Christ and sin are both seeking to have the uppermost place in the soul of man.
We are therefore concerned to put a value upon our own souls and to sit down at the rich feast provided at Wisdom’s table.
There is no true wisdom but in the way of Christ and there is no true life but in the end of His way.
Proverbs 9
1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.
3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
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.
Proverbs 9:1-6 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 9:7-9 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 9:10-18 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 9 – Two Contrasted Invitations
There is an age-long competition between Wisdom and Folly, Virtue and Vice. The palace of Wisdom is very attractive—well built and well furnished. It is reared upon seven well-hewn marble pillars, in a quadrangular form, the entrance being left wide-open. An eternal mansion, it is stable and beautiful. Great preparations are made for the feast, which is open to all—in striking contrast to the private supper to which Vice allures the unwary youth. The beautiful owner also sends forth her maidens into the public thoroughfares to give free invitations to all who will accept them. See Matthew 22:1, etc.
Only to the simple or child-hearted, and not to the scorner, is the invitation addressed. Wisdom lets the scorner pass, because a word to him would only recoil on herself, and would add to his wickedness. To scoff at things which are holy and scorn the divine power is to risk the sin that is never forgiven. Such is the man who enters the feast without the wedding garment. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Proverbs 9:4, 16—Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither.
Twice over this invitation is given—first by wisdom, and secondly by the foolish woman. To every young life, in its first setting forth, many voices and inducements speak. Wise, grave voices mingle with siren songs. The strait gate into the narrow way stands side by side with the wide gate that leads into the broad way. The counsels of the fathers lips, the tears and prayers of the mother, amid the enticements of sinners, and the blandishments of the world. Here the true Shepherd, there the hireling; here the true Bride, there the apostate Church; here that which condemns the flesh, there that which takes its side.
Life is full of choices. There is no day without them. We are perpetually being reminded of the way in which the Creator introduced lines of division into his earliest work. For it is thus that He proceeds with the work of the new creation within. Repeatedly we hear his voice as He divides the light from the darkness, calling the one Day and the other Night. Would that we ever acted as children of the Light and of the Day, choosing the one and refusing the other! We are always being exercised in this, and our beat life depends on the keenness and quickness with which we refuse the evil and choose the good
Wisdom appeals to conscience. She says nothing at the outset of the sweetness of her service, or the pleasantness of her paths; but bases her appeal on whatsoever things are just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Yet she has rich rewards to those that choose her. Length of days, honour, a heart at leisure from itself, sure satisfaction, the assurance of the favour of God, a sure and certain hope of blessedness for evermore. —Our Daily Homily