Two Women, Two Ways

Both have prepared a meal vv. 2, 17. Wisdom has prepared her meal by hard work Desire relationship. Both call out where all can hear vv. 3, 14. Call to the same people Vv. 4, 16. One leads to life the other to death. Vv. 6, 11, 18. Wisdom is industrious and has a luxurious house. The simple can become wise. as we dine with lady wisdom, and partake of what she offers we will gain wisdom and insight. the same is implied with dining with folly.

Wisdom is practical and ethical more than intellectual and philosophical

On the surface they seem similar, but the writer leaves no question as to which we should choose.

The fear of the Lord is at the center of .

wisdom begins with God God is the source of wisdom and wisdom is a reflection of His character. To be wise then is to be godlike

T.S. Elliot - “Where is the wisdom we’ve lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we’ve lost in information?”

The simplicity and the profundity in a proverb “you reap what you sow”

what separates biblical wisdom from other wisdom is that wisdom’s goal is not just to enable us to prosper for the sake of prospering but also to enable us to live a life that is in accordance with God’s will.

the fear of God shapes and undergirds every other learning experience that I have

God gives us the ability to learn from experience.

Differs from humanism

Wisdom is to be understood in moral/ethical terms

Proverbs 2:6–15 ESV

6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; 10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; 11 discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, 12 delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, 13 who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, 14 who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, 15 men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

scoffers, simple

focuses on the ones who feast with wisdom and folly respectively

wisdom begins with a proper knowledge and perspective of God and who is and the reverence, awe, and obedience that follows.

wisdom is not just concerned with best practices but ultimately it is concerned with right practices. Biblical wisdom asks not only what is true? What is prudent? and what is best? but also “What is moral?” “What is right?” “What is in accordance with God’s character and instruction.”

The choice between wisdom and folly is a choice between life and death.

We don’t have much room for wisdom in our culture. We facts, information, give me the thou shalts and the thou shalt nots...

Biblical wisdom is not just concerned with whether or not God exists but it also explores what He is like, what is His character and nature. Ultimately the goal of biblical wisdom is to teach us the skills for ordering our life so that we might be pleasing to God.

The Greeks were concerned with ethics but it was typically in humanist terms.

the fool denies God. what it means to be a fool is not necessarily to be bankrupt of all knowledge or stupid. Rather to be foolish is to openly reject God and His ways. Fools hear and scoff.

One must study and learn and meditate if one is to be wise. However we can do all of those things and not gain wisdom but we cant gain wisdom without doing those things. We live in anti-intellectual society.

Proverbs 16:1–3 ESV

1 The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. 3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 3:5–7 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

even when biblical wisdom and secular wisdom are in agreement the former is still distinctive because it is seen in a worldview in which yahweh is at center. and so anybody can recognize that time is a precious commodity not to be wasted, but only the person who comes to that insight with the fear of the Lord will properly apply it.

Youth and inexperience. Wisdom can come from experience, but 1) not all are wise and discerning so as to learn the proper lessons from experience and 2) no one can experience everything, moreover no one should want to. Wisdom is crying out from those who have been there and done that encouraging us not to follow in their footsteps. Some people learn the hard way? They’ve got to experience it themselves. The whole point of the book of proverbs is so that you don’t have to experience it.

Most see wisdom as stemming from what theologians call natural theology or creation theology. That it is obtained by examining the world around us apart from any divine revelation.

not just skills for living but moral and ethical, wisdom and righteousness are synonymous

wisdom is theological, it has its source and substance in God.

Gives us favor with God

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? () Wisdom answers I was there!

Many mis-understand the nature of Biblical wisdom. They divide it from other spheres of Biblical literature and thought. In their minds theology and morality stand on one side of the chasm, while the practicality of wisdom is on the other. To them Biblical wisdom is essential no different than the wisdom of the other ancient near eastern cultures.

Proverbs short pithy sayings that generally describe the reality of a given circumstance in a memorable way. They call on the reader not only to make the comparison but also to properly apply it. Farmers principle

What is wisdom?

Practical - seen in the many terms used to describe esp. wise dealing

Ethical

Theological

Living our everyday lives according to God’s standards in a way that leads us closer to God.

we must search diligently for wisdom. Farmers principle

Skills for living

Roman candle wars

wisdom brings one to trust in the Lord

Proverbs 22:16 ESV

16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.