Interpretive Study of Proverbs 9
How Wisdom
builds a ministry.
God's Way to Study His Word:
In 2Timothy 2:15 we read: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth
. The true definition of the word dividing
is: 'a Mathematical function whereby we separate pre-defined units according to a precise procedure which produces a precise result'. However, while most people understand that 'there is one interpretation but many applications of The word of God
', they fail to separate the procedures of each. And, as a result, they fail to separate the 'one interpretation of The word of God
' from the 'many applications of The word of God
'. This leads to many errors which people blame on the perfect word of God
instead of their using the wrong procedure.
The result, of men using the wrong way, is that men claim that there are errors and conflicts in God's word. In Isaiah 28; God tells us how to understand His word. In addition, God preserved the message of His word; He preserves every word of His sentences; and God preserves every punctuation mark (jot and title
) of His sentences. Therefore, God preserved what He wanted us to understand and God told us how to understand His word so that we have no errors and no conflicts. Unfortunately, for at least one hundred and fifty (150) yeare, men have been taught to use the wrong way to interpret God's word instead of using God's way.
In Isaiah 55:9 we are told For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts
. Thus, God warns us that our ways are wrong and that using God's way
produces better results, which have no errors and no conflicts.
In addition, 1Corinthians 2:14 tells us: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned
. Therefore, we can not properly understand the spiritual word of God
using man's way. We must use God's way to understand God's preserved word of God
. And, the basics of God's way is to understand His preserved word of God
using the sentence format and true Biblical definitions for Bible words.
This Study follows the Biblical Way to understand God's Word. It applies precepts
('truths that never change for any circumstance'). It then goes through the epistle sentence-upon-sentence (line upon line
[Isaiah 28 ]). This is different from the ways of men which use verse-upon-verse or some other method which generates errors. God's sentence-upon-sentence method also pays attention to what 'The word of God' tells us that God preserved, which are the true Biblical meanings of words and the Biblical usage of punctuation. (These two are the components of sentences and do not give us verses.) the 'The word of God' tells us that God preserved punctuation (one jot or one tittle
) in Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17. And 'The word of God' tells us that God preserved every word
when he wrote: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God
(Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4).
The summary of the epistle comes from the summary of each chapter and each chapter summary within that book. Every chapter summary comes from the summary of each sentence within that chapter. And, the sentence summaries come from analysis using the punctuation and true word definitions, as already explained. As a result, we have what God literally had written and see that there are no conflicts even when we consider the smallest part of a sentence compared to the entire Bible book. God is consistent from the start of a Bible book to the end and is consistent in His doctrines and word definitions across the entire Bible. What we have is an integrated whole (single) message, with no errors and no conflicts. This particular book Study is part of a detailed analysis of the entire New Testament which shows this truth.
Other than cults, all claims of errors and conflicts are based upon the New Testament. This Study is part of a series which interprets the preserved word of God
using God's way and proving that there are no errors, nor any conflicts, if we obey God and use His way to interpret His word. And, this series concentrates on the New Testament, since that is the basis of these lies about the perfect word of God
.
I have read, or at least skimmed, every book which has been written in the last hundred and fifty (150) years and which claims to teach people how to study and understand The word of God
. In every case, they use a method which comes from man and do not use God's way (Isaiah 55:8) to study and understand The word of God
. And, while there are variations from one man-written method to another man-written method, every one of them ends up with problems. The end result of those problems is that people blame God's perfect word for their own problems and either turn to a man-written 'bible' or skip verses. (By skipping the interpretation of certain verses, they can hide the conflict which their method has produced.)
Now, many people find that the Detail Studies to be overwhelming because they have everything required to prove that there are NO errors in The perfect word of God
. This summary level is easier to understand for most people. At the same time, if someone has an argument with what is presented here, the matching Detail Study provides all of the proof required in order to show that what is here matches exactly what God wrote in His word. Again, this is not a matter of my opinion versus their opinion. I have over thirty (30) years’ experience as a professional Systems Analyst with an international reputation for accuracy in how to prove things. And, this series of books are the result of using recognized methods of analysis to prove what God actually wrote. This series does not present a religious opinion. Therefore, a religious opinion, which was arrived at from using wrong methods, is not superior to a true analysis of what God wrote.
