Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Proverbs 1:20-23
Wisdom Is Depicted As Crying Out In Longing That People Will Respond To Her Words And Gain From What She Offers (Proverbs 1:20).
Wisdom is now personified as a woman crying out to people to respond to her words. She is in direct contrast to the woman who cries out to young men seeking to lead them astray (Proverbs 2:1; Proverbs 7:8) whose name is Folly (Proverbs 9:13). See also Proverbs 5:3; Proverbs 6:24. Thus God's Wisdom is to be the palliative to immoral yearnings. The one who listens to His wisdom will not be led astray.
It is quite clear from what follows that Wisdom is speaking on behalf of God. To the writer she is not only wisdom, she is God's wisdom (Proverbs 2:6). This will especially come out in chapter 8. Thus she not only reproves, but also conveys her own spirit to those who will listen. But to those who refuse to listen she can only offer judgment, and mock them because they are suffering the consequences of their refusal. However, then it will be too late to call upon wisdom. She will not hear. And because they have refused to choose the fear of YHWH, and rejected His wisdom, they will suffer the consequences. In contrast those who have responded to God's wisdom and have chosen the ‘fear of YHWH', will live in quiet without fear of evil coming on them. Wisdom and the will of YHWH go hand in hand. There is nothing secular about this wisdom.
‘Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
She utters her voice in the broad places (public squares),
She cries in the chief place of concourse, at the entrance of the gates,
In the city, she utters her words.'
Wisdom, in other words, to the writer, God's word to men which men should respond to in the fear of YHWH, is now personified. She cries out to the ordinary man in the street, she utters her voice to the ordinary man in the public squares, and she even makes herself known to those who sit in judgment in the gateway of the city, in the chief place of hubbub and discussion, where people meet to talk. The whole city hears her words. The gateway included the open space leading through the gate, and the rooms to each side used for storage, record keeping and the meeting together of principle men of the city (see Ruth 4:1).
We note here that in Solomon's view wisdom was for all. His words were not just intended for a small group of academics, or for an individual. They were intended to be heard by the masses.
‘How long, you naive ones, will you love naivety?
And scorners delight themselves in scorning,
And fools hate knowledge?
Turn you at my reproof.'
She calls on the unresponsive to become responsive, and in the process divides them into three groups, the naive, the scoffers and the fools. Note the intensity of response which is involved. They ‘love' naivety. They ‘delight in' (‘covet') scoffing. They ‘hate' knowledge. These factors possess and rule their lives. These contrast with ‘love' for God (Deuteronomy 6:5) or for His instruction (Psalms 119:27), ‘delight in' His word (Psalms 19:10), and ‘hating' sin (Psalms 97:10). Men must choose one or the other.
The naive, or ‘simple ones', are those who go on heedless of God's words, ignoring wisdom, not because they are antagonistic, but simply because they are drifting through life and following their own way. They ‘love' their naivete. They cling on to it fervently. It frees them from responsibility. But they are easily led astray (Proverbs 7:7; Proverbs 9:16).
The scorners (compare Psalms 1:1) are those who openly mock God's wisdom. They prefer their own wisdom. They feel themselves superior. And so they take great delight in their mockery, and in rejecting His Wisdom. They ‘covet' their scoffing.
The fools behave like those who are mad. They know God's wisdom, but deliberately go against it for their own benefit. They ‘say in their hearts, there is no God' (Psalms 14:1), and behave as though there is not, not because they do not believe in Him, but because they find it more convenient to ignore Him. They ‘hate' the truth for they know that if they heed God's wisdom they will be unable to do what they want to do. Their businesses or their personal lives will be affected. They are not stupid. They are often highly intelligent. But their response to God is superficial, thus demonstrating what fools they are
So God's wisdom, the way of the fear of YHWH (Proverbs 1:29), calls on all men and women for their response, and pleads with them to turn from their present ways at her reproof.
‘Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you,
I will make known my words to you.'
And she points out that what she offers is worth having. She will ‘pour out' her spirit on them, like the heavy rains of winter which will produce fruitfulness, working in their hearts a true appreciation of her, and giving them the motivation to follow her. She will imbue them with her own ‘spirit' and make her words known to them. Thus her words are living and active. Her spirit will activate their spirits. This is none other than God Himself active in men's lives through His wisdom. In other words her hope is that they will cry out, ‘create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me' (Psalms 51:10), and ‘teach me to do your will, for you are my God, your Spirit is good, lead me in the land of uprightness' (Psalms 143:10).
And she will make known her words to them, giving them understanding and a true knowledge of God, and making it known within them (Proverbs 2:5). This makes clear that she is God's wisdom, for in the end, as the writer tells us, it is YHWH Who gives this wisdom, knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6).