Original Meaning
COMING ON THE HEELS of Wisdom’s majestic speech of chapter 8, the conclusion of the instructions in chapter 9 sums up all that has been said before with a final appeal to study wisdom, here depicted as an able and generous host. The most outstanding feature of this finale is the juxtaposition of speeches from Wisdom and her nemesis, Folly. We have noted that chapter 8 departed from the typical instruction form of ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature (call to attention, charge, and motivation).1 Instead, Wisdom called from the heights to any and all who would listen; so here also, Wisdom calls out to all, particularly the simple, but her words now echo back in a mocking parody from personified Folly.
Therefore, like the two speeches of chapters 7–8, these two speeches in chapter 9 contrast the ways of wisdom and waywardness. As readers study this contest of words and ideas, they can also imagine the parents getting ready to send their son out to make his way in the world, once again urging him to remember all they have taught him. It remains to be seen whether he will remember his parents’ instruction.
These descriptions and quotations of Wisdom and Folly are a study in similarities and contrasts. Both Wisdom and Folly call out from a house situated in the highest place. Both begin with the same invitation: “Let all who are simple come in here,” adding an invitation to a meal. Both Wisdom and Folly use proverbs; Wisdom’s speech concludes with a series of proverbs, ending with, “If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer” (9:12). Folly has only one proverb, but it is revealing: “Stolen water is sweet; food [bread] eaten in secret is delicious” (9:17).
However, the teacher shows these similarities only to point out the glaring differences. Wisdom works at building and preparing in order to have a sumptuous banquet to offer her guests while Folly sits at her door, loud, undisciplined, and without knowledge. The meals are different, Wisdom offering wine and meat, Folly offering only bread and water. There are the differences in outcome. Wisdom offers a future, a call to maturity, and in a word, life. Folly only offers the immediate pleasure of good things enjoyed outside their intended boundaries, hiding the fact that such pleasure brings death.
A series of concentric ring structures shape this chapter, contrasting Wisdom and Folly’s invitations as well as the responses and fates of mockers and wise ones. The structure also sets “the fear of the LORD” at the center of its reflections on learning (9:10).2 This central section includes a number of terms from the prologue and chapter 1, but those terms appear also in the two invitations that frame it.3
Wisdom’s Invitation (9:1–6)
Description and location (9:1–3)
Invitation to the simple—“life” (9:4–6)
Learning Wisdom (9:7–12)
Responses of mockers and wise persons (9:7–9)
“Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (9:10)
Final outcomes of mockers and wise persons (9:11–12)
Folly’s Invitation (9:13–18)
Description and location (9:13–15)
Invitation to the simple—“death” (9:16–18)
The structure of the chapter reveals that this debate by Wisdom and Folly is not only about choosing one host/teacher over the other but about what kind of person the hearer will become. Decision demonstrates character, so that one becomes either a mocker or a wise one.
Wisdom’s Invitation (9:1–6)
THE SPEAKER, MOST likely one of the parental teachers of chapters 1–8, again introduces Wisdom’s speech, setting it at the highest place in the city (cf. 1:20–21; 8:1–3). From this visible and central location, she invites her hearers to the house she has constructed and the feast she has made ready. The picture of Wisdom building a house reminds the reader of the cosmos building of 8:27–31 and the doors of 8:34, suggesting that this house is symbolic in some way of her teaching. Just as Yahweh ordered the universe and its boundaries,4 so Wisdom builds a house in which she dwells and offers her teaching, symbolized in the lavish banquet. In interpreting the symbolism of this picture, however, readers should not allegorize the details so that meat and wine represent two different kinds of teaching or the maidservants teachers of wisdom.5
What, for example, does the house represent? The wide range of suggestions is evidence that clear indications are lacking; proposals include: a palace, a temple, a school, and even the universe itself. Michael Fox suggests it is an ancient symposium.6 Most likely, the house is like a mansion, representing security and splendor.7
The seven pillars are “hewn,” possibly the way a stone cutter shapes rough stone (though the LXX reads they were “set up”). The pillars may be supports (Judg. 16:25, 26, 29),8 decoration (as in Solomon’s temple, 1 Kings 7:2–22), or symbols of the pillars of the earth (Ps. 75:3; cf. 1 Sam. 2:8; Job 9:6; 26:11).9 Interpreters have looked outside the book for analogies in ancient Near Eastern imagery as well as within the book itself, such as the seven Hebrew poems in chapters 2–7.10 However, the seven superscriptions in the book may just as likely be a candidate (1:1; 10:1; 22:17; 24:23; 25:1; 30:1; 31:1). No clear direction is given, but we will not go far afield if we remember that the number seven is often associated with seven days of creation and completion. If Wisdom has built her house, it is finished and it is good—nothing else is needed.
