Mere Cognition

In Proverbs, we often see the comparison of wisdom and folly interspersed throughout. Here, in chapter 9, it is explicit, with the first six lines describing an invitation from wisdom and the last six describing an invitation from folly, with a linking 6 line stanza that contrasts the wise and the scoffer. The Reformation Study Bible outline of Proverbs labels this chapter "The Choice of Two Ways" and it is apparent why.

1 Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
5 “Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”

The number seven is seen repeated often in scripture, and it's often meant to show sufficiency or completeness. We see that wisdom has set out a banquet and calls all to fill themselves with the insight from her table. The similitude of a banquet not only alludes to the abundance of nourishment in wisdom but also how it may bless us and others. Verse 6 is of somewhat special significance as well. It is a simple exhortation to walk in the way of wisdom, but it also sort of alludes to the saving faith in Christ, which could be paraphrased as Jesus saying, "leave your old self behind, take up the cross, follow me, and live".

13 The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

This invitation from folly contrasts with v1-6 significantly. The invitation is coming from a hostess that is obviously immoral. Not only do we get the foolishness of being loud and calling seductively which hearkens back to 7:11-12, we also see that she exhorts how things stolen seem more sweet and pleasant because of the risk taken to acquire them. Verse 18 gives us a bit of an interpretive challenge, as "the dead" is a translation used for the Hebrew rephaim, which is a word used in the Bible to refer to the spirits of the departed, all in Hebrew poetry. The word Sheol can also be somewhat challenging.

I conclude this short study on chapter 9 with one of the most oft-quoted verses, simply because it is, in itself, very powerful:

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

As always, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

Within the Proverbs, we can find many points of instruction, reproof, exhortation, and application. In Proverbs 6, Solomon addresses the sluggard - one who lives in careless idleness and does little.

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;
    consider her ways, and be wise.
7 Without having any chief,
    officer, or ruler,
8 she prepares her bread in summer
    and gathers her food in harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

Once again, I go to Matthew Henry for commentary:

By way of instruction, v6-8. He sends him to school, for sluggards must be schooled. He is to take him to school himself, for, if the scholar will take no pains, the master must take the more; the sluggard is not willing to come to school to him (dreaming scholars will never love wakeful teachers) and therefore he has found him out another school, as low as he can desire. Observe,

1. The master he is sent to school to: Go to the ant, to the bee, so the Septuagint. Man is taught more than the beasts of the earth, and made wiser that the fowls of heaven, and yet is so degenerated that he may learn wisdom from the meanest insects and be shamed by them. When we observe the wonderful sagacities of the inferior creatures we must not only give glory to the God of nature, who has made them thus strangely, but receive instruction to ourselves; by spiritualizing common things, we may make the things of God both easy and ready to us, and converse with them daily.

2. The application of mind that is required in order to learn of this master: Consider her ways. The sluggard is so because he does not consider; nor shall we ever learn to any purpose, either by the word or the works of God, unless we set ourselves to consider. Particularly, if we would imitate others in that which is good, we must consider their ways, diligently observe what they do, that we may do likewise.

3. The lesson that is to be learned. In general, learn wisdom, consider, and be wise; that is the thing we are to aim at in all our learning, not only to be knowing, but to be wise. In particular, learn to provide meat in summer; that is, (1.) We must prepare for hereafter, and not mind the present time only, not eat up all, and lay up nothing, but in gathering time treasure up for a spending time. Thus provident we must be in our worldly affairs, not with an anxious care, but with a prudent foresight; lay in for winter, for straits and wants that may happen, and for old age; much more in the affairs of our souls. We must provide meat and food, that which is substantial and will stand us in stead, and which we shall most need. In the enjoyment of the means of grace provide for the want of them, in life for death, in time for eternity; in the state of probation and preparation we must provide for the state of retribution. (2.) We must take pains, and labour in our business, yea, though we labour under inconveniences. Even in summer, when the weather is hot, the ant is busy in gathering food and laying it up, and does not indulge her ease, nor take her pleasure, as the grasshopper, that sings and sports in the summer and then perishes in the winter. The ants help one another; if one have a grain of corn too big for her to carry home, her neighbours will come in to her assistance. (3.) We must improve opportunities, we must gather when it is to be had, as the ant does in summer and harvest, in the proper time. It is our wisdom to improve the season while that favours us, because that may be done then which cannot be done at all, or not so well done, at another time. Walk while you have the light.

