Pearls Before Swine Series

Pearls before Swine

Proverbs 9:1-18

The Prologue of Solomon's book of Proverbs ends with a choice of two paths. - an invitation from Lady Wisdom and an invitation from Lady Folly. These descriptions and quotations of Wisdom and Folly are a study in similarities and contrasts. Both Wisdom and Folly call out from a house situated in the highest point of the city. Both begin with the same invitation: ‘Let all who are simple come in here,’ . Lady Wisdom is inviting her guests to a meal however Lady Folly's invitation is definitely not to a meal. We shall look into this later. Both Wisdom and Folly use proverbs; Wisdom’s speech concludes with a series of proverbs, ending with, ‘If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer’ (Proverbs 9:12). Folly has only one proverb, but it is revealing: ‘Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious’ (Proverbs 9:17).

Solomon shows these similarities only to point out the glaring differences between them. Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. (verse 1-2) and she works at preparing a sumptuous banquet offering wine and meats to her guests while Folly sits at her door, loud [as was the adulteress in Proverbs 7:11], undisciplined, and without knowledge. What Folly was offering was not food and water. There is also the differences in outcome. Wisdom offers a future, a call to maturity, and in a life. Folly only offers the immediate pleasure of an illicit nature enjoyed outside their intended boundaries, hiding the fact that such pleasure brings death.

Lady Folly 's glamour however dependents on cosmetics and clothes (7:10). Wisdom's pillars of seven is no doubt symbolic of completeness and perfection

Lady Wisdom has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table.

Mixed wine here may refer to wine mixed with spices, as in Song Of Solomon 8:2, or to wine mixed with water, as was common for wine drunk at meals.

“She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city.

‘Let all who are simple come in here!’ she says to those who lack judgment

‘Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.’” - verses 3-5

Wisdom is first personified as a woman in Proverbs in 1:20-33; the personification is picked up again in 3:13-18 and 4:1-13. All of Proverbs 8, the chapter immediately preceding today’s passage, consists of the longest and most developed of the personifications.

The personification of wisdom in today’s passage is paired with a personification of Folly in Proverbs 9:13-18, also as a woman. The similar structures of the two passages indicate that they are to be read together and in contrast. Both invite the “simple” into their houses for a meal, using the same invitation (vv. 4, 16). Wisdom has gone so far as to build her own house, prepare her own meal, and to make efforts to invite people in. But Lady Folly merely sits at the door of her house, calling to whoever happens to pass by (vv. 14-15), and is she really offering her guests a meal when she says " “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” (v. 17) ? Moreover, while wisdom’s meal leads to life (v. 6), those who visit Lady Folly ends up dead (v. 18).

The description of wisdom’s meal paints a picture of a true feast in a lavish, even sacred setting. The opening verse states that she has built her own house and that this construction involved setting up “seven pillars.” Pillars would only be used in building a house of substantial size and quality, and the number seven implies some special character to the house.

The meal itself and the invitation likewise indicate the rich and open nature of the feast. Wisdom has slaughtered an animal and set a table (Proverbs 9:2), indicating that this meal will go beyond the everyday meals of the average Israelite (the typical meal for the average person in ancient Palestine did not involve meat). Bread and wine are also to be served (vv. 2, 5). Wisdom has servant girls — she is a woman of means, clearly — and she has sent them out to issue the invitation where all can hear it (v. 3). It is a rich feast.

Partaking of this feast leads to life (Proverbs9:6). The connection between wisdom and life is frequently made in Proverbs : “For whoever finds me finds life” (8:35a); “Long life is in her right hand…She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her” (3:16a, 18a). To accept wisdom’s invitation is to embrace the life that God has designed for us.

“Leave simple ones and live, and walk in the way of understanding. For one to stay in the company of simpletons would mean to fail to use good judgment and to pursue a way of life that is senseless. By seeking wisdom or truly wanting to have it and to live accordingly, individuals would continue to live a purposeful life and would not shorten their life through foolhardiness and senseless actions.