Not only does Wisdom demonstrate her positive character through her hard work of building (cf. 14:1), she also knows how to throw a great party (perhaps as a celebration of the building’s completion, cf. Solomon’s temple, 1 Kings 8:62–66).11 It must be remembered, however, that in the context of the poem, Wisdom builds the house so that she can invite her guests to enjoy the banquet, symbolic of her instruction (as she makes clear). The meal is luxurious, for wine and meat were not daily fare for the commoner. The slaughter of meat says more about the richness of the meal than any religious rite; the word for ritual sacrifice is not used. Wine mixed with spices appears in Song of Songs 8:2, but Wisdom may just be preparing her wine for drinking by mixing it with water. The preparations ready, she sends out her maids, who call out the invitation on behalf of their mistress from the high places of the city.
Wisdom’s speech is less public address than public invitation to her table, but as in chapter 8, she addresses the simple, those who “lack judgment [lit., heart].” The structure, however, pairs two addresses with two recipients; the simple are invited to literally “turn in here,” and those who lack heart are called to come and eat her food (lit., bread) and to drink that mixed wine. The hospitality is her teaching, as confirmed by the prologue and its promise to give “prudence to the simple” (1:4). In contrast to the other woman, her meat and drink will bring life, not death (9:6; cf. 7:14–18; 21–27). But to come to her is to leave those simple ways behind (petaʾim, cf. 9:4) and to walk in a new way, the way of understanding.
The invitation makes clear that not to decide is to decide; one gives up something, either simple ways or life. At the beginning of her first speech Wisdom asked, “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?” (1:22); so here she speaks of those ways as rivals, incompatible with what she will provide. To turn aside (swr, 9:4) to her house is to abandon the paths of purposeful ignorance and foolishness. Wisdom holds her potential guests responsible to turn aside from a dead-end path and to walk in the way of understanding. The shift in metaphor makes the young learner a traveler once again, stressing the importance of choosing the right way. As Wisdom stated at the end of her first speech, “the waywardness of the simple will kill them” (1:32), and so here she offers to direct them on a straight path that leads to life (cf. 9:11).
In sum, the images and words of personified Wisdom together create a picture of a woman who is self-sufficient, industrious, wealthy, and concerned for the welfare of others, particularly the hungry, simple youth.12 She is the embodiment of the wise person of Proverbs, a person who is careful to learn wise ways and teach them to others. This picture of Wisdom will take many forms throughout the book, male and female, but will reappear as a competent female provider once again in chapter 31.13
Learning Wisdom (9:7–12)
THE SECTION THAT follows Wisdom’s invitation appears to intrude, interrupting the contrast with the invitation of Folly. While most interpreters conclude that the section is secondary and therefore unrelated, it is possible to observe an intention behind the inclusion of this discourse. This section not only repeats significant terms from the prologue, it also summarizes the theme of receiving or rejecting instruction that carries throughout the rest of the book (13:1; 15:5, 12; 16:20; 17:16; 18:15; 19:8, 25; 23:9; 27:22).14
The structure of the section begins with the responses of the mocker and the wise person (9:7–9) and ends with their rewards (9:11–12). In the central position of this frame, “the fear of the LORD” links response and outcome, explaining the difference as fear of Yahweh (9:10). Therefore, juxtaposition of elements that appear dissimilar on the surface need not be taken as a sign of patchwork; the chapter is more like a skillfully sewn quilt, beautiful in its assembly of varied pieces.
The shift from second-person public invitation to third-person counsel about the mocker (9:7) leaves the reader wondering who is speaking and who is being addressed. However, “you” resumes in 9:8 and “me” occurs in 9:11. While it is possible that the speaker is the unnamed teacher, perhaps the parents addressing other teachers, it is also possible to hear the words as part of Wisdom’s larger address. The counsel is directed to “whoever” will correct, rebuke (three times in 9:7–8), and instruct (9:9), suggesting that the intended listener is either a teacher or a person who is expected to become one.