4. The advantages which we have of learning this lesson above what the ant has, which will aggravate our slothfulness and neglect if we idle away our time. She has no guides, overseers, and rulers, but does it of herself, following the instinct of nature; the more shame for us who do not in like manner follow the dictates of our own reason and conscience, though besides them we have parents, masters, ministers, magistrates, to put us in mind of our duty, to check us for the neglect of it, to quicken us to it, to direct us in it, and to call us to an account about it. The greater helps we have for working out our salvation the more inexcusable shall we be if we neglect it.

The Bible contains a multitude of warnings on adultery and other forms of sexual immorality. There is good reason for this; even secular sociological and psychological once acknowledged and understood the far reaching damage that can be caused by such acts, both mental and physical. Those that perform these acts are often attempting to fill a void in themselves that they do not quite understand; thus they attempt to do so through poorly-thought and unwise carnal means.

1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
    incline your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may keep discretion,
    and your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
    sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to Sheol;
6 she does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.
7 And now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house...

In the book of Matthew, Jesus further expanded the definition of adultery past the physical and into the mental, making it clear that this is not only an issue of misplaced desire, but an issue of the heart:

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 
28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent 
      has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

-- Matthew 5:27-28

I've had conversations with people about this. While I freely admit that I am not immune to adultery in the heart (I believe every last man on earth, with the possible exception of eunuchs, could not truthfully say that they are), I do have some specific guardrails against physical adultery that at least help in ensuring that I have an extra edge of protection against it. Some seem to think that by that, I mean that I don't have to worry about it. By no means is this true.

My parents divorced in my early teens - I caught my father unmistakably in adultery with someone I think he met while on TDY as a DoD civil servant. Apparently someone underestimated my proficiency with computers at even a young age and I accidentally stumbled upon the evidence. This discovery practically devastated me during the hormonal upheaval of puberty - I went so far as to joining the football team with the soul purpose of simply crushing opponents (guess who ended up on the defensive line). This was also the time where I effectively became an atheist.

This single act stuck with me. I vowed to never, ever, do that sort of thing to anyone under the pain of death, and I took it that seriously. While I don't go so far as "to the death" today, I do still keep vigilant watch for it. I have a couple of examples that make this abundantly clear.

One that I am not proud of but nonetheless admit to and own, happened in my early 20's when I was dating a girl. We were at a friend's apartment for a get together. Everyone was consuming alcohol and I had my usual more-than-fair-share. At some point, I ended up upstairs, I think it was to use one of the restrooms. I ended up talking with people and eventually everyone dispersed except this one girl, who attempted to "woo" me, for lack of a better term. I remember gently rebuffing it until she started physically touching me, whereupon I grabbed her, dragged her downstairs to the host, and told him something like, "if she comes within ten feet of me the rest of the night I will show her how serious I am about not cheating." I'm not proud of that sort of conduct, but it did get the point across quickly, decisively, and without further incident.

The other one happened in my mid-20s, within a group of hockey friends. There was a husband and wife pair that were good friends - we all spent a lot of time together at hockey games (both pro and amateur as the husband and I were beer league players), get togethers, and other random functions. Needless to say there was a lot of interaction between all the members of that group, bound by the love of hockey. The wife of this pair also happened to be my age and did marching band / winter guard in high school, so we'd often talk about that. Come to find out, we both had actually performed at some of the same competitions in Georgia. So naturally, we found a common band thing to nerd out on. The relationship was strictly platonic, neither of us flirted with the other, and we were never around each other without the husband also being there or nearby. Eventually, at some point, the two of them separated and divorced. Playing in a hockey game with each other at a later point (on the same team, too!), he confided in me that he actually thought she was cheating on him with me. We had a heart to heart over some beers and I explained to him why that would never, ever, happen, especially since they were married. After that, he confided that this wasn't the reason for the split, though he did wonder about it for a long while.

The above won't necessarily convince anyone that I have an extra guardrails around physical adultery, though I hope it does evidence that I don't just simply think I'm immune to it because of my adolescent experiences. On the contrary, it heightens my awareness, sharpens my perception, and reminds me to never let my guard down. I am not certain I've ever recounted the two stories above to more than a couple of people, so it is sort of cathartic to simply recount them in a public forum for anyone to stumble upon. I'm trying to become more open, judiciously. I've been an introvert with innate suspicion of others' motives my whole life but I think it's time to relax that a bit while still staying frosty.

May God have mercy on all of us for our past transgressions as we look to Him and His promises realized through Christ. Be blessed.