Get Wisdom!

20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; 20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: 22 “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? 23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. 23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.

24 But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, 25 since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, 25 since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, 26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you-- 26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you-- 27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. 27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

28 "Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. 28 "Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. 29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, 29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

 The Book of Proverbs was primarily written by King Solomon, a man who was wiser than all the kings of his day (1 Kings 4:29-34).  The primary purpose of the Book of Proverbs is to give wisdom to all who read it (cf. 1:1-7):  To those who lack wisdom and are therefore in desperate need of it  To those who have wisdom that they might have even more!

 In the first nine chapters of the Book of Proverbs (which contains 31 chapters altogether), Solomon urges us over and over to get wisdom!  In the next few lessons, I plan to teach on some of the texts found in these first nine chapters.  But before I do that, it is important for us to first make sure that we understand what Solomon means when he talks about “wisdom”.

 Wisdom (Hebrew: HOKMA) generally means “masterful understanding, skill, or expertise”. In the Bible it is used of:  Technical and Artistic skills (Ex 28:3; 31:6)  The Arts of Magic (Exodus 7:11; Isaiah 3:3)  The Ability to Govern Well (1 Kings 5:7; Proverbs 8:15-16; 20:26; 2 Samuel 14:20)  The Ability to Have Success in War (Isaiah 10:13)  The Ability to Judge Justly (1 Kings 3:28; Isaiah 11:1-6)

 The possession of wisdom enables humans to cope with life and to achieve what would otherwise be impossible. Through wisdom weak and vulnerable creatures such as the ant and the rock badger, cope and survive against insuperable odds. (Prov. 30:24-28) (Bruce Waltke, p.76-77)  Wisdom is competence with regard to the realities and complexities of life. Wisdom is the ability to know the right thing to do in the 80% of life where the rules of morality don’t apply. Being good and moral is not enough – you’ve got to be wise. (Tim Keller)

 True Biblical Wisdom begins with a true understanding of God and a right attitude towards Him: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)  NOTE: “The fear of the LORD” is that affectionate reverence by which the child of God carefully learns what pleases the LORD and humbly conforms himself to it.

 God is the creator of wisdom  The LORD brought me [= Wisdom - see vs.12] forth as the first of His works, before His deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before He made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. (Proverbs 8:22-26)

 God used wisdom to create the universe:  [Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place. (Proverbs 3:18-19)

 God is the one who gives wisdom  For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6)  Therefore it is only when we begin with a right attitude towards God that we learn true Biblical wisdom.  The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. (Proverbs 15:33)

20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; 20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:  Throughout our text (Proverbs 1:20-33), wisdom is personified or pictured as a woman going throughout the city, calling out to anyone who will listen to her warnings.  And she is pleading with them, over and over, to get wisdom – before it’s too late!

20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; 20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:  The message here is this: wisdom is readily available to all who desire it.  Do you lack wisdom? If so, it isn’t because it’s not available! There must be another reason…

 The Proverbs describe three major categories of people who lack wisdom:  The Simple – those who have not fully committed themselves to pursuing wisdom and are therefore gullible and easily led astray. They are in grave danger, but there is still hope for them.  The Fool – The fool is worse off than the simple: he lacks wisdom (17:16; 24:7); despises discipline and correction (1:7; 15:5); is hot-tempered (12:16; 20:3) and finds pleasure in evil conduct (10:23), etc.  The Mocker – is everything a fool is, only worse! He is proud and arrogant and filled with overweening pride (21:24)

22 “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? 23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. 23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.  Wisdom’s plea here is addressed to the “simple ones”.  If the simple continue on their current path, they will soon become fools or perhaps even mockers.  On the other hand, if they respond to wisdom’s rebuke they can still be saved!

24 But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, 25 since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, 25 since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, 26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you-- 26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you-- 27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. 27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.  If you reject wisdom when it is made available to you, you will some day find yourself facing a huge problem and you won’t have the wisdom that you need to deal with it and so you will end up suffering as a result.

28 Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. 28 Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. 29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, 29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.  If you reject wisdom now while it is still available to you, there will come a day when you will desperately want the answers that wisdom offers, but it will be too late – and you will be destroyed!

32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”  If you are among the simple and you continue to put off your commitment to getting wisdom – in the end it will kill you.  A fool thinks he can ignore wisdom and he’ll still be okay – but in the end it will destroy him.  But if you listen to what the Proverbs have to say and get wisdom while it is available, you will be prepared when the time comes to use it.