Recalling the father’s remembrance that he in turn was taught by his father before him (4:3–4), we can surmise that Wisdom also intends for those who accept her learning to teach it to others. A learner by definition is one who becomes a bearer of the tradition. Joubert’s saying, “The one who teaches learns twice,” is fitting here. Each of the three sayings about teaching in 9:7–9 can stand independently as proverbs. Read together as a group, they shape a teacher’s expectations while at the same time making teaching appealing, for who does not want to be counted among the wise?
Wisdom’s invitation included a word of correction in 9:6, and that correction is carried into 9:7–9, gathering together synonyms for correcting and instructing. These sayings distinguish the responses of the wicked and the wise. While the mocker and wicked reject correction, the wise one not only welcomes correction but receives instruction. The twofold aspect of teaching, including both the negative and positive, runs throughout the instructions. The threefold rebuke of 9:7–8 is central to Wisdom’s first speech (1:23, 25, 30); those she castigates as mockers do not receive it (1:22), and so no mention is made of any teaching in chapter 1.
In Wisdom’s view, people show their character by their response to correction, mockers by rejecting correction or the wise by receiving it. However, the rejection mentioned here is more than the deaf ear of chapter 1. The mocker actually turns back to insult and do harm as a sign of hatred, similar to the hatred that shows itself in 1:29: “They hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD” (cf. 1:7, “fools despise wisdom and discipline.”).15 By contrast, the wise person loves those who give rebuke and learns from those who offer instruction. The wise become wiser and the righteous add to their learning (9:9), echoing the goal of the prologue in 1:5: “Let the wise listen and add to their learning.”16
Verse 10 also echoes the keynote of 1:7 in the prologue by reminding the reader that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Thus, Wisdom brings her own invitation to a climax by citing this programmatic statement of piety, knowledge, and character. In the context of the instructions of Proverbs 1–9, “fear of the LORD” creates a frame around all that comes in between. Inviting the simple to her feast, she also intends to point her learners to the fear of Yahweh. The last word of 9:10, “understanding,” repeats the last word of 9:6, underscoring its importance.
Like 8:13–14, this discourse places a “fear of the LORD” saying just before Wisdom goes on to describe what she offers. The next two verses (9:11–12) offer the motivation of rewards, continuing the focus on the wise person that began with 9:9 and carried through 9:10. Second-person address resumes as Wisdom speaks of herself, “For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life,” repeating the key term from 9:6. The promise of life has been consistent with Wisdom’s appearances (1:32–33; 3:18; 8:35); she protects her charges from early death, unlike her enemy (9:18), and offers them long and satisfying life. What follows in 9:12 is a new turn, literally: “If you are wise, you are wise for you, but if you mock, you alone will bear it.” This final proverb causes the reader to stop and reflect.17
Taking the proverb as Wisdom’s last words, we see that she puts responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the listener, making it clear that one “reaps what one sows.” She tells each of her listeners to decide whether they will be a wise one or a mocker. Once you hear the call of Wisdom, she warns, you are no longer simple or unlearned. You are either on your way to becoming wise or you are a scoffer; it all depends on your response. And if you are wise, you are not only learning for yourself, you are learning for others, for you will become a teacher. Wisdom’s feast, then—her instruction and her correction—is a first course in the fear of Yahweh. Her call is not an invitation to some school of manners or moral self-improvement. Rather, it is an invitation to know the Holy One.
Folly’s Invitation (9:13–18)
WHEN WISDOM SPEAKS in Proverbs, it is typically in answer to the voice of wickedness and folly. Wisdom’s first speech in chapter 1 is preceded by the invitation of the violent men, and her great speech in chapter 8 is preceded by the smooth words of the other woman. Now, her banquet invitation is followed by a nearly identical call from Folly.
The differences are significant. Whereas Wisdom was portrayed as hardworking and generous, Folly is loud and boisterous (like the other woman of 7:11), “undisciplined” (petayyut, uses the same root letters as “simple”), and without knowledge. Just as Wisdom calls from the highest places, Folly takes a seat at the high places and, adds the teacher, calls to those who pass by, going straight on their way (the root yšr, “straight,” is often used for “upright”; cf. 22:3=27:12, where the “simple pass by [lit.]”). Folly’s identical call to the simple to “turn in here” (lit., 9:16; cf. 9:4) takes on a new meaning in this context. She calls away those who want to walk a straight path.
