Proverbs 9
Proverbs 9:1-18 (NLT)
1 Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns.
2 She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table.
3 She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.
4 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says,
5 “Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”
7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.
8 So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.
10 Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
11 Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.
12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
13 The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.
14 She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city.
15 She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business.
16 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says,
17 “Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.
Calls are continually coming from the voices of wisdom and folly. Whichever is most feared is the one that will be most heeded. The power of Folly to win this battle of ways is greatly dependent on ignorance of its destination and consequences. Fear of hard work and the loss of personal freedom will sway the heart that is oblivious to folly’s fruit. Revelation of proven truths regarding the inevitable devastation of folly is powerful, though, to turn the heart away from fleshly enticements to the way of discretion and its faithful rewards. Quality and length of life largely depend on which voice gets louder due to its proximity. With each enlightened step towards Wisdom’s call is a progressive ascension to its height of protected, abundant life. This is a significant part of Jesus’ life mission, to bring proximity to the voice that doesn’t just promise mercy’s love, but the abundant life that is found in heeding Wisdom’s truths in the nearness of His presence.