Proverbs Study

Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom
Proverbs 1:20-33

These verses provide facts pertaining to wisdom. And you will note that in them, wisdom is personified. “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;” Some have tried to read into this that “wisdom” is a reference to Christ. But probably not. In the first place it is set in the feminine - “she raises her voice”.

This is not a reference to Christ although I can understand why people would think that. Instead it is just a literary device to add understanding and to hold the attention of the listener.

Now the first thing we are told in verses :20-21 is that wisdom is available. And we are told of places where wisdom could be heard by large numbers of people as they went about their business. “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:”

Now what does that mean? Well it means that wisdom is available in everyday experiences. And that’s what we have said. Wisdom can be learned in life, both by making right choices and by making mistakes. And the point is that there’s no excuse for not learning wisdom. And that principle is even more true today than ever.

Beside life experience, today we have incredible opportunities to learn wisdom and we ought to take advantage of them. We have the Bible available in all sizes and colors, with and without helps. Most homes have several Bibles on the shelves. Yet how many evangelical Christians have ever read the Bible through even once? Very few.

And not only do we have Bibles but we have wisdom being taught by capable teachers in books and on the radio and television and the Internet. Yet very few who name the name of Christ take advantage of the wisdom that is available.

The second truth that Solomon shares with us here in verse :22 is that Wisdom can be rejected. “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?”

There are three kinds of people listed here who reject wisdom.
1. The “simple”. The inexperienced but teachable. Now the simple don’t always reject wisdom. Remember this is a person who is open to being influenced. Unfortunately he is sometimes influenced by the wrong things or the wrong people.

Sometimes a simple person learns wisdom and can become a wise person. But he can also go the other way and sometimes does and when he does he becomes a fool. See a simple person never remains simple. He/She either becomes a fool, or a wise person.

2. The “Scoffer.” This is a person who is skeptical, who is given to mockery, who is contemptible. I was this guy before I was saved. I was not a nice person. I ridiculed the things of God and yet I didn’t know a thing about it. I was ignorant and arrogant and then God changed me.

I want you to see that God can also change this person. There are people that we encounter sometimes that WE just think there is no hope for. That person could never be saved, there’s no point in witnessing to them. They’ll just reject it. They’ll ridicule it and me…. But folks listen to me - God can change any heart.

3. The “fool” pretty much always rejects wisdom because he thinks he knows it all. His greatest need is to see that he has a need. (Of course like the scoffer, there are a few exceptions.)

In verse :23 we see God’s loving reproof for the rejection of wisdom. “If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.”

Notice the first phrase. The King James is probably better here. “Turn you at my reproof.” Wisdom calls for a “turning”. That is repentance. The Hebrew word here means literally a change of mind. To accept wisdom rather than reject it. And for those who do abandon foolishness and embrace wisdom, Solomon promises His blessing.

Reprimand and criticism is hard to take and few respond to it correctly. It damages our ego, and injures our pride, and yet accepting it and changing in response to it is necessary to a successful and victorious life and God’s blessings accompany a right response. Sometimes we have to be broken in order to have bad habits and attitudes replaced with good ones.

Verses :24-25 give us reasons why people reject wisdom. (KJV)“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:”

A. Simple Refusal. 24a “Because I called and you refused”. This indicates a rejection of authority. There are some people, (including some who profess Christ), who just don’t like to be told what to do. And so they have a problem with any authority. That is a terrible characteristic for a Christian because we are taught in scripture to obey authority on numerous levels. That’s a topic for another time but it is an altogether wrong reason to refuse wisdom.

B. Insensitivity 24b “I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded.” This has reference to a person who is lacking in awareness or alertness. In Heb. 5:11 we find the Greek equivalent. “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.” The King James says, “dull of hearing”. They are “thick skulled”. It’s just hard to get things through to person because they lack understanding. They are slow.

C. Indifference 25a “But ye have set at nought all my counsel”- “you ignored all my advice.” The NASB says, “you neglected all my counsel.” This is a person who is apathetic. A man asked his friend, “Did you know that two of the church’s biggest problems is ignorance and apathy?” To which his friend replied, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” That’s this guy.

To “neglect” means to consider unimportant. Here’s a guy who says, “I’m not hurting anybody with the way I live, (Which is usually not true.), so what difference does it make. He just doesn’t see the importance of wisdom. It has no value to him and so he rejects it.

D. Defensive 25b “and would not accept my rebuke.” This is the individual who keeps reminding himself that the other person is wrong and should change, not him. He’s always on the defensive.

I know some people like that. They just cannot admit their fault so they always defend themselves and blame someone else. This kind of person is really good at projecting blame. Actually this is a major characteristic of alcoholics and addicts. They are always the victim and someone else is at fault for all their problems. They won’t take responsibility for their actions and the project their guilt onto other people.

Much of the rest of this section deals with the serious consequences of rejecting wisdom. It has come to the place where those who have rejected wisdom for so long, that God has actually taken the offer off the table. There is a limit to God’s patience. It is self imposed but yet it is there. Gen. 6:3 “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.”

Notice :26-28 We see here God’s response. “I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you- when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. "Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.”

The King James uses the word “fear” “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.”

The ESV uses an even stronger word “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. ”

This person lives in fear. Did you ever meet anyone who lived in fear? It’s very sad. They are always afraid of something. Germs, global warming, war, terrorism, insects… They live in a constant state of fear.