Like Wisdom, Folly offers something to eat, but the fare is meager. The Hebrew follows the same word order in both lines of 9:17: “Water stolen—sweet; food (bread) in secret—delicious” (lit., “pleasant,” perhaps mocking the description of wisdom in 2:10; 3:17). Put this way, readers can identify with the enticement, for they know that there is a pleasure in doing what is wrong, a thrill from going out of bounds. Yet they also see how ridiculous these words are, for they offer bread and water as better than meat and wine! Compared with the other woman’s invitation to a feast of meat in chapter 7, these words reveal such foolish seductions for what they are: ridiculous, laughable, deceptive, and cheap. One might even say that Folly has no food to offer, for to taste her food requires stealing. There is no real offer of nourishment for life here, only lust that leads to death, even as she tries to make it appear better.
The “stolen water” reminds the reader of the waters of sexual intimacy that can either be contained at home or poured out in the streets (5:15–18). So too, the “[bread] eaten in secret” is most likely another description of infidelity, for the adulteress comes out in the dark to tell the young man that the husband is gone, the coast is clear, no one will know (7:6–20). Like the strange woman’s invitation to feasting in chapter 7, Folly separates deed from consequence, offering pleasures but hiding the trap of death. Woman Wisdom, by contrast, does point out the difference, stating that she has life and Folly has death (9:11–12; cf. 8:35–36).18 So here, Folly is not given the last word, but the teacher reminds us that those she calls “do not know”19 about the dead who forever remain in her house, a highway to Sheol (cf. 7:23–27; 5:5–6).
Folly’s use of the very same words as Wisdom (9:4, 16) sounds like mocking, proving her to be one of the mockers who will not receive correction but rather does harm (9:7–8). The figure of Folly is both laughable and tragic; her brief appearance draws together all that has been said about the other woman and wicked men, for both misuse the power of speaking and lead all who believe their lies to violence and death. Therefore, even while Wisdom’s previous speeches answered the enticements of the gang and the seductions of the other woman, here the teacher gives Folly one last chance to speak with “smooth words,” but they have lost their power, having been exposed for what they are in the previous instructions.
Because readers now know how false words can cover up rotting graves, they will not be taken in. However, danger still lurks, for the young man has not yet chosen Wisdom.20 In fact, readers never see him make that choice; rather, they are put in the same position as that young man, faced with making the choice between two calls. If readers choose Wisdom, they will continue to read and learn to interpret more difficult sayings. If they refuse, it is not because they haven’t heard Wisdom’s side of the story.
Bridging Contexts
AS WE HAVE made our way through chapters 7–9 and its portraits of women wise and foolish, we have seen that their appeals bring out either foolishness or wisdom in the men who listen to one or the other. We have seen that the “simple” young man was mentioned three times in the first chapter (1:4, 22, 32) but has not been seen again until he wanders near the home of the adulteress (7:5). For this reason, Wisdom directs her words to all who are simple (8:5; 9:4, 6), to counteract the deadly seductions of all such Folly (9:16–18). We have also seen that those who heed Wisdom’s invitation are themselves called “wise” (8:33; 9:8–12), while those who refuse her are called “mockers,” a term that appears only once between chapters 1 and 9 (3:34).
Recapitulation. The point of this review is that chapters 7–9 recapitulate the terms and themes of the opening chapter, answering some of the questions that were raised there. If we wondered why the parents chose to begin their teaching with warnings about violent predators (1:10–19), we now see that at root, there is much that violence has in common with the sin of adultery. Both involve seductions of unrestrained desire, and both do harm to a neighbor. If we wondered why Wisdom was so strident in her first speech, we now see that it is because previous invitations to her banquet of instruction have been rejected.
Like a movie that begins with a foreshadow of the end, so Proverbs begins with her final words to mockers who have spurned her correction and hated fear of Yahweh (1:22–33). Moreover, those mockers have not learned the ways of understanding that Wisdom promised to teach (9:6, 10). Just as Wisdom pronounced their suffering in chapter 1, so here she places it on the shoulders of the listener: “If you are a mocker, you alone will suffer” (9:12). Close reading of this recapitulation draws our attention to the important but often overlooked middle section of 9:7–12. It is here that “the fear of the LORD . . . the beginning of wisdom” (cf. 1:7; 2:5; 8:13) is sounded once again as the all-important focus of learning and decision-making.
