LESSONS ABOUT WISDOM PROVERBS _KEITH SIMONS_ CHAPTER 9 Solomon’s last, great lesson to his son is almost complete. Perhaps Solomon paused here. Maybe he thought about whether he had taught enough. His young son needed the full facts. The son needed to decide between wise behaviour and evil beha... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman, called Wisdom, has worked hard. She has decided to invite guests. She has even built a special house to give them a special welcome. The house has 7 columns, so it is large. It is complete, and it is perfect. The number 7 may refer to the 7 instructions in verses 6-12.... [ Continue Reading ]
Everything is ready. The woman, Wisdom, has made a great meal for her guests. Her guests will not remain hungry. Wisdom has prepared everything that they need. God provides the things that we need. Paul wrote, ‘My God will provide everything that you need. He will do this from the riches that are i... [ Continue Reading ]
The servants of Wisdom (the woman) go to fetch the guests. Wisdom herself has invited the guests. Everyone can hear her message because everyone must choose whether to learn to be wise. In Luke 14:15-24, Jesus told a story about a meal. A man invited all his friends to a great meal, but they all re... [ Continue Reading ]
Wisdom, the woman, chooses her guests carefully. They are not the guests whom we might select. She does not choose only clever people, whose conversation will be good. She does not choose only famous people, so that other people will respect her. She does not even select wealthy people. Wisdom’s gu... [ Continue Reading ]
A person must do two things to become a Christian: • He must turn from evil behaviour. The woman called Wisdom, says, ‘Leave your simple ways, and live!’ • He must trust in God. The woman called Wisdom says, ‘Live wisely!’ Peter explained this in Acts 3:19. ‘Refuse to do evil things! Turn to God!... [ Continue Reading ]
Some people will never listen to you. They refuse to follow advice. They refuse all correction.... [ Continue Reading ]
Perhaps, you think that you are wise. Here is a test for you. A wise man loves the person who corrects him. A wise man learns from the person who sees his (the wise man’s) errors. If you love such a person then you are really wise.... [ Continue Reading ]
A Christian should always want to learn. The verse speaks about a ‘wise man’ and a ‘good man’. A Christian should want to be both ‘wise’ and ‘good’. At church, he should learn from the preacher (that is, the speaker). At home, he should learn from his family. At work, he should learn to be fair and... [ Continue Reading ]
A wise person is not always intelligent or clever. He might know only a few things. Maybe, he has only learnt his first lesson. This is the first lesson: ‘Respect God!’ God must be first in our lives. God is more important than our businesses. God is more important than our friends. God is even mor... [ Continue Reading ]
Wisdom, like a woman, cares for us. She is like a mother. If a child does not listen to his mother, then he is in danger. If a child learns from his mother, her instructions will keep him safe.... [ Continue Reading ]
Wisdom offers a real reward. Wisdom will benefit our whole lives. If you refuse to be wise, then you will suffer. The woman called Wisdom finishes her speech. This is her final speech in the Book of Proverbs. The poem is also approaching its end. But then we see another woman. This second woman is... [ Continue Reading ]
The second woman is called ‘The Foolish Woman’. People who accept her invitation are foolish. This is why she has this name. Wisdom, the woman, says that knowledge is valuable (Proverbs 8:10). The Foolish Woman does not think so. She thinks that knowledge has no value. She knows nothing.... [ Continue Reading ]
The woman called Wisdom prepared a fine meal for her guests. Wisdom even built a splendid house for them. But the Foolish Woman is lazy. The Foolish Woman did none of these things. She does not even stand to invite her guests. She sits down. The messages of the two women both come from the highest... [ Continue Reading ]
The people walk straight ahead. Solomon compares life to a journey. We should walk straight ahead. See Proverbs 4:25-26. We must not allow evil things to attract us. The Foolish Woman calls to people. She wants to tempt them away from the straight path. She wants to take them on the path to her hou... [ Continue Reading ]
We heard this invitation earlier, in verse 4. The Foolish Woman gives the same words of invitation as the woman called Wisdom. The Foolish Woman also calls ‘simple’ people. Evil people have decided already to be foolish. The simple people have not yet decided. The Foolish Woman tries to persuade th... [ Continue Reading ]
The Foolish Woman also offers a meal to her guests. However, her meal does not belong to her. She stole the water. She must eat in secret. ‘Water’ reminds us of Proverbs 5:15-18. In that passage, ‘water’ refers to love and sex. So, the Foolish Woman offers sex. She ‘stole’ sex, so this is not sex b... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Death is like a wage for the person who does evil things. But God gives us life that will last always, through Jesus.’ (Romans 6:23) Death and hell are the punishments for our evil actions. So we must not do evil things. Instead, we should serve God. And we should ask God to forgive us. God wants... [ Continue Reading ]