God Speaks
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.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Proverbs 9:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
1. God is the source of wisdom. Here God’s wisdom is portrayed as a gracious, wealthy woman inviting the naive to a banquet.
2. People, because of our sin nature, are attracted to folly, which is portrayed here as a rowdy woman who leads people to ruin and death.
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Proverbs 9?
Dear Father God who grants His children access to His wisdom, if only we will ask, like Lady Wisdom in this chapter, You have everything prepared for our benefit. You invite us to learn from You through Your Word the Bible. You invite us to a banquet where we will learn to leave behind our simple (ignorant and uninformed) ways and begin to live using good judgment. You warn us of mockers who will be offended, hate us, and lash out against us, but others who are wise will love us. May I recognize people who are wise and seek to learn from them. I want to grow in my knowledge and fear of the LORD: Your Word says that will result in good judgment. I want a good, long life and the other benefits of wisdom. I don’t want to suffer the consequences of the folly of ignoring or rejecting wisdom, You, and Your ways–going my own way, doing my own thing. Following Folly (who is no lady) only leads to disorder, destruction, and death. I do fear doing what displeases You because I love You, Father. I want to live fully and bring You glory. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Proverbs 9?
- I will look up other biblical references to “Lady Wisdom” to better understand what wisdom is.
- I will memorize Proverbs 9:10 to remind myself where wisdom comes from.
- I will ask God for wisdom, as Solomon did, so that I can make prudent decisions.
- I will look for ways to show good to those who mock God, His people, or His ways and principles.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.