A Divine Declaration: Repent of Your Folly and Turn to Wisdom

Proverbs 1:20–33

Introduction:

               There are two words in our text that cause me to shudder when I hear them. There are two words in our text that should grab your attention when you hear them as well: “How long.” Fifty-three times in the King James Version of the Bible we read, “How long.” Sometimes the question is being asked of the Lord by someone undergoing trials. Sometimes the question is being asked of disobedient people by the Lord. Almost always the question is asked with a clear expectation that there will be an end to the trial or an end to the opportunity for repentance. We ought to tremble at the knowledge that God’s patience will come to an end for those who continue to reject His Wisdom and therefore continue to reject Him.

               In our passage, Wisdom is said to be the one making this declaration. However, I have called it a divine declaration because the Scriptures make it clear that wisdom is not a thing: wisdom is a person. Hear with me the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:23–24, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God. Therefore, on this side of the cross, we may read this passage and see the divine nature of this declaration. This is a gospel call to respond to God in faith and walk in His wisdom. This makes it very clear that wisdom here is not a list of handy tips to improve the circumstances of our lives. Wisdom is not a special supplement that we add to our own diet to boost our health or performance. Wisdom is a matter of life or death because wisdom is the Son of God, and “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” according to 1 John 5:12. Notice with me the sage’s fourfold description of this divine declaration.

I.  The Declaration’s Passionate Proclamation (Prv 1:20–21)

A.     It is loud to gather attention from the maximum audience (Prv 1:20)

Explanation: Our writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses a verb translated “cries out” to describe how wisdom is delivering the message. This verb carries the idea of giving a ringing cry which reminds of churches and schools in the days before modern communication methods. Churches and schools in those days had bells that could be rung loudly to carry a message so that it could be heard above the general hubbub of everyday activity that was being carried out nearby.

Explanation: So too God’s Gospel has been loud enough to reach a global audience, both his existence and his provision for our sin problem. Consider that all men know of his eternal power and Godhead. Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Psalm 19:1–4a clearly state, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Consider that God has charged his church with bringing the Gospel message to people around the world. Indeed, each of the four gospels ends with a version of the Great Commission.

B.      It is loud because of the vital nature of the message (Prv 1:21)

Explanation: In verse 21, the text uses a verb that carries a picture story similar to a “town crier.” It is as if a message from the king has arrived, and the town crier ascends a tower to give out the vital message so that all can hear.

Application: The message is vital and therefore must be heard. It is more important than the competing messages of everyday life vv 20-21, business v 20, and of government v 21. It is more important, because the message possessed by wisdom is the only path to success in the realms of everyday life, business, and government.

Quotation: As Kenneth Aitken writes, “Lady Wisdom is no gentle persuader. She shouts, pleads, scolds, reasons, threatens, warns, and even laughs (see vv. 24–33). Pulpit bashing and hell-fire preaching if ever there were! All quite unladylike; and nowadays also quite unfashionable, even frowned upon. But the good Lady is fired by a great sense of urgency. she knows that her appeal is a critical moment of opportunity for the fools, and no-one knows better that the fool parts easier with his money than his folly. Church mission and Christian witness will never be terribly effective unless they are seen to be terribly urgent.”

II.  The Declaration’s Public Proclamation (Prv 1:20–21)

A.     From house to house (Prv 1:20)

B.      In the realm of commerce (Prv 1:21)

C.      In the halls of government (Prv 1:21)

Explanation: Notice that wisdom’s voice is not being restricted to the halls of education in some elite school reserved only for the intellectually gifted or the wealthy. The message of wisdom is being spread among all the people of the city as they go about the mundane tasks of everyday life whether they be family relationships (in the house), whether they be business transactions (in the markets), or whether they be governing processes (in the entrance of the city gates). Make no mistake, the wisdom of God is the wisdom we need for everyday living in everything that we do!

Argumentation: For those who don’t get this, I suggest that you have not taken seriously enough the clear message of such vital scriptures as 2 Tim 3:16–17: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Pet 1:3–4 also makes clear the universal sufficiency of God’s wisdom when it says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Application: As recipients of God’s wisdom, it is incumbent upon us to share what we have learned with others. Wisdom calls out for those within the sound of her voice to “turn” which is a key component of repentance. Just as sinners earlier in the chapter called the son to join wholeheartedly with them into following and recruiting others to their perilous path, so wisdom is calling for repentance on the part of her respondents so they can live wisely and share the path of wisdom with others. You and I have the key to living a fulfilling, wisdom-saturated life. We should be as willing to freely share that knowledge with those around us as a starving man who finds a bountiful supply of food would be willing to share the location of that food source with his starving friends. Your life should reflect the insights of wisdom! Your lips should share the insights of wisdom!

III.  The Declaration’s Personal Proclamation (Prv 1:22–23)

A.     It is directed to the simple (Prv 1:22)

Explanation: Earlier in Proverbs (1:4), we met this simple person––mentally gullible, easily led, silly, and naïve. This person tends to not be strongly committed to anything. The simple one lives with no sense of urgency and takes very little seriously. However, Christ takes each and every one of us seriously. That is why we have him calling out as Wisdom in this passage, and as Christ calls to the simple one in this passage, we can be sure there is great danger lurking before him. We can be sure that folly is there stalking him like a hunted animal and hoping to lure him to his death.