Wisdom’s offer. The symbolism of Wisdom and her banquet is the embodiment of both divine summons and human response.21 In attending to the metaphor, readers “move from being spectators to participants, from mere students to disciples.”22 And, as we have seen, Proverbs 1–9 presents a metaphoric system that integrates images of creation, stressing the importance of boundaries and the wisdom to recognize them, the “way the world works,” and the wisdom to cooperate with its order. The symbol of Woman Wisdom boldly proclaims that there is a moral grain in the universe and that “to follow her precepts is to go with this grain rather than rub up against it for it is essentially a moral grain. There is a moral order at the heart of all creation and Wisdom leads people to it.”23 In sum, then, the call of Wisdom symbolizes both the created moral order and the need to choose one’s response to it. Therefore, Wisdom’s offer of instruction includes a call to correction/rebuke, fear of Yahweh, and discernment.
(1) Wisdom offers correction, or, as she says three times, rebuke. Readers may not find this aspect of instruction appealing and may ask, “What kind of a feast is that? You invite me to a dinner and then tell me it’s going to be a lecture on good behavior, served with a dessert of ‘you’ll thank me for this someday’ speeches?” Hearing this, we can understand why Wisdom does not get as many takers as we might imagine. Wisdom demands a decision to grow, a change of direction, whereas Folly doesn’t demand anything.
Perhaps that is why Wisdom continues to talk about correction, seeking to make it more attractive. Correction (yoser) comes from the same Hebrew root as “discipline” in 1:2–3, and the word encompasses both teaching the right way and pointing out the wrong. Its appearance here also foreshadows the various proverbs that will speak of teaching offspring and servants (19:18; 22:6; 29:17; 29:19), as well as the teaching of Lemuel’s mother (another teaching woman, 31:1). To receive correction is to submit to wisdom that is external to one’s self, whether it comes from a teacher like Lemuel’s mother or a book like Proverbs. Rebuke, Wisdom goes on to say, reveals character. Mockers refuse it and scorn the source, while the wise love the one who brings the opportunity to learn. In the sayings, the one who brings rebuke is held in esteem (25:12; 28:23). In fact, it is a sign of love, just as Yahweh disciplines like a loving father (3:11–12).
In our day, there seems to be a move away from correction in education (both Christian and public) in part, I think, because too often it has been given without love. We don’t like to hear preachers who “judge” and prefer those who accentuate the positive. Likewise, there is much debate over whether public education should promote values of openness and inclusion, and that valid concern sometimes rules out any discussion of what it means to be ethical persons. Of course, no one likes to have someone tell us that our words or behavior are offensive or even sinful. But if we have the attitude of the wise person, one who is teachable, we will get over the pain, listen to what others have to say, and weigh their words against the standards of Scripture.
Teaching on correction appears throughout the book. While Wisdom upbraids those who have rejected her correction (1:23, 25, 30), the parents warn their son not to reject Yahweh’s loving correction (3:11–12), quoting words he might say one day if he does (5:12). Positively, corrections are the way to life (6:23). The warnings against rejecting correction are scattered among the sayings (10:17; 12:1; 13:18; 15:5, 10, 31, 32; 27:5; 29:1, 15). Certainly the correction and rebuke named here is wisdom teaching that steers its students away from proud and unloving attitudes and behaviors. To receive the correction is, therefore, to admit that one does not always choose humble and loving paths, but it is also to acknowledge that those paths are hurtful to ourselves as well (5:12; 6:23; 10:17; 12:1, where correction is paired with discipline).
(2) One of the first lessons Wisdom’s correction provides is instruction in “the fear of the LORD.”24 In one sense, fear of Yahweh is assumed if one is to be open to Wisdom’s teaching, but it never ceases to be the “beginning of wisdom.” Wisdom knows that this is the first and primary correction, because humans, even believers, are inclined to leave the Lord out of their plans and considerations. For some that inclination is powerful, having wandered far away, and as a result, their behaviors are a danger to self and others. But for the majority, it is easy to slip into a comfortable assurance that the Lord is our friend and therefore does not want to bring up any issues of correction for us to face. If fear and knowledge of the Holy One are wisdom and understanding (1:10), then we learn here that the most important knowledge is personal and that without it, all other learning is inadequate.
