Profiles of Wisdom and Folly: Proverbs 1-9
It seems only fitting to begin a publication committed to biblical wisdom in the Bible’s preeminent book of wisdom, Proverbs.
Over the last few months, I’ve been spending a lot of time in these pages, particularly the first 9 chapters. In contrast to the rest of the book, these opening chapters present profiles of wisdom and folly with great style and imagination. That’s not to suggest any of it is pretend or fairy-tale-ish. Rather, their literary genius is bold, their images rich and captivating.
The purpose of Proverbs 1-9 is to set up the rest of the book, presenting to us the paradigmatic opposition of wisdom and folly as seen in the terse proverbial nuggets that follow. It describes what wisdom and folly are more than it prescribes specific aphorisms.
Perhaps thinking about these chapters as a kind of planetarium of wisdom is appropriate. While later chapters will, in telescopic detail, explore specific stars and constellations of wisdom, these pull back and map the sky for us, orienting our minds to the lay of the land (or sky) and calibrating our moral compass to wisdom’s true north.
For the next several weeks, we’ll walk chapter by chapter and consider some of these profiles. If you haven’t subscribed yet, do so now so you don’t miss a thing!
Here we go…
Have you ever thought of folly as violent? Not violence as foolish (which it certainly can be), but foolishness as a violent thing in itself?
Maybe that sounds strange. Let me explain.
Proverbs' opening verses depict the violence of folly. These words are more than just advice to avoid marauders and bandits, they are paradigmatic of foolishness as such.
[Fools] say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse.” (1:11-14)
Put simply, fools “run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood” (1:15).
In other words, folly goes against the grain of life - you might even call it homicidal. Like sin, it damages relationships, severing the harmony of creation. It pits one person against another, dividing fellow image bearers for ill-gotten gain. Folly leads to death.
Though fools put others in harms way, the irony is this: their folly ensures their own demise. As wisdom says:
For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors. (1:17-19, emphasis added)
The path of folly ends in a pit of its own making. Like a parasite, it destroys its host. Thus, wisdom gets the last laugh:
Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
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.
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices. (1:24-31)
Those are some hard words from wisdom, but such is the grain of the universe. Like pulling on a rubber band, fools pull on the fabric of existence. But eventually it will reach full extension and snap back. And when it does, wisdom won’t be there to absorb the blow. The fool will reap what he’s sown.
But there is a way to avoid this catastrophe: heed wisdom’s call.
Listen to her. Walk with her. Follow her grain. For, “Whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster” (1:33).
You have a choice: folly and death or wisdom and life? (We will see this dichotomy repeated again and again in these chapters.)
But take care, for you decide at your own peril.
Oden's oracle:
Oden has a certain affinity for cyclists. If he sees one on the road while off leash, there is very little I can do to keep him by my side. He's not aggressive (though he's a bit impolite towards bike tires), just curious. When other dogs pass by, all he wants to do is sniff their butts and play. Cars are strangely uninteresting to him…most of the time.
About a month ago, I nearly lost him in the street. A car had come to a stop across the intersection from where we live. He saw it, and for whatever reason was clearly more than interested, more like threatened. I watched him turn his head and stare. “Don’t you do it,” I told him. “Oden, stay,” I commanded.
He bolted.
I shouted, “Oden, no!” Thankfully, as his feet hit the pavement, he stopped and returned to me to fight another day.
Later on, I swear I heard him whisper, “And that is how you look to your Father when you choose folly.” Thanks, Oden.
One more thing…
This past Sunday God inspired my heart through the preaching of a friend (and guest speaker), Sam Huggard, in an usually powerful way. His words struck just the right note for the time we’re in. Here is a link to his message, “A Time for Change.” I pray it encourages you as it did me.