Proverbs chapter 9 verses 1 to 18
To him who lacks sense, she says,
Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways and live and walk in the way of insight.
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse.
And he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer or he will hate you.
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man and he will be wiser still.
Teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
And the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
For by me your days will be multiplied and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself.
If you scoff, you alone will bear it.
The woman's folly is loud.
She is seductive and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house.
She takes a seat on the highest places of the town.
Calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way.
Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.
And to him who lacks sense, she says,
Stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
But he does not know that the dead are there, that our guests are in the depths of Sheol.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
As I mentioned earlier, chapters 1 to 9 is really a long prologue to the rest of Proverbs.
And up to this point, the chapters are made up of longer narratives, poetic narratives.
But starting in chapter 10, the short and witty sayings that we've come to associate with the word proverb predominate.
So our passage for today then functions as kind of the conclusion of the prologue and a transition toward the rest of the book.
Before we feast on the rich fare of wisdom's banquet in the rest of the Proverbs,
we must first heed her call and humbly accept her invitation.
That's what this passage is.
And that's the main point of this passage, that only those who humble themselves and heed the call of wisdom
will feast at her life-giving banquet.
We see woman wisdom's call in verses 1 to 6.
And then woman's folly's call, which is kind of a mirror image, contrasting image in verses 13 to 18.
And then we see in the middle, as a point of emphasis, verses 7 to 12,
which talks about the responses of the wise and the scoffer.
And because it's intentionally structured in kind of this fashion to have mirroring images of woman wisdom and woman folly,
and then in the middle, this how we ought to respond,
we're going to look at woman wisdom's call and woman folly's call together,
and then look at the response at the end.
Let's look at verse 1.
It tells us,
Wisdom has built her house.
She has hewn her seven pillars.
The word house also means family or household.
The building metaphor is primary here, as we can see in the mention of pillars.
But woman wisdom's house building also foreshadows the building of households or families by her daughters.
In chapter 14, verse 1, it says,
The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.
Families thrive and homes flourish when there are wise women upholding them.
That's why Psalm 144, verse 12, there also Psalm is praised,
May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace.
Families are the foundation of society, and women are the pillars of those families.
House building is not for the faint of heart.
But while woman wisdom has built her house and hewn her pillars,
we see in verse 14 that woman folly merely sits at the door of her house.
This contrasts woman wisdom's industry with woman folly's laziness, her lethargy.
Read verses 13 to 14 with me.
The woman folly is loud.
She's seductive and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house.
She takes a seat on the highest places of the town.
So woman folly is loud.
That's the same word that was used to describe the seductress in chapter 7, verse 11.
She's loud and wayward is said there.
Her feet do not stay at home.
Now in the street, now in the market, in every corner she lies wait.
The word loud means turbulent or restless.
In contrast to woman wisdom who is busily working at her house,
woman folly is an idle busybody,
meddling in the affairs of others outside her home.
She sits at the door of her house.
She takes a seat on the highest places of the town.
Woman wisdom is an industrious homebody.
Woman folly is an idle busybody.
She's always sitting, sitting about here and there.
Woman wisdom, verse 2 continues,
has slaughtered her beasts.
She has mixed her wine.
She has also set her table.
So woman wisdom has finished building her house
and has invited guests for a sumptuous feast,
which represents the gourmet dishes of wisdom laid out in the rest of Proverbs.
But this is contrasted with the description of wisdom,
of woman folly in verse 13.
It says,
The woman folly is seductive and knows nothing.
The word seductive,
if you look at the footnote on the English Standard Version Bibles,
if you have that,
it says it can also be translated as full of simpleness.
A woman wisdom's table is full of the richest fears of wisdom,
but woman folly's head is empty.
It's filled only with simplicity and ignorance.
She has prepared no meat.
She has mixed no wine.
She has set no table.
She has made no diligent preparation for her banquet.
And the way they issued their respective invitations also differ.
In verses 3 to 4,
woman wisdom has sent out her young woman
to call from the highest places in the town.
Messengers have been formally sent out to invite the guests
while woman wisdom completes her preparations at home.
This shows intention and care.
The verb call is singular,
which shows that the young women do not speak for themselves,
but rather are their mouthpieces for the woman wisdom.
They speak for her.
And these daughters of woman wisdom represent the messengers,
the sages,
such as the father and mother of this Proverbs,
of the book of Proverbs,
who relay Solomon's God-given wisdom to the future generations.
In contrast to this,
look at verses 14 to 15.
Tell us that woman folly takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way.
