Tag: Devotion

This is a new paragraph but continues the theme of avoiding evil. In v.12-15 wicked men were portrayed. Now it is wicked women who lure eager clients into sin. In 1:11-19 criminals appeal to greed. This women panders to men’s lusts. Other passages in Proverbs also deal with this wicked woman (5:3-21; 6:24; 7:5-23; 22:14; 23:27). So in this respect the seamy-side of life is not much different with the passing of the centuries.

Consider this description of the Wicked. Proverbs keeps this before us. We are not dealing with allegory here. These images are too specific for that. Such evils are not imaginary. They are clearly the temptations that befall so many, young and old. They are evils to be avoided at all costs. Ponder well these evil men as presented in these verses.

The Goal keeps expanding. “There is no end of commendation of the ways of wisdom” (Lawson). Those who find God’s Wisdom, are led in paths of judgment and holiness, and have promise to safely walk along every path that is good. We must:

In 2:5-9, the word then indicates results, fruits, the substance. The finding is worth the search. Understanding is wisdom come to fruition. It is also the basis of the fear of the Lord (2:5). If God is my wisdom I shall not err. Consider now:

The Source is in God (2:6). The seeking is set out in 2:1-4. Again we have the familiar My son, if! O, what a challenge is this if. We have some idea what it takes to win “gold” at the Olympics, for a corruptible crown (1 Cor. 9:25). Dare we put forth less effort for the incorruptible crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8)? In our verses today we have:

God, to be known by man, must be self-revealing, and all knowledge of Him, and therefore all Wisdom, depends on His self-disclosure. Life, for man, is impossible without this divine Wisdom to interpret aright life and death, heaven and hell. Unless man confesses the One above him, he will yield to that which is within him and about him.

The Pardoned: Praise God for verse 33. Set it against the backdrop of this portion. Men’s sinful folly leads to their awful, but just, doom. “I know not when ye are. Depart from me into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Lu. 13:25, Mt. 25:41). Yet, here surely is Good News! Here is “light to enlighten our darkness”!

The Perished: How dreadful is the end result of rejecting the call of Wisdom! Every verse, from 24 to 32, bears testimony to this tragedy. It’s the old story. The sinner won’t face the fact that there is something seriously wrong with him. Why should he leave the exciting crowd, the in-group, for the killjoy minority on the narrow road? But if only men could see their end, as brought out in these awful words, they would not be so brazen or so reckless with God’s call while it is still the Day of Mercy. The contrasts between the fear of folly (v.32) and the faith of wisdom (v.33) set the plan for the rest of the book.

The Prospect: These are the words of Christ, who, under the name Wisdom, is heard crying without, in the streets, in the opening of the gates. We may take this as the public preaching of the Word, by Christ Himself or His ministers. Yet, in spite of the open disregard and contempt for the message, God still displays His purpose of grace to sinners. Now there remedies are proposed (v.23), following the three questions of verse 22.

Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly speak with opposing voices. There are those who seek to point youth to the Lord, and those who would seduce them for the Devil. In a very real sense we all stand here. It is not enough to listen to those nobler voices. We must say No to the baser, often the loudest voices. To be weak is usually to be wicked.