Proverbs talks about the father who taught his son to walk on the path of life, and warned him of the dangers he will encounter as well as the encouragement he will find through wisdom. And just as Solomon is instructing his child as a parent, how much more does our heavenly Father desire that we take hold of wisdom and take the paths that lead to life because of His great love and care for us.
Life is a journey, and we will eventually come to hurdles and crossroads that we will need wisdom for. We see in Proverbs 1 the contrast of wisdom’s path that leads to life, and the paths of fools that ultimately leads to death.
20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the public square; 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she declares her sayings: 22 “How long, you naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking? And how long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn to my rebuke, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; 25 And you neglected all my advice and did not want my rebuke; 26 I will also laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes, 27 When your dread comes like a storm and your disaster comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but will not find me, 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. 30 They did not accept my advice, they disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
31 So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes. 32 For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33 But whoever listens to me will live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.” (Proverbs 1:20-33)
We see three themes running through this chapter:
The Call
The Consequences
Our Choice
The Call of Wisdom
Earlier in ch 1, we read about the father’s loving advice to his son. In verse 20 the father is introducing his son to wisdom personified as a lady and will describe her beautiful features throughout the next 8 chapters of Proverbs.
He is teaching his son that she is bold, not afraid of people, she does what is right, speaks the truth.
She is pure, makes good judgments, has common sense, strength and insight (Proverbs 8:6-18).
He is letting his son know that wisdom is personal, that you have to know wisdom (have a relationship with her) in order to walk the wise path in your daily relationships, workplace and in how you use your words.
We all need wisdom in our daily affairs (2 Kings 7:1), at the gates of justice (Ruth 4:1), in our employment (Matthew 20:3), and even in our leisure times (Zechariah 8:5) -
“wisdom touches all aspects of life.”
The father also knows that one day his young son will come into contact with another Women, a woman of folly who also sits on the heights overlooking the city “reaching out for a relationship with his son.”
Folly, is not bold, she is brash (Proverbs 9:13); she sticks her nose into places it shouldn't be. She is ignorant, but what’s worse, she is ignorant of her ignorance. She is, as we will see later, the complete opposite of wisdom.”
Solomon knows that this woman of folly will try to seduce his son through her many promises of pleasure. And those promises will be intriguing, seductive, and incite curiosity.
Folly calls out to people minding their own business with the ultimate purpose of getting him or her on a path which leads to death and the grave.
This is why God-fearing parents, teachers, and leaders need to be teaching the younger generation the truth so that they are prepared to filter out the voices and the choices of folly as they enter the arena of life.
Who needs wisdom?
The writer is saying that everyone at all times, in every place. But in particular there are 3 groups of people who really need wisdom. Unfortunately, they do not recognize their need for wisdom because they are satisfied with their own ways and have consistently ignored her call to reason.
The naive = inexperienced or “simpleminded” (Proverbs 1:4).
They are those who believe everything but examine nothing. They are the under committed, they don’t really know what they’re living for, they tend to go with the flow and conform to the norm. But this group has a chance as long as they are still teachable. Wisdom is asking them, “How long will you live and think like a baby?”
The scoffer or "mocker" is one who insults others contemptuously.
In Hebrew scoffer can also mean "ambassador." So the scoffer is a person who not only disagrees with an idea, but he or she also considers themselves an ambassador for the opposing idea. They think they know everything (21:24) and cannot rest until they have demonstrated the foolishness of any idea not their own.
The Bible has a lot to say about fools.
Because a fool is not discerning, he is easily captivated by all kinds of allurements and deception. Fools are dangerously immature because they are not teachable and actually hate knowledge. And in the absence of instruction and consistent discipline, the simple fool will naturally become more foolish. A fool speaks before they think. They continue doing the same foolish things over and over again because they don’t learn from their mistakes (Proverbs 26:11).
Wisdom is asking, “how long do you plan to live in this dangerous condition? How long will you follow these destructive patterns and stay on this path?”
Wisdom had been extending this warning for a long time but because they refused to believe they were in any spiritual danger, there was no urgency to change.
The Consequence
In vv. 24 -30 Wisdom is saying I repeatedly called out to you, and you heard me, but you deliberately chose to ignore me, refused to listen and learn from my advice and turn from your ways.
When David sinned against God, Nathan the prophet came to rebuke him, and he repented. David’s willingness to accept correction enabled him to finish strong and his kingdom was established. God testified, “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22).
On the other hand, Solomon, David’s son, started out strong but did not finish well because though he wrote wisdom literature found in the Scripture, he neglected God’s wisdom, towards the end of his life - he stopped listening and learning. Instead, he listened to the voice of folly and once his wives turned his heart after other gods he stopped following the Lord God with his whole heart (1 Kings 11:1-13).
He was so filled with his own ways, his own plans and pursuits that there was no room for God. In the end his decision to stop listening to wisdom’s call had a disastrous impact on his own life, his family, and the entire nation of Israel. Solomon experienced the “fruit” of his choices (v. 31) in contrast to the fruit of wisdom. In the end, he sealed his own fate through his faithlessness and complacency.
Whenever a person strays from the fear of the Lord and walking in obedience to His Word, they are straying from wisdom’s call.
Without the daily intake and application of the Scriptures and without the Spirit’s filling and leading the wise will eventually become foolish.
Our Choice
For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
But whoever listens to me will live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil (Proverbs 1:32-33).
Just like the naive, the scoffer and the mocker, we could easily become occupied with pursuing our own desires, dreams and hopes, so filled with the fruit of our own plans that there is little or no room for God and without even realizing it our hearts have slowly been turned away from Him.
Without realizing it we have become complacent - that is we have developed a false security in self, with no need of a biblical, transformative living faith in God.
But Wisdom calls for a life-changing decision that involves turning from sin (repentance) and turning to Christ (faith).
Wisdom is warning the naive person, the scoffer, and the fool to repent of their wilful ignorance, contemptuous ridicule, and of their pride and arrogance. She is warning the three groups of people to repent of embracing and actively pursuing a lifestyle and way of thinking that is in direct opposition to the life of God.
“That word “turn” is the most important word in the Bible for repentance.”
It is not a sentimental word. It is a decisive word. The ability to accept correction or a rebuke is one of the things that distinguish the wise person from the fool.
True repentance involves a sense of awareness of one’s own guilt, sinfulness, and helplessness to save themselves. It’s far more than having remorse or regret about one’s sin. It is turning away from sin and a wholehearted turning to God and taking hold of His mercy in Jesus Christ.
“It involves a complete and irreversible change of mind and actions.”
Wisdom is saying, “the wisest thing you can do is turn to God and turn away from this destructive path. If you do, then I will pour out my Spirit on you, I will make my words known to you.” She promises to change their hearts and teach them the wisdom of God from the Word of God.
If we cultivate our relationship with Wisdom, listening to and walking in wisdom, we will live securely and in confident trust. The promise is one of safety and security.
But if we choose to listen to wisdom, no matter what we do go through in life, we can experience a permanent, settled condition free from the sense of danger or dread.
This is the contrast between the false security of the complacent and the true and lasting peace of the righteous.”
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! (Deuteronomy 30:19).
This is the choice that God has set before us, the path that leads to life and one that leads to death. Our choices affect us, our family and our future. Proverbs 1:20-33 expresses our heavenly Father desire that we choose the path which leads to life!