She has no messengers.
All she does is try to distract and derail passersby.
Her evil intentions are exposed in the fact that she takes unwitting passersby,
those who may otherwise be proceeding straight on their way,
to veer aside,
to go astray.
And notice also that both call from the highest places,
the most visible location in town,
in order to reach as many people as possible.
In the ancient Near East,
which is the context in which this book is written,
only one person has the right to dwell on the highest point of the city.
It's either the God of that city,
in the temple,
or the king of that city,
in the palace.
In the same way,
in Jerusalem,
the temple was at the peak of Mount Zion.
And this confirms what we know from chapter 8 already,
that woman wisdom stands for God,
represents God.
She is the word of God,
by which the world was created.
And as God's people say of the Lord in Jeremiah,
chapter 17,
verse 12,
a glorious throne,
literally a glorious seat,
set on high from the beginning,
is the place of our sanctuary.
Only God deserves to sit on His glorious throne,
on the highest place,
and that's where His people are to worship Him.
And so woman wisdom issues her invitations from the highest places in the town.
The problem,
however,
is that woman folly
also calls out from the highest places of the town.
In fact,
it says that she takes a seat.
That's the same word that's often translated throne,
or the seat of honor.
She takes a seat on the highest places of the town.
Common people back in the day did not sit on chairs.
They would usually sit on floors.
Or if they had extraordinary accommodations,
they would sit on stools and benches.
Only those in authority had chairs.
Only the teachers sat on chairs.
This is the origin of the practice of giving,
gifting a literal chair
to a teacher who has recently been promoted to professorship.
And Proverbs chapter 20, verse 8,
mentions that a king who sits on the throne of judgment,
the word throne,
again,
is the same word as seat.
1 Samuel 1, verse 9,
says,
Eli the priest was sitting on the seat
beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.
The seat by the temple
from which the priests rendered their verdicts
for God's people.
And similarly,
Matthew 23, verse 2,
says that the scribes and the Pharisees
sit on Moses' seat.
It's a place of authority,
prominence,
teaching.
So the fact that woman folly
takes a seat
on the highest places of the town
almost certainly represents
a place of prominence
and of idolatrous worship.
This brazen woman,
despite the fact that she is full of simpleness
and knows nothing,
as verse 13 told us,
presumes to sit on a seat
on the highest places.
She presumes to judge.
She presumes to teach.
She is an imposter.
Ecclesiastes chapter 10,
verses 5 to 6,
laments the situation.
It says,
there is an evil
that I have seen
under the sun,
as it were an error
proceeding from the ruler.
Folly
is set
in many
high
places.
Ecclesiastes
chapter 10,
verses 5 to 6,
says,
folly is set
in many
high
places.
So don't believe
something
simply because
someone in position
of authority
has said it.
Remember that
woman folly
takes a seat
on the highest
places of the town.
From the state houses
and white houses
built atop
many hills
throughout the world.
From the ivory towers
of academia,
from the verified
social media accounts
of celebrities
on Beverly Hills,
from the high platforms
and loud voices
of Instagram
and YouTube stars,
from many
of the highest
places in the world,
folly comes
spewing forth.
Their views
might have currency
in the culture.
Their views
might sound
plausible,
but if they have
no tinge
of the fear
of God,
no sense
of the wisdom
of God,
no tint
of the righteousness
of God,
then it's all folly.
That's why
we must test
everything by
the wisdom
of God
revealed in
God's word.
16th century
theologian
John Calvin
calls scripture
the straight edge
to which we
must be shaped.
Slice everything
by the straight edge
of God's word
and discard
the rest.
Discard all
excess.
Let's look
more closely
at the respective
invitations
of woman wisdom
and woman folly.
what they offer
their provisions
also are worlds
apart.
Verse 5,
woman wisdom
says,
come,
eat of my bread
and drink
of the wine
I have mixed.
Now contrast
that with the
meager proportions
of the woman
folly in verse 17.
Stolen water
is sweet
and bread
eaten in secret
is pleasant.
Wisdom
offers bread,
but folly
offers bread
eaten in secret,
forbidden bread.
There's an
Arabic proverb
that says
everything forbidden
is sweet.
That is
precisely
woman wisdom's
tactic.
Woman folly's
tactic,
sorry.
Just as the
crafty serpent
in Genesis 3
enticed Eve
to eat the
forbidden fruit
by impugning
the goodness
of God,
she said,
you will not
surely die
when you eat
of that forbidden
fruit,
for God knows
that when you
eat of it
your eyes
will be opened
and you will
be like God
knowing good
and evil.
