Choosing Wisely

A Sermon Presented by Cephas Luke Bahago

On February 5, 2023 During the Church Service

At Fellowship Church Louisville

Introduction

Ø My hosting of Himma

I count it a privilege to close this section of Proverbs today. As you would have noticed, or will notice, chapters 1-9 of Proverbs are an organized collection of foundational worldview premises that inform the rest of Proverbs. Therefore, if you see closely, you will notice commonalities among the chapters. And, what the faithful speakers that we have listened to here have been doing is expounding on these foundational worldview premises, which the book presents from the onset. Therefore, the rest of Proverbs is founded on the truths of chapters 1-9. We will experience a similar pattern of writing at the end of the chapter.

Key among these truths are the definition of Wisdom, which is the fear of God, reliance on godly rather than human Wisdom, the eternal value of purity, and the necessity of marital faithfulness. However, what has always stood out is the personification of Wisdom as a noble and generous woman constantly seeking simple men and inviting them to come and gain Wisdom and save themselves from death. Her call and promises contrast with Lady Folly, who promises depravity and death.

The chapter in focus today is a final poem that presents us with contrasting personifications of Wisdom and Folly. And, on a side note, I am sorry to disappoint you if you read this chapter and began to expect the sermon to be about food.

The Callers (1-3, 13-15)

The writer provides a contrasting personification of the two main characters of the book of Proverbs: Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly. In this chapter, we encounter two callers: Lady Wisdom in verses 1-3 and Lady Folly in 13-18. Each of these ladies shows her nature through her possession, purity, and prudence.

Regarding Possession, Lady Wisdom Owns what she offers, while Lady Folly Owns nothing: Lady Wisdom gracefully shows that she is the source of both people and property. Of the 7 times that the possessive adjective “her” was used in this chapter, six belong to Lady Wisdom: her house, her seven pillars, her beasts, her wine, her table, andher young women. Clearly, Lady Wisdom does not look like she could not offer what she promises. Hence, anyone that would not listen to her when she calls has lost interest in all things good. On the other hand, Lady Folly has only a house, but it is the house of death. In fact, she lacks even the basic, most fundamental possession of all, literacy.

Regarding Purity, Lady Wisdom demonstrates her purity of purpose by providing for the salvation of the weak and the simple. But, at the same time, the seductive Lady Folly attracts attention to herself for the purpose of moral corruption. Lady Wisdom’s intentions are best captured in Jesus’ Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22. The parable tells of a king who sent his servants to invite poor people to partake in the banquet he prepared for the privileged. This parable demonstrates God’s desire and plans to save people outside the salvation net. Similarly, when Lady Wisdom sent out her women, she showed her purity of purpose, which was the salvation. Lady Wisdom Wants to Save, While Lady Folly is seductive drawing attention to herself, and offers moral depravity. This lady is confident of her seduction that she openly advertises her immorality without fear, to which many would buy. In the final analysis, we cannot trust Lady Folly.

Regarding Prudence, Lady Wisdom is busy being the source of what she offers:

Wisdom is a metaphor for God

i. She built her house

ii. Set her 7 pillars, which many consider a metaphor for the temple

iii. Prepared a banquet

iv. Set her table

v. Sent out her servants to invite the simple

On the other hand, Lady Folly is

i. Noisy: she overcompansates her lack of knowledge with loquaciousness

ii. Simple,

iii. Knows nothing

iv. Does nothing: she sits at the door of her house. Neither she, nor any servant go out to look for the simple

To cap it all, the descriptions of Lady Wisdom are those of God. Last week, Kyle showed us how Wisdom prefigures the person and work of Jesus Christ. We see a similar thing here today. Jesus owns all things, including life, and wants to share them with us. Unlike Jesus, Lady Folly is idolatrous, sinful, and wants to destroy. I would love to conclude that our choice between Wisdom and Folly is not a choice between two or more whats but one between who. Therefore, when all is said and done, our response to the call before us is a means to worship, either to God or something less.

APP

Ø To those that are here and dealing

The Call (4-10, 15-17)

The call to the fear of God (Wisdom) and moral depravity is before us every day. As children of God, we mostly wonder why God would not mute and muffle all dissenting voices and let us enjoy his voice so we could obey freely without question. But as long as we live in this world, we have to wrestle with different voices selling us different messages on morality, truth, and worship. We live in a marketplace of morality, worldviews, ideas, and ideals, all seeking for our attention, with each voice making different promises to us with persuasive intentions.

Both Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly call from the hilltop at the entrance of the city – the temple mount of the city – and call the same set of people, the simple. In the city of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, most marketers do not send emails or make spam calls. They are more personal. They talk to you when you go to the store. Shoppers needing variety would go to a street with a long line of stores. While these stores eliminate the monopoly power, offering shoppers the desired variety, they also confuse the shopper who has not determined what to buy. Why is that so? Because on reaching the street, at least half a dozen shop owners would yell, beckon, and even literary drag the shopper to their store. These people, who sell various goods that you have no idea of their quality and safety, do everything to convince you that they sell the best.