Fear of Yahweh tells us that God wants to be known. That is not what immediately comes to mind when we hear the phrase “fear of the LORD,” probably because it conjures up a one-dimensional idea of fear and a one-dimensional view of God. Therefore, Wisdom corrects the view of God as only a judge who meets us once at the end to pronounce sentence, or the cosmic cop who hides in a squad car along the highway to catch those who scoff life’s traffic laws. We may know people who are investigating, inquiring, and considering a relationship with God in Christ but yet are weighed down by this misunderstanding, or we may carry it within ourselves. Thankfully, we can say to our friends that God wants to be known in God’s fullness and that the loving power that would save us and lead us is also fearsome.
We might wish there was a better word to use in place of “fear,” but there isn’t. In the Hebrew Bible, this word is used when people are in terror for their lives, and it is the same word used for awe and respect. The word “fear” is used for the decision to turn from evil, and it is used to communicate comfort in the prophetic oracle, “Do not fear.” It is important to understand and teach that the same God who inspires fear tells us not to fear.
We can then understand why Jesus often had to say “Don’t be afraid” so many times, even after some danger had passed. Read Mark 4:35–41 and notice that the disciples were afraid, perhaps more afraid, after the seas had become calm. Read Mark 5:1–15 and see that the townspeople were afraid after the storm within the demoniac had subsided. Read Habakkuk 3:16 and see how a vision of deliverance can make one’s heart pound and knees tremble. The One who saves is fearsome, and our conversations with seekers can stress the salvation side of the equation, even as we do justice to God’s justice. God wants to be known, and he wants to be known for who he is.
Do we need Wisdom’s correction about the fear of God as well? Perhaps so, because it is easy to become jaded and, dare I say, bored in our knowledge of God, either because it is partial and inaccurate or because it is distant and detached. I once heard a comedian talk about taking his kids to the zoo. When they came home, their mother asked, “What did you see?” and they answered, “We saw a lion,” in a voice that sounded as though it wasn’t very exciting. The comedian then joked that he wanted to take them back to the zoo, throw them in the cage, let the lion chase them around, let them run and scream, and then at the last minute, just as the lion is about to pounce, pull them out of the cage and say, “Now you’ve seen a lion!” Of course the father would never do such a thing, but his scenario points out the difference between detached knowledge and knowledge that is “up close and personal.”
The analogy is incomplete, however, because the Lion of Judah is as loving as he is fearsome, and the children in C. S. Lewis’s Narnia tales rode on the back of the great Aslan, fearsome and good. God wants to be known, and Wisdom wants to bring us to deep knowledge of the One who set the heavens and earth in their places (8:22–31). To know God in God’s fullness is to experience some sense of fear, yet Wisdom also wants us to share the joy she had at God’s side (8:30–31). When we cry out for Wisdom, we also cry out for deep and personal knowledge of the wisdom of God—the God who inspires both fear and love.
(3) Wisdom’s correction teaches us discernment, even though the word “discernment” is not used in the translation of Proverbs 9. The juxtaposition of Wisdom and Folly’s competing claims, both beginning with an identical invitation, makes discernment a matter of choice—the learner must decide whose words to believe, whom to trust. After I preached on this chapter, one of the listeners in the congregation told me that he was struck that Wisdom and Folly can use similar words to send different messages. He was concerned that so many of the competing messages that bombard us in media can all sound very much like Wisdom. He was right that part of Folly’s deception is to disguise herself and mimic Wisdom, but it is also true that Folly reveals herself eventually as a mocker. Just as her message of stolen water loses its sheen upon closer examination, so contemporary forms of wisdom that turn its hearers away from the Lord will in time show themselves for what they are.
In fact, the teacher relies on the power of knowledge to lead its bearer to right choices. In Wisdom’s speech, the root word for “know” appears in 9:9 as “teach” (lit., to cause one to know) and in 9:10 as “knowledge of the Holy One.” Folly, on the other hand, speaks without knowledge (9:13) and traps her victims who “do not know” about the death that awaits them (9:18).25 As we observed in chapter 1, the teachers quote voices of Wisdom and Folly side by side so that the learner can learn the difference between promises that are too good to be true and a commitment to teach, correct, and love. The teacher brings the learner to a recognition of issues and consequences, but ultimately, the learner decides.26 Therefore, the teaching that begins with correction (i.e., teaching that exercises authority) intends to lead its students to the point where they can decide for themselves, having internalized what the teacher knows. External authority gives way to authority that comes from within, so that the student has learned through practice how one makes wise choices.