That's how
the serpent
tempted Adam
and Eve.
That's Satan's
bread and butter.
That boundary
that God has
placed around you,
that's not there
to protect you,
that's there
to restrict you,
deprive you
of good.
You know
why that thing
is forbidden?
Not because
it's bad for you,
but because
it's too good.
God's withholding
it from you.
He doesn't
have your best
interest in mind.
that's Satan's
tactic.
That's woman
folly's tactic.
She says,
stolen water
is sweet
and bread
eaten in secret
is pleasant.
And actually,
that much
is true,
isn't it?
Sin is
often
pleasurable.
the problem,
however,
is that
it's only
half true.
And a half
truth
masquerading
as a whole
truth
is a whole
lie,
as is often
said.
Notice the
contrast between
what woman
wisdom promises
up front
in verse 6
and what woman
folly fails
to disclose
in verse 18.
Woman wisdom
makes her offer
up front
in verse 6,
leave your
simple ways
and live
and walk
in the way
of insight.
She promises
life.
That's the end,
the goal of wisdom
that that's
what you're in
for when you
accept her
invitation to
join her banquet.
You'll be given
life abundant,
eternal life.
Now contrast
that with
verse 18.
But he does
not know
that the dead
are there,
that her guests
are in the
depths of Sheol.
Woman folly,
stolen water
and secret bread
lead to death.
Her house
is a foyer
that leads
to the chamber
of death.
Her guests
are in
the depths
of Sheol,
the realm
of the dead.
But that's
the thing,
woman folly
does not
disclose
that fact.
It's not,
there's no
disclaimer.
It's not
in the fine
print.
It's the author
of Proverbs
that discloses
this hidden
fact to us.
Woman folly's
invitation
is a deceptive
half-truth
and he
who falls
for her
does not
know this.
This whole
section on
woman folly
begins and
ends with
the phrase
does not
know.
Verse 13
says the
woman folly
knows nothing,
literally does
not know
anything.
And verse 18
says that her
dull subjects
does not
know.
This is the
deficiency that
Proverbs is
trying to
correct.
Sin is
pleasurable for
a time,
yes,
but like
a drug
that is
enjoyable
at first
but enslaves
and kills
at last.
Sin has
a bitter
end.
Consider this
parallel from
Proverbs
chapter 5
verses 3
to 5.
For the
lips of a
forbidden
woman drip
honey and
her speech
is smoother
than oil.
But in the
end she is
bitter as
wormwood,
sharp as
a two-edged
sword.
Her feet
go down
to death.
Her steps
follow the
path to
shield.
The beginning
of sin
is sweet,
but its
end is
bitter.
The beginning
of sin
is smooth,
but its
end is
sharp and
cutting.
It makes
you feel
alive for
a moment,
but it
makes you
dead forever.
And that
is what
is ultimately
at stake.
Wisdom
is not
merely
something that
is expedient
for us to
have to
navigate life.
Folly
is not
merely an
inconvenience.
It's a
matter of
life and
death.
Woman
wisdom
said at
the end
of chapter
8,
whoever
finds me
finds life
and obtains
favor from
the Lord,
but he
who fails
to find
me injures
himself.
All who
hate me
love death.
If you
spurn
wisdom,
if you
despise
wisdom,
you're not
merely embracing
a hard
life,
making life
hard for
yourself.
You are
loving
death.
And the
language of
wisdom and
folly are
commonly used
in our
culture,
newspapers
and news
anchors
often describe
a crime
as senseless.
They use
the word
to refer to
the fact
that this
crime had
no rhyme
or reason.
It lacked
sense.
But in
reality,
all sins,
even the
sins that
are celebrated
in our
culture,
are senseless
because they
lead to
death.
A
politician
caught in
a consensual
extramarital
relationship
will never
admit to
sin,
but they
will admit
that they
were short
sighted or
inappropriate,
that it
was a
lapse in
judgment.
But we
must not
let such
euphemisms
hide the
ugliness
and the
morbid
consequences
of sin.
Cornelius
Plantinga
puts it
this way
in his
book,
not the
way it's
supposed to
be.
A sinner
will often
not concede
that he
has been
a knave,
but he
feels obliged
to concede
in effect
that he
has been
a fool.
And in
so doing,
ironically,
he enters
the mainstream
of biblical
thought and
paves the
path to
sin.
The Bible
speaks of
foolishness,
folly of
rejecting
wisdom.
sin.
That's in
the mainstream
of how the
Bible speaks
of sin.
