Proverbs 9:4
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Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
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Simple men have two options. They can accept Lady Wisdom's sincere invitation for wisdom and a blessed life. Or they can fall for a whore's lying seduction for death and hell. With a very powerful comparison, the Preacher lays out the choice of life and death for his children, nation, and you. Listen carefully! Every man shall bear his own burden!
Reader, watch closely, and see the precious comparison. Two women are after your soul. Both are beautiful. The beauty of one is timeless; that of the other very short. One speaks the truth; the other lies from beginning to end. Both are pleasant; but the pleasure of one is for a very short season, and the pleasure of the other is for eternity. Two women call!
"Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding," she saith to him, "Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding" (9:4-6). This is the beautiful and noble Lady Wisdom, who has been described and speaking since 8:1.
"Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding," she saith to him, "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant" (9:16-17). This is the lustful and fatally dangerous whore, who is described and speaking in 9:13-18.
This foolish woman, this strange woman, this whore, is also beautiful, and she also calls you. She wants simple men and those that lack understanding to destroy them, for they know "not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell" (9:18). A wise man is too difficult for her to seduce, for he knows her wiles cover bitter pain.
At her table you are looking at the rapidly decaying features of a malicious liar, who is planning to take advantage of your simplicity for her own gain. Her flattering words are the anesthesia for your soul; her kisses are the kiss of death. Hell awaits you. Run away!
Lady Wisdom is much more beautiful and has prepared a beautiful house, fully furnished, for your perpetual prosperity and comfort (9:1-5). Her guests are luxuriously entertained and provided for to the eternal benefit of their souls. See the comments on 9:1 and 9:2. Your simplicity does not offend her, for she is willing to serve you in gaining wisdom!
She has prepared a feast for you, if you will simply take her gracious invitation. She offers you life, and that an abundant life, if you will let her feed you the feast of knowledge and understanding. At this table the simple can become wise and successful. The only thing necessary for admittance is your simplicity. If you lack wisdom and want to gain it, she will be your most willing host. Don't reject her offer. Accept it at once!
These are not merely two literal women here, but a personification of the choices every man must make in life. Will he seek and learn heavenly wisdom, and avoid the foolishness of this world that will destroy him? Or will he weakly let a whorish world take him down the seductive path to hell?
Simple men can learn wisdom and understanding with Lady Wisdom, who wants to serve and help men needing knowledge. They can become wise by filling their lives with God's precious Word, sound Bible preaching, godly music, and the Lord's people. To learn from Lady Wisdom, they must shun this world's ideas, music, entertainment, and friends.
But simple men can also be destroyed by the strange woman, who seeks to take advantage of their ignorance for her own ends. The simple are too ignorant to know her house is the way to death and hell. But the attentive reader is now informed and should ponder what house he has entered. Be not deceived, her pleasure is only for a moment.
All men by nature are simple and lacking understanding. All men face this choice. Will I be wise or foolish? Will I remain faithful to my wife or choose another? Will I seek to correct my foolishness or allow it to be the vulnerability that takes me to hell? Do I desire wisdom and prudence, or folly and pleasure, to be my companions through life?
Christian reader, to which woman do you turn for religion? Do you seek a simple church of Jesus Christ where a banquet of grace, truth, and fellowship is spread for sinners? Or do you fall for the seductive advances of the harlot church with her gaudy appeal, false doctrine, worldly popularity, and entertaining fables? Remember, her pleasure lasts only a short season, then comes the death and hell she hides behind a sensual cover.
Look instead for that chaste virgin of a pure church meeting in apostolic simplicity and preaching the hard, unvarnished truth. If you are not being convicted on a regular basis and growing in wisdom and understanding, it is likely that you have missed the apostolic church and are in a carnal church of these perilous times. Let every reader take heed!
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