, which is followed by a single verse warning in verse 18.

Wisdom's house is open and has plenty of space. “Seven pillars” expresses completeness but also a wide-open portico; think of a large open picnic pavilion. Wisdom has sent out her maidens, her serving staff, to invite people to come to her meal. This invitation is for the simple and those who lack understanding. Wisdom's invitation is a call to move up to a higher level.

Our response to the invitation of wisdom defines us and gives us a fair assessment of who we are. If we accept wisdom's work in our lives, we are wise and becoming wiser. If we reject it, no matter what we say, we are fools. Verse 12 is elegantly simple and profound. It is about personal responsibility; wisdom and folly are ours. No one can be wise for you, and if you are foolish, you will and cannot avoid the consequences.

The woman “Folly” offers her invitation. Rather than a spacious open pavilion, she is at the door of a house; the author may be implying a brothel. In verse 15 we see her calling to those who are wanting to do what is right, trying to allure them. Her invitation is to slip down to the level of your comfort. In verse 16, instead of the challenge to rise to a higher level of wisdom, Folly suggests that you slip into the easy shortcut. To offer a contemporary parallel expression, why do the hard work of studying the word of God when you can scroll down on your smartphone and be told what to think?

The one-verse commentary in verse 18 is simple and direct. The invitation of folly is the invitation to death—moral, spiritual, social, and physical. Follies' home is the grave's doorway.

“Lord, help me to accept the rigorous challenge and invitation of wisdom. AMEN.”

Proverbs 8:1-36

Proverbs 8:1-36

To meditate comes from the picture of a cow who will crop off grass and store it in one of her stomachs. Later she will bring up this cud and chew it. If ever there was a passage that deserves that kind of rumination, it is this chapter. Here wisdom advertises herself and calls for our attention, expressing her merits. There are four sections to her address.

First is that wisdom is very available. Verses 1-11 show us that wisdom is all around us if we will but see her. It is not mandatory to go on a venture of personal discovery to find oneself in order to gain wisdom. She is everywhere, but because of our foolishness, we reject her. Locally gained wisdom is better than great wealth gained far away. 

The second section, verses 12-21, shows us the moral character of wisdom. Verse 13 draws a dividing line between wisdom and righteousness on one side and evil on the other. It is possible to be brilliant and still a fool. How does one tell the difference? The difference is in the way of righteousness, verse 20. The most brilliant doctor, rocket scientist, or leader who is immoral is a fool notwithstanding their IQ. Wisdom gives us enduring wealth (verse 18). What is ancient or enduring wealth? It is the wealth that transcends death. Wisdom is seen in the one who lays up treasures in heaven; wisdom is inherently moral.

In the third section we have a passage requiring deep meditation. Some have looked at this passage and mistakenly concluded there is a fourth person to the godhead. While all analogies fail eventually, we might find insight to think about wisdom this way: wisdom is to God what software is to hardware in a computer. By His might, God has done wonderful things; it is the operating system of wisdom through which He has acted, bringing beauty, delight, and joy. 

Verses 32-36 serve as a conclusion but also an invitation. The pursuit of wisdom is, or should be, a lifelong endeavor. Wisdom is out there for us, but we must stop our own prattling and talking long enough to hear her.

Lord, work in my heart so that I will seek wisdom. Amen.”

Proverbs 7:1-27

Proverbs 7:1-27

This passage, which is a continuation of 6:20-35, has applications for every age of history. Some believe it is an allegory about the spiritual infidelity of Israel in the vein of the Book of Hosea. But the simple understanding is best: this passage describes the death-dealing effect of sexual sin.

Verses 1-5 describe how holy living and wisdom are protectors from the death of sexual sin. The word "flattering," in verse 5, can be translated as "smooth" but also "divide." Think of a smooth-talking con-man lawyer who talks to someone who is out of their depth. This woman is skilled at her craft of seduction.