And the
bad news
is that we
have all
sinned.
We've all
been fools.
Note well
that woman
wisdom and
woman folly
are competing
for the
exact same
crowd.
Compare what
they say in
verse 4 and
verse 16.
It's the
only part of
the contrasting
sections that
is exactly
identical.
Whoever is
simple, let
him turn in
here.
The address
him who
lacks sense.
The simple
are those who
have not yet
turned toward
the path of
wisdom, but
those who
have not yet
settled into
the path of
folly either.
And there is
good news
embedded in
this passage.
It's fitting
that woman
folly would
target those
who are
simple and
lack sense,
isn't it?
That sounds
like her
kind of
crowd, the
kind of
people who
would be
duped by
her half
truth.
But what
is remarkable
is that woman
wisdom also
reaches out to
the simpletons
and the
senseless.
You would
think that
woman wisdom
would leave
the fools to
woman folly
and invite only
those who are
wise and
full of
understanding to
come to
her banquet.
But she
doesn't do
that.
She says in
verses 4 to
6,
whoever is
simple,
let him
turn in
here.
To him
who lacks
sense,
she says,
come eat
of my
bread and
drink of
the wine
I have
mixed.
Leave your
simple ways
and live
and walk
in the way
of insight.
What a
gracious and
lavish invitation.
Though we
have all
sinned,
though we
have all
had our
share of
godless
foolishness
in our
lives,
wisdom invites
us to
partake in
her banquet.
Her
banquet is
not a
high-browed,
high-nosed
affair.
It's not an
exclusive party
for those of
righteous and
noble bearing.
It's for
simpletons and
the sinners
like us.
And
wisdom's
banquet
prefigures
the heavenly
banquet that
Jesus speaks
of in
Luke chapter
14.
There in
Jesus'
parable of
the great
banquet,
the master
of the
feast says
to his
servants,
go out
quickly to
the streets
and lanes
of the
city and
bring in
the poor
and crippled
and blind
and lame.
In that
day and age,
the poor
and the
disabled were
precisely the
kinds of
people that
people omitted
from their
guest list.
But Jesus
seeks out
precisely such
people.
that's
because
Jesus,
when the
Pharisees
and the
scribes
grumbled
at why
he was
dining with
sinners and
tax collectors
in Luke
chapter 5,
Jesus answered
them this
way,
those who
are well
have no
need of
a physician,
but those
who are
sick,
I've not
come to
call the
righteous,
but sinners
to repentance.
That's the
heart of God
for sinners
like you
and me.
we often
superimpose
on God
the
characteristics
that we
see in
sinful
humanity.
In our
world,
beautiful
people
despise
ugly
people.
In our
world,
sophisticated
people despise
simple-minded
people.
In our
world,
wealthy
people despise
poor
people.
Successful
people despise
failed
people.
And so
we think
that since
God is so
holy,
and since
God is so
wise,
he must
despise us
and want
nothing to
do with
sinners and
fools like
us,
but this
cannot be
further from
the truth.
Woman
wisdom,
her target
audience,
are the
simpletons
and the
senseless
of this
world,
and the
wisdom of
God
beckons us
to come
to her
banquet.
And so
we're faced
with a
choice.
whether to
accept
woman
wisdom's
invitation
or woman
folly's
invitation,
and this
is the
most
consequential
decision we
make in
this life.
So verses
7 to 12
seek to
guide us
by giving
us examples
of how the
wise and
the scoffer
respond to
woman wisdom.
verses 7
to 8
warn us,
whoever
corrects a
scoffer gets
himself abuse,
and he
who reproves
a wicked
man incurs
injury.
Do not
reprove a
scoffer or
he will
hate you.
The
scoffer
refers to
someone who
is too
prideful to
listen or
to submit to
anyone's
instruction.
He has an
over-inflated
ego.
He is
immune to
correction and
is never
known to
change his
mind.
Three times
the sage
tells us
that it
is no
use to
try to
correct the
scoffer
because when
you do,
you will
get yourself
abuse and
injury and
hatred.
The scoffer
will heap
abuses on
you and
berate you.
In trying to
help him,
you only earn
his hatred.
It reminds
me of what
Jesus said in
Matthew 7
verse 6,
Do not give
dogs what
is holy,
and do not
throw your
pearls before
pigs,
lest they
trample them
underfoot and
turn to
attack you.
The wise
man is a
study in
contrast.
It says in
verses 8 to
9,
Reprove a
wise man
and he
will love
you.