In my judgment, it is important that both sides of the teaching strategy be honored in all forms of education, whether it takes place at home or in school. Radicals may stress the student’s choice in education, and conservatives may stress the exercise of authority, yet both are present in Wisdom’s example. Receive correction, she says, so you can learn what it means to practice discernment. Our goal in education, whether practical, moral, or religious (if they can be divided at all), is to keep this ultimate goal in view. Before the learner can become a teacher, he or she must be able to tell the difference between truth and lies, and it is Wisdom’s hope that this will lead one to desire the truth. Therefore, even the invitation to learn wisdom assumes some measure of discernment on the part of the learner.
In sum, just as Moses called the Israelites to become a wise and understanding people (Deut. 4:6) and one of its greatest kings asked for wisdom to discern between good and evil (1 Kings 3:9), so the reader of Proverbs is called to join with the young man in making a decision about Wisdom’s instruction. Should the reader make that decision, simple ways are left behind, and one makes the first steps toward receiving correction: learning the fear of Yahweh and practicing discernment.
Contemporary Significance
LEARNING DISCERNMENT. “No TV until you’ve done your homework!” We often pit education and entertainment against each other, just as this chapter pits Wisdom against Folly. We say that the first is good and brings long-lasting rewards, while the second makes false promises of pleasure without cost or consequences. And don’t we believe that the same is true of study versus entertainment?
What lies underneath our fears is the suspicion that media and its use as entertainment is a more effective teacher. When I was a boy, John Lennon said that the Beatles were probably more popular than Jesus, and churches gathered to smash and burn their records. Underneath this reaction, I think, was the fear and recognition that he was right, that for many, the Beatles were more popular and influential. I also remember a segment on the Mickey Mouse Club when the “cubmaster” took his guitar and sang a song about the wisdom of Proverbs, then recited a lesson for the day. Who then would have believed that in years to come, churches would boycott Disney studios? Arguing that journalists and media reporters have become “more powerful than ministers, novelists, professors, and politicians,” Harvard researcher Peter H. Gibbon has argued that our wired world is a world without heroes, with no one left to admire. Speaking of our concerns for children, he writes:
As parents, we need to realize that there are dangers that come with too many choices and too few guides. We need to remind ourselves that their well-being depends not only on nutrition, sunlight, and exercise; on friendship, work, and love; but also on how they see the world. Subtly and powerfully, the media helps shape their world view.27
Many parents I know are concerned about the effects of media on their children’s beliefs, attitudes, and choices. Knowing the fear of the Lord helps us with our fears about bad influences. In other words, it is better to fear the Lord than to have too great a fear of negative influences. Let’s be clear—there are choices to be made in life, and we want our children to make them well. Those choices lead us toward life or toward death, for ourselves and for others. The wrong decisions bring death to the spirit, the soul, and in some cases, even death to the body. That is why we’re so concerned. But I notice that this chapter puts the stress on the power of persuasion and decision, not the power of the influences. Wisdom recognizes that positive and negative influences are out there, but instead of attempting to shut negative messages out, she tries to help the reader learn to discern and decide.
Listen to the offer of Wisdom as she says, “Come to this feast, taste of my teaching, my correction, my wisdom, and you will be prepared. You’ll be able to make good decisions; you’ll have maturity and insight, and, as a result, you’ll enjoy long life.” Wisdom recognizes that good and bad influences are out there, but she also knows that the real power is not in the influences but in the power to discern and choose.