Verses 6-23 tell the whole story of the seduction from the first encounter to spiritual ruin. The clarity and detail of the account are so realistic we might imagine that Solomon had heard the story of ruin or may have, in some way, lived it out. Whether adding a woman to the harem, a one-night stand, a high-end wealthy escort occasion, or a sleazy side-of-town hooker, there are certain consistencies in seduction. Several lessons for our attention are in this sad story. First, in verse 8 we learn there are places it is stupid to go. For us this is true both in person and on the internet. Going to a site where there is danger is what stupid people do. Second, the woman is described as ‘cunning of heart.' The word literally means "hidden." Whatever her outward persona, she is disciplined to keep her true self hidden. People imagine they are wise enough to manage sexual temptation and sin. In reality they are babes in the woods dealing with people far more skilled in the matters of seduction. Not to mention all sexual immorality has a demonic component to it. Demons are far more clever and experienced than we are. Third, notice the timing is very important. She mentions “peace offerings," which were eaten at home. She is inviting him to dinner, a lavish dinner. In fact, it is a religious dinner. More often than we care to admit, sexual temptation is described as God's will. She also mentions that her husband is gone for a long trip and that is why he took a bag of money. With the peace offering at the new moon and the husband's return at the full moon, she is offering almost 2 weeks of uninhabited, casual, non-responsible sex and feasting. We don't get the picture of sex for hire as much as having a sexual fling without responsibility. Once engaged deeply in conversation with all the promises of a ‘great time’ with a steamy lover, he will almost certainly say yes.

Four examples of sudden doom describe the one who submits to the seductress. Oxen are unaware that they are about to be butchered. In those days the perpetrator caught in their crime went straight to the stocks. The arrow shot into the liver is sudden. And the snare for a bird takes its prey in an instant. Seduction and doom go together even if the young man doesn't notice the trap.

Verses 24-27 conclude with the warning that her house is Hell's waiting room. The expressway to destruction is the house of the sexual seductress.

“Lord, grant me a passion to be holy and pure in my sexual life. AMEN.”

Proverbs 6:20-35

Proverbs 6:20-35

If there was ever a place that a chapter break was needed but not given, it is here. This section, if followed, will save endless grief in any life.

As parents we are often big on education. From preschool to college, we are very attentive to the value of our children's education. No doubt academic education is important, but marriage and sexual purity are a million times more important. A person with no formal education who has a good marriage and is sexually pure is better off than a triple PhD whose life is marked by immorality. How could someone follow the godly teaching of parents (vs. 20-23) if their parents never gave them these teachings? From an early age, we need to teach our children the priority of pursuit of a godly spouse.

This foundational teaching serves to protect our children from adulterous women. The word “to keep” in Hebrew is “shamar.” It can mean a hedge made of thorns or a guard or sentry on duty. Without this guard in place, our children are unprotected from the flirtations of evil people (vs 24-26). By the time puberty arrives and sexual attraction begins, it is almost too late to begin talking about the importance of a godly spouse.

The man who is pulled away by such a woman has endless grief. He does harm to himself (vs 27-29); he is marked with shame and reproach by the community (vs 30-32); he also faces the fury of an enraged husband, and there is no bribe to solve that problem (vs 33-35).

“Lord, grant me the wisdom to hold as a priority a godly spouse. AMEN."

Proverbs 6:1-19

Proverbs 6:1-19

It is very tempting to look at this chapter as a collection of five sets of warnings about individually unwise people or behaviors. That is true, but if that is as far as we go, we miss a powerful and important progression. This chapter can represent a continuous journey to ruin.

The first section, verses 1-5, is a warning against debt. The time to heed the advice to get out of debt is not when bankruptcy is about to occur. There's no indication of a financial crisis in these verses. While many Christians will advocate for not paying interest or being in debt, they advocate holding debt on others in the form of stocks, bonds, etc. Perhaps this hypocrisy is caused by our love of money and wealth. We claim to have our money working for us, rather than working personally, but in reality we are extracting wealth from others.

Which brings us to the next section, verses 6-11. Let's face it: easy money and consumer debt are two sides of the same coin. The slugger wants to get goods but doesn't want to work. Go to any community of non-working, able-bodied adults, and you will find high debt levels but low-effort people. Do you remember the stories from the past of college students with full class loads and two jobs? Now student loans cover all expenses, recreation included. Apathy about education goes hand in hand with the loans to have the college experience. In many welfare communities where poverty is rampant, you will find easy credit is the norm. Complete with high interest rates. Never doubt easy credit brings debt, and debt enables indolence, which leads to poverty.

Ever been in a community where welfare and government aid are the primary income sources? You see it described in verses 12-15. Without work to do, there is plenty of time and room for drama. It is no accident that crime and welfare always fall on the same community. Able-bodied adults who do not work, who overspend and are in need, will gravitate to plots, schemes, and plans to get ahead.