People have looked for over twenty (20) years and failed to find any other work that covers everything this series cover. In addition, no one has found any other work which covers the level of detail found in the Detail Studies. Further, the Detail Studies literally have several million Bible references to support the interpretation provided and to show that The perfect word of God
is consistent all across it for word definitions and doctrines. Again, no one has found any other work which has this quantity of Bible references supporting what is presented. I do not write this to brag but to inform the reader the depth of study which supports what is presented in this series.
Let any who disagree show their method and the results of their method and try to explain how their method, which produces errors, is greater that God's way
which produces no errors and no conflicts.
Proverbs Chapter 9 - How Wisdom
builds a ministry.
Unlike most other books in the Bible, each chapter in Proverbs can, and usually is, treated as independent from all other chapters in the book. In other words, Proverbs is regarded as a collection of wise sayings whereby each chapter is in dependent. Therefore, unlike other Book Studies on this site, this Study only contains chapters that have been studied and not the entire book.
Other people have written all kinds of commentaries on this epistle. You can find many disagreements between these commentaries. The commentaries that teach doctrinal error ignore the context as they try to justify their doctrine. Such action is motivated by devils and the resulting doctrinal error can bring the judgment of God upon His people instead of the blessings that God wants to give. 1John 4:1 tells us Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world
. The commentaries which do base their comments upon what is actually written, with consideration of context and proper methods of interpretation, will agree on doctrine even while presenting different views of that doctrine.
All of life is choices. The main purpose of a ministry for God is the help people understand the need to be wise and then help them to become wise. That starts with salvation but continues with sanctification. TThen people had to learn how to make choices which will get theme the blessings of God.
links to sentences in this chapter:
C9-S1 (Verse 1-2), C9-S2 (Verse 3-5), C9-S3 (Verse 6), C9-S4 (Verse 7), C9-S5 (Verse 8), C9-S6 (Verse 9), C9-S7 (Verse 10), C9-S8 (Verse 11), C9-S9 (Verse 12), C9-S10 (Verse 13), C9-S11 (Verse 14-17), C9-S12 (Verse 18)'.Chapter Summary based upon sentence summaries:
- C9-S1: this sentence gives us the foundation of the building (ministry) that
wisdom
builds. - C9-S2: the message of salvation has two equivalent messages. The messengers are pure and holy. They give one message to the saved and another message to the lost.
- C9-S3: After salvation comes sanctification and there are two steps for sanctification.
- C9-S4: Leave certain people for God to deal with.
- C9-S5: Consider the type of person you are dealing with before correcting them.
- C9-S6: How to help a sanctified willing listener.
- C9-S7: Understand the difference between Biblical
wisdom
andunderstanding
. - C9-S8: Two rewards that have equal importance to our personal lives.
- C9-S9: the results of being wise or being foolish.
- C9-S10: How to identify a
foolish woman
. - C9-S11: the actions of a
foolish woman
. - C9-S12: the results of a
foolish woman
.
C9-S1 (Verse 1-2) the foundation of the building (ministry) that
wisdombuilds.
- Equivalent Section: A look at the whole building (ministry).
Wisdom hath builded her house,
she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
.-
Equivalent Section: A look at the Foundational
pillar
. She hath killed her beasts;
she hath mingled her wine;
she hath also furnished her table
.
This sentence is divided by a colon which makes the two sections equivalent. The second half gives us steps of worship, which is the foundation for everything that follows and which also lets us know that the house
in the first section is a house
of worship. By making builded her house
equivalent to the most important (foundational) pillar
, we can see that the Bible assumes that wisdom
will finish what she starts and will finish building all of the rest of the pillars
. Often in the Bible only the first sentence of something like a Psalm or a Proverb is quoted and the speaker assumes that the listener / reader understands that the entire passage is included. That is what this equivalency is showing us. Wisdom
does not do a job half way but finishes what she starts.