Give
instruction to
a wise
man and
he will
be still
wiser.
Teach a
righteous man
and he will
increase in
learning.
This
threefold
affirmation of
the wise
man's
teachability
contrasts the
scoffer's
incorrigibility.
If you
prove a
scoffer,
he hates
you,
but if you
reprove a
wise man,
he loves
you.
If you
correct a
scoffer,
you get
abuse,
but if you
correct the
wise man,
he increases
in learning.
The word
learning in
verse 9 is a
noun form of
the verb
get in
verse 7,
so it
highlights the
contrast even
more.
When you
instruct a
scoffer that
bounces off,
he repels
instruction,
it bounces off
and strikes
you.
But if you
instruct the
wise man,
he gets
wisdom,
he learns.
It's ironic,
the scoffer who
needs wisdom
most rejects
it,
and the
wise man who
already has a
measure of
wisdom receives
it eagerly.
The wiser you
get, the
humbler you
get.
This is
because, as
verse 10 says,
the fear of
the Lord is
the beginning
of wisdom,
and the
knowledge of
the Holy
One is
insight.
To know
God is to
fear Him,
to revere
Him.
It refers not
merely to
knowing God
in a just
knowing about
Him, but
rather personally
knowing Him,
experientially
knowing Him.
And when you
know and
relate to
God rightly,
you revere
and worship
Him, you
obey Him.
To have the
fear of the
Lord is to
live in the
presence of
God, under
the authority
of God, and
for the glory
of God.
And that,
the fear of
the Lord is
the beginning,
not the
end of
wisdom.
When you
fear the
Lord, you
cannot be
slothful, because
you live under
His watchful eye.
When you
fear the
Lord, you
do not
gossip or
slander, because
you know He
hears you.
When you
fear the
Lord, you
do not
boast, because
you know how
indebted you
are to Him, and
how dependent you
are on Him.
When you
fear the
Lord, you
do not grumble
or complain
about your
life circumstances,
because you
submit to His
superior wisdom
and sovereignty.
When you
fear the
Lord, you
do not
oppress the
poor, the
widows, and
the orphans,
because you
know that He
will judge
justly.
When you
fear the
Lord, you
do not
fear what
man can
do to
you, because
you trust in
His sovereignty
and power.
The fear of
the Lord is
the beginning
of wisdom,
and the
knowledge of
Holy One
is insight.
And then
verse 11
provides further
incentive for
acquiring wisdom.
For by me
your days will
be multiplied
and years
will be added
to your
life.
Once again,
wisdom promises
life, and
verse 12
lays the
responsibility
squarely on
the individual's
shoulders.
If you are
wise, you are
wise for
yourself.
If you
scoff,
you alone
will bear
it.
This doesn't
mean that
your wisdom
or folly
doesn't affect
anyone else
in your life.
Human beings
were created
to be social
beings, and
for better or
worse, we
live in an
interconnected
world.
And so
everything you
do affects
other people.
If you
choose wisdom,
it will affect
those around
you.
If you
choose folly,
it will affect
those around
you.
Nonetheless,
the primary
beneficiary
will be
you.
You're not
choosing wisdom
primarily for
the benefit
of others.
This is for
yourself.
It will
benefit you.
It will
impart life
to you.
It's
therefore all
the more
urgent that
you choose
wisdom for
yourself.
It's your
responsibility
and yours
alone.
And this
digression,
or this
centerpiece
of the
responses of
the wise
man and
the scoffer
serve as a
warning to
woman wisdom's
target audience.
This simple.
Will you be a
wise man or
a scoffer?
That depends on
how you respond
to the call of
woman wisdom.
If you heed
her call, you
become a
wise man.
If you ignore
her call, you
become a
scoffer.
A
modernized
alternative
title for the
book of
Proverbs could
be God's
wisdom for
dummies or
life skills for
dummies.
I've never
owned any of
the books in
the four
dummies series.
You guys know
what I'm talking
about, right?
The popular
four dummies
series.
I think they
have one for
everything that
I can imagine.
But if I
owned one of
those books,
I think I'd
be embarrassed
to read it
in public.
Because in
my pride, I
want to be
seen reading
the book for
experts.
I want to be
reading the
book for
smarty pants,
not for
dummies.
And that's
precisely the
point.
Acquiring the
wisdom of
God requires
humility.
Wisdom calls
out the
simple.
We must
acknowledge that
we are
simple, that
we do lack
sense, that
we need
correction and
learning.
Only then do
we diligently
seek the
wisdom of
God.
