Proverbs 9:12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
15 To call passengers who go right on their ways:
16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
The Bible often uses that little word “if”. God gives us His wisdom. He gives man freewill. He also warns what happens when we exercise that freewill in a wrong way.
Adam found out that God means exactly what He says. Cain found out that God means exactly what He says. In Genesis 6-8 the world of that time, learned that God means exactly what He says. God recorded His Word so that every person can know that God means exactly what He says. He offers forgiveness and salvation to the repentant sinner. He holds the lost accountable for their rejection of Him.
In verse 12 we are given the opportunity of choosing to be wise. We need to understand that the one who benefits most from choosing to be wise is the individual who chooses to be wise. God is complete without us. He does not need us. We need Him. Choosing wisdom is not for the pastor’s benefit or for your parents, etc. It is for the individual.
By contrast, the person who scorns God’s Wisdom, will bear the consequences of that himself as well. Thousands of people scorn God’s wisdom. They choose a perversion over the Word of God. They choose a religious social club over a local church that honours the Word of God. The results of this folly is readily seen. The problem is that people use the wrong criteria to determine whether they are being blessed of God.
In verse 13, God again turns to the foolish woman. The “clamorous” woman is loud and troubled. That only stands to reason because she has rejected the Truth. She is also “simple” or naive and she knows nothing. That statement is certain to offend many women. It does not matter how many degrees a woman gets or how much experience she has. If she rejects God she knows nothing. The same is true for the foolish man. We have a P.M. that knows nothing. He is running this country into the ground. He is setting things up for the next stage of his dictatorial plans. His government is right behind him. In fact the opposition parties are all functioning as if there was no God. They have an imaginary god. They are all foolish and naive and wilfully ignorant.
The foolish woman sits at the door of her house, in a prominent place in the city. She makes herself look important. She is calling passengers to follow her. It is interesting that many advertisements choose a woman to try to sell their product. Of course they need a foolish woman who lacks a moral compass and who is willing to try to lure men in. Many women choose to follow the pattern of the foolish woman. They think that is the way to get the attention they want. They do not understand that the attention they need is that which comes from a God-fearing man.
In verse 16 we see that the foolish man is the one who is attracted to the foolish woman. He has no moral compass. He is governed by his lusts. He is willing to listen to her foolish counsel.
In verse 17 she encourages him to commit immoral acts with her. He does not need much persuasion. He is very gullible. He has seared his conscience and is willing to accept her lies.
Verse 18 tells us that since this man is a scorner, he does not know that the dead are at her house. They are spiritually dead, and they are living under the wrath of God. The foolish woman’s guests are in the depths of hell.
The muslim men are lied to and told there seventy virgins awaiting them if they die as martyrs. It is not just muslims that believe such lies. Thousands of men have followed after the harlots and such like. They may have enjoyed the pleasures of sin for a season, but the eternal consequences are something no one would choose if they chose God’s wisdom.
I recall, as a young man looking at a car that had been involved in a head-on crash with a semi. The young couple in the car were not married and had been drinking and were impatient and decided to pass a tractor and wagon that was moving slowly on the road. The force of the impact as they hit that semi, left the imprint of the license plate in the front bumper of their car. Of course they were both killed, likely instantly. They have been tormented in hell now for a number of years, and there is no end to that torment. It will continue for all eternity.
Some people might get upset at reading that, but those people would be wise to use their energy to turn to God in repentance and be saved. God gives us so many warnings about the disastrous results of rejecting Him. Your mind is a powerful tool. Don’t let your mind convince you that bad is good and black is white. Listen to God’s Word and get saved and then follow Him. Compromise is never a wise choice.
Pastor Bartel