This Proverb is talking about Wisdom
and wisdom
is the primary spiritual gift used by those people in a ministry. (People like pastors primarily use the spiritual gift of wisdom
.) this first section has two parts of equal importance: building the house and hewn
the pillars
. The pillars
support the entire structure. It takes work to hew
a pillar and doing done must be done the correct way. Receiving wisdom
without having a house
(place of ministry) is wasted wisdom
. Likewise, building a house
and not using these seven pillars
of wisdom
makes the building a waste of time.
The first of these seven pillars
is the equivalent (second) section of this sentence. It tells us the three steps of worship. Because it is equivalent to the section giving us the purpose of this Proverb, it is foundational to all of the rest of this Proverb. Likewise, many wise pastors have told me that personal worship is foundational to building a successful ministry.
The first step is She hath killed her beasts
. The She
is Wisdom
and anyone who claims to have wisdom
while disobeying this Proverb proves themselves to be a fool or a liar. Moving on, hath killed
is past tense. Killed her beasts
is talking about personal worship at the House of God. It is talking about the Religious part of the Mosaic Law which told God's people how to worship
Him at the time that this Proverb was written. We need a background of personal obedience to the man of God concerning our personal worship of God.
The second step is she hath mingled her wine
, which is talking about the Spirit controlled life. Mingled her wine
is wine
mixed with water
. Both wine
and water
are used as a type of the Holy Ghost with wine
being the more expressive form such as we see in Acts at Pentecost. In Revelation 14:10 we read The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
. Wine...without mixture
is the power of God applied directly and not through another human being. Water
is a type of the Holy Ghost being expressed through our personal life as we see in John 7:37-39. Mingled wine
is controlled power of the Holy Ghost leading a personal life that shows direct control by the Holy Ghost at times and indirect working of the Holy Ghost at times. This is a person whose life is a testimony and who is also subject to calling out Amen!! in a church service (or doing some other similar act of personal worship). Wisdom
not only applies the power of God directly in our lives (wine
) but it also applies it through other people (water
) letting God work through their lives. The people described in this Proverb are capable of the more expressive form of worship when directly influenced through the Holy Spirit (wine
) and they also allow the Holy Spirit to work through their daily lives in a way that may not be the expressive shouting and yet is still and effective witness (water
).
The third step of worship is she hath also furnished her table
which is speaking about provision. That is, wisdom
has fed the person who is saved and sanctified. They know how to get their personal spiritual needs met and how to 'feed' on their Holy Spirit. But these people also go beyond that and prove that they know how to lead others to the table of wisdom
so that the others can also have their personal spiritual needs met.
These three parts of personal worship are equally important and are the foundational pillar
of the seven pillars
of wisdom
that we find in this Proverb which are to support the House of ministry that wisdom
builds for us.
C9-S2 (Verse 3-5) the message of salvation has two equivalent messages.
- Equivalent Section: the identity of the messengers.
She hath sent forth her maidens:
.- Equivalent Section: the message of salvation to the lost (
simple
). she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
Whoso is simple,
let him turn in hither:
.- Equivalent Section: the message of salvation to the saved.
as for him that wanteth understanding,
she saith to him,
Come,
eat of my bread,
and drink of the wine which I have mingled
.
This sentence is divided into three equivalent parts by two colons. It contains the two equivalent parts of the message of salvation and makes those messages equivalent to the messengers. We have seen many places (such as 1John 5:13) that true Biblical salvation is not just a one-time religious act but an ongoing personal relationship with God. True Biblical salvation includes sanctification after our initial profession. Thus, the message from wisdom
about salvation has two equivalent parts. The first is how to become a child of God and the second (equivalent) is how to live like a child of God while in this flesh.
This sentence is the second pillar
. In the Bible, maidens
represent unmarried females who are of an age to reproduce and yet remain pure. Since the Jews are called the 'wife of God' (Isaiah 54:6) and the Church is called the 'bride of Christ' (John 3:29), the maidens
in this verse represents all saved who remain pure and are willing to be a messenger. The Bible teaches that we were not pure in our past but that Jesus Christ will make us pure (it takes time) if we remain obedient to Him.