Therefore, I agree with Romanowski in Pop Culture Wars28 that discussion and criticism form a better strategy than either regulation or boycott control. The book asks believers to recognize that pop culture is both a business and a form of art (having deconstructed the lowbrow/highbrow distinction). Romanowski also describes the evangelical Christian culture as a combination of Victorian piety and the American myth of rugged individualism. In particular, we buy into a narrative in which good always triumphs, and good and evil are clearly defined. Yet we know that life does not present itself that way, so we may ask ourselves why we so often reject the options of critical listening and the practice of discernment in favor of such unrealistic guides for life.29
Ironically, we hold onto a view of Christian life shaped to a large degree by popular entertainment even while we worry over its negative influences. Is a film or story really better just because it only presents immorality when it can be punished and made an example? Wisdom acknowledges that evil sometimes wins, which in fact makes her rhetoric all the more urgent. Because so much is at stake, she asks those she calls to listen to her, so that they can also learn to listen carefully to the voices around them and make appropriate choices.
Knowledge and fear of God. Those decisions are based on an ever-deepening knowledge of God, on the fear of the Lord. Knowing God becomes a basis for knowing how to live, how to choose. To say this is not to claim that there is never a time for advice. Proverbs 10–22 are full of maxims on how to live and get along with others. But we might say that Wisdom is not concerned with the many day-to-day choices we make, at least at the start, because to her, it is more important to get the big decision right. So there is a way of living that begins with the knowledge of God, knowing what pleases him and what grieves and angers him. This knowledge begins to shape behavior as it is guided by commandments (torah) and wisdom (ḥokmah). However, the reverse is also true; study of the commandments and wisdom writings is not only meant to teach us how to live but also to bring us into the presence of God.
Here is the fear of God: knowing the God who so badly wants to be known by us. Every appealing aspect of Wisdom’s person and benefits is designed to help us understand God’s desire to be known in all of his fearful majesty and in all of his life-giving love. To say “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” is to say that God wants to be known. He wants us to know what it is like to be like Moses, both afraid to look at God (Ex. 3:6) and bold, saying, “Show me your glory” (33:17–34:7), hearing all the time that God is gracious and merciful. God wants us to stand with Job, wondering if God is a monster and then hearing that God is even bigger, mightier, and kinder than he knew. And I contend that this is the correction we need most, because it is the easiest thing to let slide.
The presence of God. If we will let the chapter teach us, it will convince us that moral examples and proverbial advice alone will not bring us into the presence of God; in fact, sometimes morality has the opposite effect of inducing pride. Fear of the Lord, by contrast, is the first step toward humble knowledge of God. It will also assure us that seductive images need not lead inevitably down Folly’s path to death. Instead, we can set our confidence in the capacity for decision that lies within those who walk by the banquets of Wisdom and Folly. This teaching knows that temptations are out there and that they are seductive, but it also believes in the power of holy persuasion and therefore sets out Wisdom’s feast, the fear of the Lord—that is, the many dimensioned knowledge of the Holy One.
When Israel and Judah were exiled to the kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon, they were surrounded by images of power and empire. They saw great statues of winged bulls with human heads and stone relief pictures of kings conquering wild beasts and nations, including the Israelite city of Lachish. Without words these ancient media said, “These are the powers, O Israel, that brought you out of your land and will keep you here.” Those exiled Israelites were supposed to learn the fear of wealth and power, not with a trembling terror but with a dull, throbbing ache that they were outgunned and overwhelmed. But with the help of prophets like Isaiah, they began to put things in perspective. Those who lived in the shadow and fear of great powers heard the Lord say to those powers, “You’re not so tough.”
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has understood the mind of the LORD,
or instructed him as his counselor?
Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge
or showed him the path of understanding?
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to? (Isa. 40:12–18)
While we are using another sense of the word “empire” when we speak of media conglomerates, for many of us they become a symbol of being outnumbered and overwhelmed by influences, and we fear for ourselves and our children. But Wisdom calls us to fear the Lord, not the powers of media seduction to loose behavior, superficial consumer living, or any other aspect of contemporary popular culture. In its face we too can say, “You are not so tough. We are not afraid of you and what you can do to our kids—we fear the Lord.”
But how can we expect our children to want to come to a banquet if we never attend ourselves? Jesus’ parable about refusals to attend the great banquet show how easily distracted we can become (Luke 14:16–24). Wisdom will not speak again, or at least not directly, in this book of Proverbs. Yet, the invitation to her feast suggests that the proverbs and riddles that follow ultimately come from her voice of teaching. They will teach the understanding and discernment she promises. They will present glimpses of life and examples of responses wise and foolish, righteous and wicked. Each saying is in a sense an invitation to her banquet, always followed closely by the cheap imitation of Folly.