seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Proverbs 9:13 Folly is an unruly woman;
she is simple and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling out to those who pass by,
who go straight on their way,
16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is delicious!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there,
that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.
The easy English site has a ton of talk about these five verses.... and there's a little tidbit at the end!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.
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 place in the city. So everyone will hear both messages. Nobody will miss them. Everyone will receive both invitations. We cannot accept both invitations. We must choose. Either we follow wisdom, or we are foolish.
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 house. She will lead them away from God. In the end she will destroy them.
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 them. She wants to tempt them.
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 between a husband and wife. This is the same invitation as Proverbs 7:18-20. This is why the meal is secret. So the meal also gives the idea of sex.
The woman tempts the simple man with evil ideas. Solomon is thinking about all evil things, not just sex. If we are foolish, then we shall choose to do evil things. If we refuse to be wise, then we also refuse to follow God.
Evil actions might feel ‘good’. Evil actions might feel ‘wonderful’. These are only feelings; they are not reality. The reality is that evil behaviour is always wrong. The reality is that evil behaviour will destroy us. The reality is that God hates all evil things.
‘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 us to trust him. God’s love is like a free gift. God offers real life. We shall not die. We shall live always with him, in heaven. This is the best invitation.
We must make our choice. We can be wise, or we can be foolish. Make the right decision! God wants us all to learn to be wise.
The Tidbit from the easy English site....
The Book of Proverbs hides a sad story. Solomon was a wise king for most of his life. When he became old, Solomon forgot his wisdom. He had many wives. His wives tempted him to serve false gods. He did not remember God, who gave wisdom to him. He served false gods. The real God was angry with Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-10).
Solomon wrote Proverbs 1:1 to Proverbs 9:18 for his son. He wanted his son to learn wisdom. Solomon tried to teach his son. Solomon’s son was called Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the king when Solomon died. Rehoboam never followed wisdom. When he became king, his first decision was to refuse wisdom. He refused to obey the advice of Solomon’s wise advisers. Instead, he chose advisers who knew nothing (1 Kings 12:1-19). Rehoboam’s first decision was a terrible decision.
Most of the people refused to serve Rehoboam. There was a revolution and a war. The nation split in two.
Solomon led a great nation. His nation was always at peace. His son, Rehoboam, led a small nation. Rehoboam was always at war (1 Kings 14:30).
"I pity the fool!" I remember kids running around saying this when the A-Team was still on TV. The man that tagged that phrase was a big burly man who wore heavy gold chains around his neck but had a tender spot in his heart for anyone or anything that was in need. Most of all he hated planes, as I recall, so his friends tricked him, or drugged him regularly in order to get him to a destination where he would do all the dirty work to save the distressed. 