Going on, we see that the first message is to Whoso is simple
(lost: needs salvation) and that the second message is to him that wanteth understanding
(needs sanctification). This Proverb uses simple
as we would talk about a child who can't understand abstract thoughts as being 'simple'. The first message (to the lost) is let him turn in hither
. Notice that this message is to the person who has not understood the message of salvation (simple
) and not necessarily to those who understood, but rejected, the message of salvation. Many people feel that God and His messengers have to beg them to be saved repeatedly, which actually lowers the value of it. In Mark 10:17-21 Jesus allowed a lost man to walk away lost after he rejected the message from Jesus and the Bible says that Jesus beholding him loved him
by giving him the true message of salvation and allowing him to reject that message.
Manythings prevent the message of salvation from getting to the lost and the first word of this message (let
) is instruction to remove the barriers to the Gospel of Your Salvation. Then the rest of the message (turn in hither
) is for him
to turn to the people who hold wisdom
in their life, not just come to church. The assumed part of this message is that those people who truly hold wisdom
will share the message and (of course) many people go to various churches and never receive the message of salvation. The failure of God's people to live lives which display Christ
is often a barrier to the lost being saved.
The second message to those who wanteth understanding
(all saved should want further sanctification) is Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled
. Notice that these people have to wanteth
the understanding
. We have to want sanctification before we will receive it. Wisdom
does not talk to saved people who do not wanteth understanding
. To thepeople who do want understanding
, wisdom
says Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled
. In the Bible, bread
is used for fellowship. The first part of this instruction is to fellowship directly with the Holy Spirit (wine
) and to fellowship with people who have wisdom
active in their lives (water
). When we eat bread
it stays with us for a while and allows us to continue doing work for a period of time before we have to eat again. Fellowship with God (through the Holy Spirit directly) and fellowship with sanctified saints will enable us to do God's work for a period of time.
The second part of what wisdom
says to the sanctified person (which is to be done at the same time because the separation is with a comma) is to drink of the wine which I have mingled
. That is: let the Holy Spirit express true worship through you personally and also live a life that is a quieter witness of the changes that God gives to the sanctified person. What we drink has a more immediate effect upon us and is actually more important than what we eat. We will die faster from a lack of fluids than we will from a lack of food. Further, the harder that we work the more important it is that we maintain our input of fluids. If we have to choose between fellowship and personal worship, personal worship is more critical. Please see the note for the first sentence (above) says about mingled wine
.
C9-S3 (Verse 6) After salvation comes sanctification and there are two steps for sanctification.
- Equivalent Section: Change your lifestyle .
Forsake the foolish,
and live;
.- Equivalent Section: Follow God's
way
. and go in the way of understanding
.
The third pillar
is a two-step process (separated by a semi-colon) which tells about a God changed life. The first step has two parts which are to be done equally and at the same time. The command to Forsake the foolish
should be clear enough but a study of just what proverbs says about fools
and their ways should provide a basic understanding of what the Bible means by foolish
. As for the command to live
, that means let God's life saturate every part of your everyday life.
The second step of this pillar
is to go in the way of understanding
. We can not even 'see' The way of understanding
until after we do the first step. However, a way
is directions for getting from one place to another and once started, we are to continue until we reach the destination. Since no man ever obtains all of the wisdom
of God, we are to continue in The way of understanding
for the rest of our lives (once we enter it).
C9-S4 (Verse 7) Leave certain people for God to deal with.
- Equivalent Section: Avoid the scorner.
He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame:
.- Equivalent Section: Avoid the wicked.
and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot
.
The fourth pillar
is divided into two equivalent sections that warns us to avoid certain fights. In the first section we are warned to not reprove a scorner
. This is someone who is mocking us and making himself to appear to be wise and us to appear to be foolish. When the religious leaders started mocking Jesus (in the Gospels), he responded by speaking in parables and old His disciples that He was revealing His truth to them while hiding it from the scorners. God wants us to stay out of the way while He gives them enough rope to hang themselves and when He brings judgment, He wants us no where near so that we don't get caught in the judgment.
