INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to examine two metaphorical women
from the Bible. These women are similar in some ways, but in many ways, very
different. Two women, both of whom give each of us an invitation to join them as we
journey through life.
PROVERBS 9: 1-6
1.Wisdom has built her house;
she has set up its seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls
from the highest point of the city,
4 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
5 “Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways and you will live;
walk in the way of insight.”
13-18:
13.Folly is an unruly woman;
she is simple and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling out to those who pass by,
who go straight on their way,
16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is delicious!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there,
that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.
What similarities do we see in these two?
They both have a home. Wisdom and Folly both have their seat in this world. The two women are symbolic representations of two different approaches to life: The way of wisdom, and the way of foolishness. As we journey through life, we can make our home with either of these two that we choose. Everything in life is a choice. Everything you experience may not be your choice, but how you respond or react to it is. How you choose to allow it to affect you is your choice. Everything we experience in life has the ability to make us better or worse. The choice is up to us.
Notice that the Scripture states that Wisdom built her house. Nothing is said about how Folly gained her house. A life founded on wisdom is built. A life founded on foolishness just happens. A life founded on wisdom has plan, structure, and purpose. A foolish person just lets life drive them like a boat on a storm-tossed sea.
Matthew 7:24-27:
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
In the area where I live there have been thousands of new homes built in recent years because of the massive influx of people into the area. Many of these new houses are built quickly, and made to look pretty, however the quality of the construction is often less than desirable. After all, in our society, flash is what sells, not substance!
I like the saying that I have heard, “It takes a lot of loving to make a house a home.” Our homes should be our safe havens from the storms of life. Who doesn’t desire to come home to a place of peace after a stressful day on the job? But too often in our society, instead of the homes being the place of refuge, they are the place of the storm. A man who tears down his own home, and his own family through his reckless behavior is a fool.
Wisdom builds a home. Folly destroys a home.
“A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.”(Proverbs 10:1)
“But a man who commits adultery lacks judgement, whoever does so destroys himself.” (Proverbs 6:32)
What destroys a home? A father or mother pursuing his or her own selfish interests and not putting the family first; a rebellious son or daughter who refuses to listen to correction; a family member who will not fulfill his or her obligations, a spouse with a wandering pair of eyes, reckless spending. The list goes on and on.
Too many men, in an effort to provide a “better standard of living” for their families, have destroyed through neglect the very ones they seek to provide for in their misguided emphasis on work. As Christ said, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” More stuff does not improve our quality of life.
An article from Time Magazine several years ago recorded these statistics: Nearly one third of American children are born out of wedlock. Those children are four times as likely as others to be poor. More than half the juvenile offenders serving prison time were raised by only one parent. Since that time, these numbers have increased drastically. It doesn’t take a genius to see that there is something desperately wrong in the families and homes of our country.
Wisdom and Folly both give us a call. Wisdom and Folly both call to us from the highest point in the city. What do you suppose that means, “The highest point in the city?” This represents a place of importance, a place of influence and power. Everyone wants and needs to feel that their life has meaning and value. However, there are two different approaches to fulfilling this basic human need. The first way is the way of the world, it is the way of folly. This way is a way that is based on selfishness and pride. This way sums up the totality of what is wrong with humankind. Man desires to be his own god and lives under the delusion that he is the one in control by his own strength and power. This approach causes men to attempt to gain power over their surroundings and fellow men by controlling them. The totally of human history can really be summed up as a repetitive cycle of human societies rising to power and then ultimately collapsing because of the internal corruption and greed of the societies, people, and leaders.
The second way to meet that basic human need to see meaning and value in life is the real path to wisdom, it is the way of humility. It is the life that acknowledges its dependence on the One who created and gave us life to start with. The foolishness of a man who does not acknowledge his dependence on his Creator is like a 5 year old child who acts as if he does not depend on his mommy and daddy for everything.
Many people have a common misunderstanding about the meaning of the words Wisdom and Folly (or Foolishness.) In the Biblical sense, these two words are used more in the context of describing someone’s moral character, rather than the amount of knowledge a person does or does not possess. The Hebrews rightly understood that wisdom is a by-product of good moral character. Louis A. Tartaglia in his book Flawless has this to say:
”Nowadays a man or woman’s reputation is often based on hype, not morality. We judge people by how good they are at doing something. Sports figures are considered great based solely on their performance, not on the kind of people they are. Since most of what goes on in our society is based on promotion, it is publicity and not character that determines our heroes. This constitutes a great moral crisis for our society. Celebrity is revered, and often name recognition is more important than a good name. Worse yet, having a good name no longer implies moral substance. It means visibility through the media. And the media is cultishly devoted to flaws.”
The two Greek words that we translate Wisdom are Sophia and Phronesis. Sophia means “to have the insight into the true nature of things,” while Phronesis is “the ability to discern modes of action with a view to their results.”