As woman
wisdom invites
us to do
in verses
4-6, we
must turn and
leave our
ways.
Leave our
simple ways.
In order to
walk in the
right path of
wisdom, it's
no use insisting
that you're on
the right path
anyway, or that
the sins that
you commit in
your life are
tolerable, that
they're okay.
That doesn't get
us anywhere.
In order to
walk in the
right path of
wisdom, we
must first admit
that we're
going in the
wrong direction
and turn.
That's what it
means to repent
of our sins and
to believe in
God.
It is then and
only then that
we become wise
because that's
the way that
God has chosen
to save
sinners.
As I
mentioned
earlier, woman
wisdom prefigures
Jesus Christ and
her promises
ultimately point
to and are
fulfilled by the
person and
work of Jesus
Christ.
This is why
Jesus is
described in
1 Corinthians
chapter 1 as
the wisdom
from God.
Jesus has
prepared for us
a banquet that
imparts eternal
life.
But in order to
enter, we must
humble ourselves
and heed his
call.
We have all
eaten the
secret bread of
woman folly.
We have all
drunk her
stolen water.
and as her
guests, we
were destined
for the depths
of Sheol as
verse 18 says,
but God did
not give up on
us even then.
He sent his
only son, Jesus
Christ, the
wisdom from God
to rescue us.
Jesus,
left the glory
that he had with
the father from
before the world
began, took on
human flesh.
He humbled
himself and
became obedient
to death, even
death on a
cross.
Jesus, the
very incarnation
of the wisdom
of God, endured
the penalty of
folly that we
had incurred.
He takes our
place and
instead of us,
he descends to
the dead so
that from there
he might be
raised from the
dead to impart
his eternal
resurrection life
to all those
who turn aside
to him and
heed his call.
That's the
gospel of
Jesus Christ,
the good news
of Jesus Christ.
And this
wisdom confounds
the world.
Who would have
thought of a
God who takes
on human flesh?
Who would have
thought of a
crucified king?
But it was
God's pleasure to
confound the
wisdom of the
world, the
shallow and
empty wisdom of
this world in
order to reveal
the depth and
fullness of
his divine
wisdom.
And so 1
Corinthians
chapter 1
verses 18 to
31 say this,
For the word
of the cross is
folly to those
who are perishing,
but to us who
are being saved
it is the power
of God.
For it is
written, I will
destroy the
wisdom of the
wise and the
discernment of
the discerning I
will thwart.
For consider your
calling, brothers.
Not many of you
were wise according
to worldly
standards.
Not many were
powerful.
Not many were
of noble birth.
But God chose
what is foolish
in the world
to shame the
wise.
God chose what
is weak in the
world to shame
the strong.
God chose what
is low and
despised in the
world, even
things that are
not to bring to
nothing things
that are, so
that no human
being might boast
in the presence of
God.
And because of
him, you are in
Christ Jesus who
became to us
wisdom from
God, righteousness
and sanctification
and redemption, so
that as it is
written, let the
one who boasts
boast in the
Lord.
Thanks be to
God.
Are you
discouraged that
you are weak and
foolish?
Do you hesitate
to come to the
banquet of Jesus
in your filthy
sin-ridden rags?
Remember, woman
wisdom, she calls
out to the simple
and addresses those
who lack sense.
She invites us to
come eat hover
bread, drink of the
wine she has mixed.
Wisdom calls out
from the highest of
places to the
lowest of sinners.
sinners.
Consider what God
says in Isaiah 57
verse 15.
I dwell in the
high and holy
place and also
with him who is of
a contrite and
lowly spirit.
To revive the
spirit of the
lowly and to
revive the heart
of the contrite.
This verse tells
us that there are
two places in
the world where
the presence of
God is especially
manifest.
First is the
high and holy
place, God's
dwelling place, a
heavenly place.
Second is within
the heart of the
contrite and
lowly.
That's where
God dwells.
The admission
of your lowliness,
the admission of
your unworthiness,
your weakness,
your sinfulness,
forgiveness is
not a hindrance
to coming into
the banquet of
the kingdom of
God.
It is a
prerequisite for
entry into the
banquet of the
kingdom of God
because only those
who humble
themselves and
heed the call of
wisdom can
feast at her
life-giving
banquet.
Let me close
by reading the
first verse of
an old hymn,
Come,
ye sinners.
sinners.
Come,
ye sinners,
poor and
needy,
weak and
wounded,
sick and
sore.
Jesus ready
stands to
save you,
full of
pity,
love,
and power.
Amen.