The second fight that we are to avoid is with an evil man
. A lot of 'good Godly men' have destroyed their own reputation and getteth [themselves] a blot
by fighting evil men
about some political or social issue. It is one thing if someone is a politician and fighting these issues but something else when a church or pastor get involved. God kept the priesthood and prophets separate from kings. The prophets got into enough trouble for preaching God's judgment and people get into enough trouble preaching against sin. However, that is different from rebuking a wicked man
. Warn your own people of the consequence of following them and their ways but do not address the wicked man
himself. Leave him for God to deal with. King David served God but was not allowed to build the Temple because he was always fighting (2Samuel 7; 1Kings 5:3). The priests who served in the Temple were not to be personally involved in wars. If God's instructions aren't enough on this, my words won't add to your understanding.
C9-S5 (Verse 8) Two equivalent instructions on correcting others.
- Equivalent Section: Dealing with a
scorner
. Reprove not a scorner,
lest he hate thee:
.- Equivalent Section: Dealing with a
wise man
. rebuke a wise man,
and he will love thee
.
The fifth pillar
tells us to treat scorners
and wise men
differently when correcting an error. (The equivalency is in correcting an error.) Many places in the Bible, and experience in life, show us that a scorner
will not receive anything that we try to tell them. When we reprove
them, we make them face their error and they think that we are trying to make them look like fools. A scorner
will not realize that you are trying to help them avoid the consequence of their sin and they will hate thee
(you personally) for what they take as an attempt to make them look like a fool. However, a wise man
will love thee
(you personally) even if you take the stronger action of rebuke
because they realize that you are truly trying to help them. The message is simple: pay attention to the type of person that you are about to correct and proceed accordingly.
C9-S6 (Verse 9) Two equivalent ways to help a sanctified willing listener.
- Equivalent Section: Instructions to the
wise
. Give instruction to a wise man,
and he will be yet wiser:
.- Equivalent Section: Teaching to the
just
. teach a just man,
and he will increase in learning
.
The sixth pillar
is divided into two sections by a colon. It makes a wise man
and a just man
equivalent. The difference is in third personal spiritual maturity. This difference requires different actions to take with each and also causes different results that each will receive. A wise man
does not need to be taught
. He knows how to follow instructions
without the details and illustrations required to teach
. Both the wise man
and the just man
are teachable
. The just man
will increase in learning
but not necessarily become wise
because he may not know how to apply that learning
to his own life. So, one of the differences between a wise man
and a just man
is that the first can apply wisdom to his own life without help and the just man
requires help in applying Biblical wisdom
to his own life.
C9-S7 (Verse 10) Understand the difference between Biblical
wisdomand
understanding.
- Equivalent Section:
Wisdom
. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:
.- Equivalent Section:
Understanding
. and the knowledge of the holy is understanding
.
This sentence makes understanding
equivalent to The beginning of wisdom
. People can apply the methods of wisdom
and appear 'wise', but they do not have true Biblical wisdom
unless they start with true Biblical understanding
. (Biblical understanding
is the foundation of Biblical wisdom
.) In addition, Biblical knowledge
is God's life expressed through our personal life in a way that the lost can see it. That is, we will not have true Biblical understanding
until The holy
is experienced in our personal life in a way that even the lost can see the change brought by God. This change is a result of The fear of the LORD
.
The seventh pillar
is one that is denied and changed from the literal meaning by many (most?) people who call themselves 'good Godly literal Bible believers'. I tell people that fear
, reverence
and respect
are all found in the Bible. The God of the Bible is not so stupid that He used fear
when he really meant reverence
or respect
. Many argue that if they attach the qualifiers of deep abiding
to reverence
or respect
, then that changed the meaning and the word used. However, they do notapply the same rule to other words in the Bible. For example, no one claims that the Bible uses another word for 'deep abiding love' to make a distinction from God's 'everyday love' for His children. When people abandon the literal meaning, they prove that they are not really 'good Godly literal Bible believers'. When they claim to be 'good Godly literal Bible believers' while their doctrine proves otherwise, they prove themselves to be liars, which explains why so many people reject the message from 'good Godly literal Bible believers'.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. The exact phrase of
The fear of the LORD(with
LORDall capitalized) appears 14 times just in Proverbs (1:7; 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:26; 27; 15:16; 33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4; 23:17) and 29 times in the Old Testament with
The fear of the LORD(with
LORDall capitalized) along with
The fear of the Lord(with
Lordnotall capitalized) in Acts 9:31. [Please see the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study.]
