Week 21 Proverbs 1
Solomon compares Wisdom to a woman walking through a city and shouting out to pedestrians: you simpletons!…How long will you go on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? It sounds a bit like name-calling but Wisdom ends up on a conciliatory note: come and listen to me! she says. I’ll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise. Her insults are more like attention-grabbing overstatements for personal development’s sake.
Anyway the thing I noticed is that Wisdom keeps walking the city streets for quite awhile but eventually she goes silent. Goes from trying to help to completely quitting: you ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered. So I will laugh when you are in trouble!…I will not answer when you cry for help. Even though (you) anxiously search for me, (you) will not find me.
Right at the front-end of Proverbs Solomon says that wisdom-to-make-me-wise is available. And I’ve got time (it sounds like a lot of time) to make my own personal decision to either stay-as-I-am or move toward wisdom. The niggling detail is that I don’t have unlimited time. Wisdom makes her pitch…she waits & waits…then the offer is taken off the table. At that point I can carry on as per usual.
Wisdom’s promise is that I’ll: live in peace and safety, unafraid of harm. But it’s up to me to decide whether to buy what she’s selling.
Note: quotes from Proverbs 1:22 23 25-28 33 (NLT)