In a world of moral confusion, we hear many voices and are inundated by questions we must answer. We have to answer. As we think about the call today, some realities stand out: the call is unto repentance (v 6),

Lady wisdom offers a whole banquet of sanctification, which is a lifetime of continuous conformity to Christlikeness.

i. She calls us to realize our simplicityand need for salvation: only in heeding the call of Wisdom does acknowledge our foolishness a wise thing to do. (vs 4-5). It is actually wise to be unwise before the Lord.

Matthew 11:28: At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

1 Cor 1:26: For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

ii. It is a call to repent of our simplicity(v. 6 – leave…pursue): by calling the simple to “leave” or “forsake” his foolish ways is an indication that the foolish was the path to sinfulness and death and must turn. Hence, they must make a complete turnaround and follow a new path (Col 3 – the new self).

iii. It is a call to be reponsible for our simplicity through Willing Accountable Discipleship (vs. 7-9): while the book of Proverbs was written to the young, and we know that the young are more reticent to discipline and correction, we are aware that older people, while mostly not in need of discipline, are also disinclined to correction and discipline. In our homes, GCGs, and circle of Christian friends, we must submit ourselves to be corrected, reprimanded, nourished, and encouraged to godliness. And we must remember that the uncomfortable moments of accountability fertilize our spiritual growth. Therefore, every time we denigrate any form of accountability through rationalization, minimalization, and dismissal, we must remind oursleves that we have walked back on the path of foolishness.

Verse 17: The seductive lady’s Folly calls people to moral depravity. She call This verse puts into perspective the moral identity of what the Proverbs calls Wisdom.

If you have ever stolen any food, at least a piece of candy, you will agree with me that Lady Folly is correct that, indeed, stolen food is sweet. (Don’t ask me how I knew). Lady Folly is correct, but she is not right. Consider the sad and isolated stolen candy swimming and slowly shrinking in the wetness of the mouth and the savory sensation it sends to the brain. That piece of candy did not gain any extra grams of sugar, and neither do the thief’s taste buds develop extrasensory abilities. It would taste the same way if mom handed it out. However, the source of this sweetness is from somewhere far away from your taste buds. In fact, it is neither biological nor physiological. It is moral. It is a similar feeling people get when they have made ungodly profits, or had some extra stolen time from work. We feel sweetness when we gain so much more than we worked for or deserve because it feels smart and ingenious. This feeling is from the heart. It is a tingly celebratory sense that applauds our rebellious achievement. Stolen food is sweet, but it kills. It corrupts our desires, our actions, and, ultimately, our souls. So, if stolen food is sweet, but still wrong, what makes it ungodly? The answer: the stolen in the stolen food is the problem of stolen food. The food is not the problem.

But we are left with a question: Wisdom and Folly call the same group of people – the simple. However, they cannot simply make any sound judgment regarding their salvation. They are simply simple. Just like the new shopper on the streets of Jos does not know which shop owner to trust, or what product is safe and of good quality, they simply lack the ability to choose. How then, do they choose the best?

I think this question is critical to how we, as believers, approach our lives and choose our worship object. Because we are already simple, our choice must be based on who calls us. We must decide who among the two callers to trust. And everyone must decide; there is no sitting on the fence.

The Consequences (11-12, 18)

We now turn to the final part of this call, which is the consequence of our choices between Wisdom and Folly

i. A godly life brings benefits – long life – Proverbs 10:27

ii. The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

iii. An ungodly life brings consequences

iv. Life or Death: The choice that one makes at the end of the day is a matter of life and death. “While wisdom results to right behavior and choices, its call is a matter of life and death.” God’s call on us goes beyond redeeming us from bad behavior, to moving us from life to death.”

The choice between Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly goes beyond choosing between good and bad behaviors and actions. It is a choice between life and death.

Application and Conclusion

1. Encouragement to those scared if they have heard the voice: John 10:27-29: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

2. Every time we are tempted to enjoy stolen benefits, can we remember that this is not the real food of life? The Food is Eternal Life Offered by Jesus: John 6:27: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

3. Can we sift the voices that we hear this week, wheather in the media, music, friends, or the doubts in our hearts? Choose the voice of God. John 6:68-69: Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.

4. How do we respond to the uncomfortable call to responsibility and accountable discipleship? Are we going to hate it, or love it and get wiser?

Have I tried to please the Lord

Have done my business transactions all in integrity

Have I stolen

Have I graciously corrected a loved one for the purpose of saving

Have I accepted correction to gain more Wisdom

Have I laughed at a correction

Have repented of my sins

Do I doubt the Lord’s instructions

Do I have Jesus