Quotation: As Ray Ortlund so aptly put it, “We do not have to tell ourselves ‘I hate wisdom’ to miss out on it. We only have to be okay with the way we are.”

Application: Are you happy with the way that you are? Do you feel no great need to grow in your life? Christ is calling out to you, “How long?”! Christ is warning you that there will come a time when it is too late: a time when his offer of saving grace will have passed you by.

B.      It is directed to the scorner (Prv 1:22)

Explanation: Warren Wiersbe describes the scorner this way. “Scorners think they know everything and laugh at the things that are really important. While the simple one has a blank look on his face, the scorner wears a sneer.”

Application: God has a way of getting even the scorner’s attention. The tragedies of life can often jolt the scorner into reexamining his condition. A cancer diagnosis, the death of a loved one, or a near death experience for himself can boldly confront the scorner with the truth that the circumstances of life are outside of his control and point him to the one that he can trust with his journey in this life as well as his eternal destiny.

C.      It is directed to the fool (Prv 1:22)

Exhortation: Again, we look to Warren Wiersbe to help us understand what the foolish person being addressed by Wisdom looks like. “Fools are people who are ignorant of truth because they’re dull and stubborn. Their problem isn’t a low IQ or poor education; their problem is a lack of spiritual desire to seek and find God’s wisdom. Fools enjoy their foolishness but don’t know how foolish they are! The outlook of fools is purely materialistic and humanistic. They hate knowledge and have no interest in things eternal.”

Quotation: Ray Ortlund puts it a little more concisely: “A fool is a thickheaded, stubborn dolt. He doesn’t listen. He always knows better, always has an excuse. Nothing is ever his fault. Both the scoffer and the fool are headed for disaster.”

Application: God knows that among the simple, the scorner, and the fool, it is the simple who is most likely to receive the message of Wisdom. But, there still being at least a little hope for the scorner and the fool, God offers his message to them all.

IV.  The Declaration’s Possible Payoffs (Prv 1:23–33)

A.     For those who repent: bountiful gifts (Prv 1:23, 33)

Explanation: Notice how Lady Wisdom phrases her appeal in verse 23: turn. Lady Wisdom is calling the simple, the scorner, and even the fool to repentance. She calls them to turn from their current folly and pursue her. To those who heed her gracious call, she promises gifts.

1.      Increased revelation (Prv 1:23)

Explanation: Ezekiel 36:27 says, “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Similarly, Jesus states in John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

2.      Increased understanding (Prv 1:23)

Application: The Holy Spirit is key to helping us know and obey God’s Word, and obedience brings a greater understanding.

3.      Increased peace (Prv 1:33)

Explanation: Understand, peace is not about the smoothness of your life circumstances. It is about the sovereignty of our God. When you walk in wisdom, you can be Joseph in jail, Daniel in the lions’ den, or Paul in prison and still have peace.

B.      For those who resist: a just reward (Prv 1:24–32)

Explanation: If only those who allow Lady Wisdom’s plea to fall on deaf ears now would but consider the law of sowing and reaping! If only they could hear the dying declarations of the unsaved, like that of a rich atheist who was overheard to say:

Quotation: “I would rather lie on a stove and broil for a million years than go into eternity with eternal horrors that hang over my soul! I have given my immortality for gold; and its weight sinks me into an endless, hopeless, helpless hell.”

1.      A deaf ear (Prv 1:24–28)

Explanation: For those who turn a deaf ear to God’s pleas, there will come a time when God turns a deaf ear to them. This is not cruelty, it is merely justice. This is the fool, the scorner, and the simple harvesting the exact crop that they planted.

2.      A corresponding crop (Prv 1:29–32)

Explanation: What the simple, the scorner, and the fool cannot seem to see is that they have chosen what ultimately happens to them. We live in a world created by God where wisdom will ultimately hold sway, righteousness will prevail over wickedness, knowledge will outshine ignorance, humility will defeat pride, and life will banish death. God will simply honor their choice of foolishness, wickedness, pride, and death. That is what they have sown, and that is what they shall reap.

Quotation: In his book, The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis noted that there are two categories of people in this world, “Those who say to God ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God finally says ‘Thy will be done.’”

Conclusion:

Dear friend, there is no more vital message that you could hear; there is no more important decision that you could make than to heed this divine declaration to repent of your folly and turn to wisdom. I pray that your response today will be like that of the poet William Hammond in his 18th century poem.

“Give Me Christ, or Else I Die”

William Hammond (1719-1783)

Gracious Lord, incline thy ear;

My requests vouchsafe to hear;

Hear my never-ceasing cry;

Give me Christ, or else I die.

Wealth and honor I disdain,

Earthly comforts, Lord are vain;

These can never satisfy:

Give me Christ, or else I die.

Thou dost freely save the lost;

In thy grace alone I trust.

With my earnest suit comply;

Give me Christ, or else I die.

Thou dost promise to forgive

All who in thy Son believe;

Lord, I know thou canst not lie;

Give me Christ, or else I die.

All unholy and unclean,

I am nothing but sin;

On thy mercy I rely;

Give me Christ, or else I die.