We do possess an incredible amount of knowledge (information) about many things in our world today. Our culture does not suffer from a lack of information. If anything, we suffer from information overload. The amount of mail, phone calls, commercials, e-mail that scream for our attention every day is mind boggling. Many people have knowledge about a lot of things but no wisdom. Knowledge is knowing the facts. Wisdom is knowing how to put the knowledge that you have to its proper use. Just because we know “how” to do something does not mean that we should do it.
There are three words that are translated as “fool” or “foolish”. The first is Aphron. The definition of this word is “The lack of commonsense. Perception of the reality of things natural or spiritual… or, The imprudent ordering of one’s life in regard to salvation.”
The second word is Anoetops. The use of this word carries a moral reproach and describes one who does not govern his lusts.
The third word is Moros. This is where we get the English work Moron. This word is used to connotate moral worthlessness. In a sense, if a person chooses to live an immoral life, you can say that he is a moron.
There are a lot of people who have education about certain things, but when it comes to their moral nature, they are fools. A fool is a man who does not have his priorities in order. If you are a father and a husband, and your “things” or your career mean more to you than your wife and children, you are a fool. If you attempt to prove your manliness by committing adultery and dishonoring your wife, you are a fool!
The third similarity that we see in these two women is in their invitation:
Wisdom calls out, “Let all who are simple come in here,” she says to those who lack judgement. “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”
Folly also calls out, “Let all who are simple come in here. “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”
They both invite us in to dine, to have our need for nourishment met. Again, we see the two different approaches to life. We can choose to do things the right way. This means being patient, steadfast, and faithful. Or we can be like the fool and try the way of shortcuts, cheating and lies. I have found in my own life that when I try to take shortcuts the mistakes that I make usually wind up putting me further behind than I would have been if I had done things the right way to start with.
If you are a liar, a cheat, and a manipulator, it doesn’t take people long to figure you out. The only person that you are really fooling is yourself.
The call of Folly is the same lie that the devil put to the man and the woman in the beginning.
”You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it, (that is, the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil) your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing Good and Evil.”
Here is a promise to make you smarter, that really only makes you more of a fool.
Wisdom and Folly both have a home in this world. The two approaches to life that we all have the choice of taking. We can live our lives with an eye to eternity, or we can live our lives to try to gain whatever gives us a little pleasure for the immediate moment.
Wisdom and folly both call from the high places, the places that we regard as important. History has proven time and time again that just because a man gains a place of power in this world this does not make him any less a fool. Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and King Herod are just a few examples of men recorded in the Bible that prove this out. Many more are recorded throughout the pages of secular history, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Karl Marx, just to name a few.
Wisdom and foolishness both give us an invitation to follow them. However, there is one major difference in their invitations.
Wisdom says:
“Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.” True wisdom only comes from God. Wisdom is an attribute of God that He imparts to us when we are in communion with Him.
Listen to these words from the book of James:
” If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
And, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is, first of all pure, then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
Then in Proverbs 1:7:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
The delights of the feast of wisdom have already been prepared for us by the Lord Himself.
“Come eat my food and drink the wine that I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live, walk in the way of understanding.”
Folly gives an invitation as well, but listen to her words,
“Stolen water is sweet, food eaten in secret is delicious”
Doesn’t that sound like the way that a lot of people think? When we can cheat and get away with it, we think we are really smart. But it is really not smart at all. We never really get away with anything, because God knows every bit of what we are doing!
As Romans 14:11-12 states:
“It is written: as surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God. So that each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
And then in Hebrews 4:13:
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.”
Foolishness gives us an invitation to come and take what is not rightfully ours. But if you accept Folly’s invitation to come join her, you will find that those who have joined her are not the best of company. Listen to the rest of the proverb:
“But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depth of the grave.”
Folly always promises what she can’t deliver.
Proverbs 7:
”At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgement. He was going down the street toward her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute with crafty intent. She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home, now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks. She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said, ‘I have fellowship offerings at home, today I fulfilled my vows. So I came out to meet you. I looked for you and have found you. I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deep of love until morning. Let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home, he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home until full moon.’ With persuasive words she led him astray, she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her, like an ox going to be slaughtered, like a deer stepping into a noose, till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life. Now then my son, listen to me, pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways, or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down, her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.”
You are given an invitation today. You can search out the path of wisdom. Not by climbing up a steep mountainside in search of a guru that has the answers to all of life’s mysteries. Not by putting yourself into a trance and trying to commune with “spirit guides”, not by going on a pilgrimage to some holy place, but by putting your faith in God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. By basing your life and actions on God’s Word as contained in the Bible, not on what you think may be right.
There are a lot of nice sounding ideas and philosophies in the world today. There always have been throughout the ages. A mind that has not been illuminated by the Word of God and unaided by the Holy Spirit can be easily tricked into following a lie that in the end only leads to death and hell.
Whose voice are you listening to and following? Jesus said,
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
You have been sent two invitations. Which banquet will you attend?
Danny's Stump 