Today’s Bible Reading:
Proverbs 7-9; Romans 9
Journal Entry on a passage from today’s reading:
Topic: Wisdom and Folly
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 9:1-6, 13-18
1 Wisdom has
built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. 2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has
also set her table. 3 She
has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. 4 "Let all who are
simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment. 5 "Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed. 6
Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.
(Prov 9:1-6 NIV)
13 The woman
Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. 14 She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the
highest point of the city, 15
calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way. 16 "Let all who are
simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment. 17 "Stolen water is
sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" 18 But little do they know that the dead are there, that
her guests are in the depths of the grave. (Prov 9:13-18 NIV)
OBSERVATION:
Often, throughout the book of Proverbs, the poetic and
literary device of personification is employed. Wisdom is depicted as a person
(interestingly often as a woman) who calls out to the hearer to heed her
instruction and advice. In this way, wisdom is contrasted against folly. Proverbs
9 is a perfect example of this. Two women are calling to the “simple… those who lack judgment” from “the highest point of the city,” and
urging them to enter their dwellings.
As each of us go through life we begin as simple minded.
That is to say that we gain knowledge and understanding through life
experiences; and our character, judgment and outlook on life are developed as
we go along. There are different voices calling to us from prominent positions
in our society, “choose this… turn this way…” The voices we listen to and the
decisions we make will affect the course of our lives for good or evil. The
admonition is to make decisions based on good judgments and not just listen to
the loudest voice, because the difference will lead to life or death.
APPLICATION:
All of us have had missteps in our lives. Indeed, the course
of our lives is not a straight line, but is filled with turns and curves. The
choices we have made in the past have led us to where we are today in the
course of our lives. Wherever that point is, for good or bad, we still have the
ability to heed the voices trying to direct us either toward life or death.
If I were trying to illustrate this with a graph, I would
start with a horizontal line. At the left end of the line is a point labeled
“birth” and the other end on the right, a point labeled “death” (this
represents the length of one’s earthly life). On the right end of the graph
would be a vertical line forming a “T” turned sideways. At the top of this line
is a point labeled “life” and at the bottom a point labeled “death” (these
represent end of life destination points), and above the horizontal line this
vertical line is labeled “voice of wisdom”—below the line it is labeled “voice
of folly.” Then beginning from the birth point would be squiggly lines with
many turns and curves going up or down or diagonally. Sometimes the lines will
be headed toward the point of life above the horizontal line and sometimes
toward the death point below. The aim of this illustration is to show that no one
reading this has traveled all the way to the end point—we are still living and traveling
this road of life. So at whatever point you find yourself, either above or
below the line, you can still make wise choices directed toward life rather
than death. Your final destination point is not yet determined. Listen to the
voice of wisdom!
PRAYER:
Lord, grant me the favor and understanding to teach and
proclaim Your wisdom effectively in today’s society. May I be a wise voice
pointing people toward eternal life through Your love and provision in Christ.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
–AP
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