The Danger of Rejecting Wisdom

1. Wisdom’s Offer (20-23)

Here is wisdom again calling to those who need knowledge

Proverbs 1:20 NASB95

20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;

Proverbs 1:21 NASB95

21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

She is again in the midst of the matters of life, the bustle of business, the interactions of human relationships.

Note: How can wisdom be found in these places? By believers taking God’s Word to the noisy street, the entrance of the gates...to the grocery store, the work place, and the town office.

Proverbs 1:22 NASB95

22 “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

Naive The “simple” is the inexperienced and gullible youth. Aitken, K. T. (1986). Proverbs (p. 21). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Scoffers The “scoffer” is the person who is arrogant and self-opinionated, and always ready to debunk the views and beliefs of others. Aitken, K. T. (1986). Proverbs (p. 21). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Fools The “fool” (Hebrew kesil) is a downright stupid person. He mistakes his folly for wisdom and seems quite insensible to what is good, right and proper. Aitken, K. T. (1986). Proverbs (p. 22). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Proverbs 1:23 NASB95

23 “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

2. Wisdom’s Competition

Proverbs 9:13–18 NASB95

13 The woman of folly is boisterous, She is naive and knows nothing. 14 She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high places of the city, 15 Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight: 16 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,” And to him who lacks understanding she says, 17 “Stolen water is sweet; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” 18 But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

3. The Fool’s Response (24-25)

Proverbs 1:24–25 NASB95

24 “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; 25 And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;

Believer’s Bible Commentary A. Wisdom’s Admonition (1:8–33)

What makes man’s stubborn refusal so irrational is that God’s commandments and warnings are for man’s good, not for God’s. This is illustrated in a story which D. G. Barnhouse told. A small child squeezed past the metal railing that kept spectators six feet from the lions’ cage at the Washington Zoo. When her grandfather ordered her to come out, she backed away teasingly. A waiting lion grabbed her, dragged her into the cage, and mangled her to death. According to Barnhouse the lesson is this:

God has given us commandments and principles that are for our good; God never gives us a commandment because He is arbitrary or because He doesn’t want us to have fun. God says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” not because He is jealous of His own position and prerogatives, but because He knows that if we put anything, anything before Him, it will hurt us. If we understand the principle behind this fact, we can also understand why God chastens us. “Whom the Lord loves, He chastens” (Heb. 12:6). He doesn’t want us to back into a lion, for there is a lion, the devil, seeking whom he may devour.

4. Wisdom’s Reaction (26-28)

Proverbs 1:26–28 NASB95

26 I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, 27 When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

The Lord has the same response to the nations.

Psalm 2:1–4 NASB95

1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.

5. Wisdom’s Reasons (29-33)

Proverbs 1:29–33 NASB95

29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord. 30 “They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. 32 “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”