- In Proverbs 1:7 we read that those who reject
The fear of the LORD
are :fools
and Proverbs 1:22-29 calls suchsimple ones
andscorners
andfools
who refuse toturn
at God'sreproof
and suffered God's judgment. - In Proverbs 2:5 we read that people who personally (
thou
)understand the fear of the LORD
have first taken 8 steps listed in Proverbs 2:1-4 in order to obtain thisunderstanding
. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God...is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him
but many people who claim to be 'spiritual experts' and also claim to know the meaning of this phrase can not provide proof that they have 'diligently' studied it. Instead, they condemn people who 'take a doctrinal stand' on religious training that goes against what the Bible literally says. [Please read Romans 2.] Proverbs 2:1-5 says that people need to do somediligent
study before they can truly say that they personally (thou
)understand the fear of the LORD
. - In Proverbs 8:13 we read that
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil
withevil
defined (by the equivalency of the colon) aspride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth
. - In Proverbs 14:26 we read that
a place of refuge
isIn the fear of the LORD
. Then in 14:27 we read thatThe fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to
. Therefore, in order to havea place of refuge
God's people MUS'tdepart from the snares of death
. These verses give us the purpose ofThe fear of the LORD
which 'good Godly people' claim is not for God's people. However, the Bible teaches that God wants His people todepart from the snares of death
in order to havea place of refuge
anda fountain of life
; which means thatThe fear of the LORD
is for God's people. - Proverbs 16:6 tells us that
by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
and the colon in this sentence makesmercy and truth
equivalent toThe fear of the LORD
and makesiniquity is purged
equivalent tomen depart from evil
. Theby
that occurs in this sentence means thatThe fear of the LORD
is how God says that He willpurge iniquity
and causemen [to] depart from evil
. Preachers tell people thatThe fear of the LORD
is not for God's people and then wonder why there is so much sin in the church. - All of the other verses (in Proverbs) that use this exact phrase tell us additional information which provides agreement with what we already said. In addition, there are other verses within Proverbs (such as 14:2) which teach the same thing but do not use this exact phrase.
The Study called Fear the Lord does not cover all of the places that the Bible teaches this subject but it provides much information and many Bible references. If that study is not sufficient to show what I am saying, then the reader should pray for God's wisdom and do a personal Bible Study of this subject that looks at every reference in the Bible and considers those references within contact and sentence structure.
Home Start of ChapterC9-S8 (Verse 11) Two rewards that have equal importance to our personal lives.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied,
and the years of thy life shall be increased
.
Why we are given these seven pillars
of wisdom
. God rewards those who obey His Word and He increases the ability of people who will personally serve Him with their lives.
C9-S9 (Verse 12) This sentence tells us the results of being
wiseand the results of the opposite.
- Equivalent Section: the results of being
wise
. If thou be wise,
thou shalt be wise for thyself:
.- Equivalent Section: the results of being the opposite of
wise
. but if thou scornest,
thou alone shalt bear it
.
Now the Proverb starts to tell us how to apply the seven pillars
of wisdom
. The FIRS't application is to apply these seven pillars
of wisdom
is to apply wisdom
to your own life (thou shalt be wise for thyself
). Notice that this application is conditional (If thou be wise
). Notice also that this sentence is divided by a colon followed by the word but
, which we have seen that the Bible always uses to indicate that the two sections of the sentence are polar opposites. The person who refuses to apply these seven pillars
of wisdom
will become a scorner
and they will personally (thou
) bear it...alone
. We reap what we sow. When we sow :wisdom
, we personally reap the rewards and we can then share those rewards with others. However, when we sow scorn
we bear it...alone
and in a personal manner.