But more than that, when difficulties come, when disaster strikes which it inevitably does in all of our lives, they find themselves not able to handle it. They don’t know what to do and so they panic. Why? What is wisdom? The ability to use knowledge to solve life situations. (Which they have rejected.)

Ok, look at verses :29-32 “Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;”

Notice the phrase, “the fruit of their ways” Last week in verses :17-18 we talked about criminals who get caught in their own trap. Here we see that fools who reject wisdom will reap what they sow. They will reap the natural results of their actions. Gal. 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

This is similar to what Paul says in Romans 1. Three times in that chapter the Bible says that “God gave them over”, indicating that God because people reject the Word and Wisdom of God, sometimes God just lifts his hand of restraint and allows them to be overtaken by their sin. In other words, there sin becomes its own punishment. No longer are they able to control it. Instead it controls them. That is exactly what alcoholism and many addictions are. Homosexuality is as well. As a matter of fact that’s one of the things Paul is dealing with there in Romans 1. Alcoholism is not a disease, it is “the fruit of their ways.” Homosexuality is not a genetic predisposition. People are not born homosexuals. It is a choice, it is sin, and it is the natural fruit of a perverted lifestyle.

You reap what you sow. If you sow violence you’ll reap violence. Remember we’re talking about choosing companions and we saw last week or the week before Solomon’s warning to his son about avoiding violent companions. Why?

We saw first of all it is because you become the people with whom you associate. And here Solomon goes to the next step and says that those who choose a lifestyle of violence are very often destroyed by that very thing. How often do we turn on the television, or pick up the newspaper, and see the fruit of the wayward who have spurned wisdom and pursued their own schemes to their own destruction? This is a universal principle and one that we need to teach to our children and our youth and our families…

Finally in verse :33 Solomon offers the alternative to the rejection of wisdom and those consequences. “But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Rather than violence, Godly Wisdom brings peace.

Proverbs Study

The Foundations of Wisdom - Continued

(You can scroll down and read previous week's entries.)

1:15-16 “my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.” The (KJV ) says, “My son, walk not thou in the way with them” “Walk not!”

Very simple advice that Solomon gives his Son. “Don’t associate with them.” Now why? Well Solomon will give an answer to that in the following verses but I want you show you something first. Solomon didn’t learn all of his wisdom from experience.

In this context, Solomon is not only the example of the wise man, but also of a simple man who did exactly what he encouraging his son to do. That is learning from his father. I want to show you something that Solomon learned from his Dad. Turn with me to Psalm one.

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” I read this verse from the King James Version because I memorized it years ago and I just like the way it reads. The (NIV) reads, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.”

David, Solomon’s father wrote Psalm one. And just like Solomon in Proverbs, David begins the book of Psalms with instructions for avoiding the wrong kind of friends and in verse one he explains why. You will notice in that verse there are three points of posture. “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.”

And these three points of posture represent a progression. First he is walking, then he is standing, and finally he is setting. Now what’s the point? Well this represents the sequence of events in the life of a person who chooses bad companions. First he just walks occasionally with the wrong crowd. He’s just curious and sees no harm in accompanying them once in a while – just to see what they do and how they live. He remains loyal to his other friends, but begins to explore this new way of life.

But one time leads to another and another and another, and after a while, “occasionally” turns into “repeatedly”. And he finds himself no longer just walking in their presence once in a while. Now, he is standing with them continually. He has begun to adopt their ways. He still maintains some separation, but has begun to look upon them as more than just acquaintances. They are becoming friends, associates. His loyalties begin to shift. They are becoming his peer group.

Finally, after a time, he without even realizing it, takes the final step. He has begun to go where they go and do what they do, and think what they think. He has broken his relationship with his former friends, and perhaps his family. No longer is he an outsider looking in. Now he sets in their seat. He – has become one of them. David taught his son Solomon. Don’t associate with evil companions. Why? Because if you do, you will become what they are.

Now go back to Proverbs one and lets look at what Solomon adds to this. Why does he tell his son to “walk not” in the presence of bad companions? Notice what he says in

:17-19 “How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves! Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.”

Solomon explains that most of the time, the real victim of these criminal acts are the criminals themselves. He likens them to a man who sets a net to catch game birds, but becomes so anxious and so greedy that he rushes back and becomes entangled in his own trap.

There is an unwritten law that criminal behavior is self-defeating. Actually it is written. Jesus said, “They that live by the sword shall perish by the sword.” And even though this piece of wisdom is known full well, criminals persist in their destructive behavior.

Don’t you get amazed sometimes at the shear stupidity of brilliant criminals? It reminds me of a segment that Jay Leno does on the Tonight Show, called “What did you think was going to happen”, in which he shows a clip of some person doing some stupid thing that always results in calamity. And he concludes it by saying, “What did you think was going to happen?”

In that same vein I was thinking the other day about people like this Bernie Madoff the stockbroker and investment adviser who swindled family, friends, and clients out of 65 BILLION Dollars. And I thought that same thing.

How did he think he was going to get away with this? He had to know that eventually he was going to get caught. But kept on doing it. And now he’ll spend the rest of his life in prison. In the end, he’ll learn the hard way, the principle that Solomon is trying to teach his son. That crime doesn’t pay. Only the king wants his son and us to learn it by instruction and not experience.

Now I want you to notice one last thing. Solomon’s father also taught him this principle. Go back and look again at Psalm one. In verses 2 and 3, David expounds the blessings of the man who does not partner with evil companions, but instead loves and obeys the Word of God. But in verses 4-6 he tells of the end that will come to those who are “ungodly.”

“The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”