In verses 16-19, we see the behaviors of the conspirators; it is descriptive of the drama of verses 12-15. The person involved in the drama is described in verse 12 as “worthless.” The word literally means "no" plus "value." We have sentimentalized the poor as if they are all characters from a Dickens novel. We think of them as victims of a “system” or “circumstance” or the "environment." We pour endless resources into solving the economic problem. But economics is not the problem at all. Certainly there are systems that are unjust and unfair, but we must not avoid asking the questions of the moral culpability of the poverty class.

The failure to address the underlying sins that lead to the disastrous condition in the economic condition is not compassion; it is denial. 

“Lord, grant me a work ethic that will honor You. AMEN."

Proverbs 5:1-23

Proverbs 5:1-23

It is amazing that with a failure rate of 100%, sexual misconduct remains such a powerful temptation. In all of human history there has never been a case where sexual sin produces positive results. Nevertheless, sexual sin remains vibrant in our world. Perhaps the temptation is so strong because it is like a rope of three strands. All three of the root sins can be found in this temptation. The World: In lust we desire to possess people. They are no longer humans, but having been objectified, we make people a thing to possess. The Flesh: the desire to experience more. In all sexual sin, from a fleeting moment of impure thought up to full participation with another, there is the desire for experience. The sin of pride: ego is always bound up in sexual sin; either a person says, “I am above the rules that apply to others,” or we imagine we are so great that we could do for a lover what no one else could. 

There's a reason that sexual sin is often called fantasy. When we try to live a fantasy, we always become delusional and disconnected from reality. Reality is described for us in verses 7-14. Perhaps no other sin compares with sexual sin in its capacity to promise much and deliver little or the very opposite of what is promised. Solomon outlines three ways in which sexual sin ruins us. First is the drain on resources vs. 9-10. From the cost of divorce, porn subscriptions, the financial maintenance of a lover, or the cost of a prostitute, sexual sin is costly. Second, the physical toll of sexual misconduct. Sexual sin is draining, not to mention the possibility of STDs. Third, there is the internal psychological ruin. Multitudes of people live with the constant regret that results from sexual sin. And as Judgment Day approaches, these regrets intensify.

Thankfully there is sexual expression with all the joy and thrills promised but never delivered by sexual sin. In marriage we can have all the delights of sexual fulfillment without death, vs. 15-23. Strange as it may sound, while sexual temptation overpromises and underdelivers, the sexual life in marriage promises much and delivers even more. Sexual purity does require attention, focus, and effort, but the promises of verse 19 are all that a person could ever want in a lover. 

“Lord, help me to live a life of radical sexual purity. AMEN.”

Proverbs 4:1-27

Proverbs 4:1-27

One of the harbingers of a collapse of any nation or culture is the failure of men to be godly leaders. We see it when boys become feral; they have no moral compass, no work ethic, and no reason to exist but the satisfaction of their own appetites. They are useless, and they become slaves to their own passions and operate out of a lawless worldview. This occurs long before the more visible breakdown of marriage, education, economic strength, or national or moral framework. 

What is the beginning point of boys becoming feral young men? It is when fathers fail to teach wisdom and righteousness to the next generation. Notice in verse 1 the plural "sons," but in verse 3 it is singular. The father teaches all his sons wisdom, but each boy feels a singular responsibility; he can't count on anyone else, not even his brothers, to hold the standard of righteous wisdom. 

How can you tell when a boy gets it? This may be the most underappreciated marker of the passage into manhood. It is when he wants wisdom. In verse 7 we see the first marker. The fountainhead of wisdom is the desire for wisdom. When a boy develops the intrinsic desire for wisdom, he has marked a change in his life.

This is critical because his dad is not always going to be there, and sooner or later hard times will come. When, not if, difficulty surfaces, wisdom will keep a young man from failure. Verses 13-14 describe this experience of the coming of difficult times. It is easy to walk or make good decisions in flat open spaces, but the moments of hardships make a fall much more likely. Wisdom is an advantage in good times, but it is critical in the hard moments. Without the strong moral foundation of wisdom, it is highly likely that we will fall into moral failure in the company of evil men, verse 14.

This requires lifelong vigilance. The acquisition of moral wisdom/righteousness is never a one-and-done kind of thing. It requires a lifelong commitment to make sure our hearts or will are oriented in the right direction. Failure in later years is possible unless the heart is consistently directed back to wisdom. This begins for a man in his youth.

“Lord, help prepare the next generation with godly fathers who will teach them wisdom. AMEN.”