C9-S10 (Verse 13) How to identify a
foolish woman.
- Equivalent Section: What we see in a person.
A foolish woman is clamorous:
.- Equivalent Section: Why they are that type of person.
she is simple,
and knoweth nothing
.
This is the next application and it gives us an example of a scornful
person who lacks the wisdom
that this Proverb tells us about. We saw at the start of this Proverb that it uses simple
for a lost person. We also saw that Biblical knowledge
is the result of experiencing God's life working in our life. So what we have here is a lost person who has not experienced God's life working in their personal life. It is an extreme example like Jesus used when teaching in the Gospels.
C9-S11 (Verse 14-17) the actions of a
foolish woman.
- Equivalent Section: What they do.
For she sitteth at the door of her house,
on a seat in the high places of the city,
to call passengers who go right on their ways:
.- Equivalent Section: their message to the lost.
Whoso is simple,
let him turn in hither:
.- Equivalent Section: their message to the saved.
and as for him that wanteth understanding,
she saith to him,
Stolen waters are sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant
.
This sentence tells us the message from this clamorous woman
that is our example of a scornful
person who was identified in the prior sentence. As we saw earlier, the person is made equivalent to their message. The message to the lost and the message to the saved are different while also being equivalent to each other and to the person giving the message. A liar says one thing and does another but God says that the message which we live and ourselves are equivalent.
Notice that the prior sentence says that she is simple
and this sentence says that she calls
to the simple
. Notice also that the next sentence tells us that her guests are in the depths of hell
. Proverbs 14:12 says, There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
this clamorous woman
that is our example of a scornful
person calls
to the simple
to go in the way which seemeth right unto a man
and ends up sending them to Hell
. Scornful
ways appeal to the flesh and seemeth right unto a man
but those ways send many souls to Hell
.
This person sitteth at the door of her house
. This means that their personal life shows what they are really like. This section also says that she also sits on a seat in the high places of the city
(typical politician). Finally this section tells us To call passengers who go right on their ways
. These people won't leave other people alone but actively seek to corrupt the righteous and people who are trying to be 'good' using their own power.
Next, this sentence tells us that these people call to the lost (simple
) to turn in hither
so that they are not just lost but are also corrupted and addicted to sin. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that there is pleasures of sin for a season
, which sin advertises. However, all sin is addictive and corrupts and destroys. These people try to hide this ultimate result of sin while they try to lure the simple
.
In the third equivalent section we see the message from these people to the saved who are trying to be righteous (him that wanteth understanding
). Something that is stolen
is hidden from sight. Likewise, what is done in secret
is also hidden. The message is simple: you can enjoy 'secret sin' and get away with it. However, our next sentence tells us the true result of these lies.
C9-S12 (Verse 18) the results of a
foolish woman.
- Equivalent Section: She brings death.
But he knoweth not that the dead are there;
.- Equivalent Section: She sends people to Hell.
and that her guests are in the depths of hell
.
This sentence has two steps telling us what the person who listens to the message in the prior sentence does not know
. The Bible uses the word know
for what we personally know
through experience which results in God causing us to reap what we sowed. However, it takes time for the crop to come to harvest. When we know
something Godly, there is a spiritual birth which results in God working through our life to show His life in a way that even the lost can see. However, what this sentence tells us is that the foolish man does not know
that The dead are there
. in this case, the dead
refers to the spiritual dead
or the lost. He does not know
that he is following the way of the lost and fellowshipping with the lost. Often, the lost portray themselves as saved and religious. Anyone who falls for the lies of a scornful
person can't tell the saved from the lost.
Second, this sentence tells us that he does not realize that her guests are in the depths of hell
. Anyone that he gets to go the way that he goes (friends and family) will end up in The depths of hell
and there is a good chance that he will also end up there. Many people say that they believe that they are in Hell now and that is only the beginning of the results of sin.