The Cry We Cannot Ignore
Introduction: The Sounds of the City
Good morning. Think for a moment about the sounds you hear every day. In our city, we are never far from noise. We hear the rumble of jeepneys, the calls of street vendors, the laughter of children, the sirens of an ambulance. In this cacophony of sounds, our brains learn to filter. We tune out what we deem unimportant so we can focus on what matters.
But what if the most important sound in the universe was crying out, and we have learned to tune it out like background noise?
This morning, we turn to Proverbs chapter 1. Here, wisdom is not a dusty book on a shelf or an abstract idea. Solomon personifies Wisdom as a woman, a prophetess, standing in the busiest parts of the city, crying out with a message of life and death. Her cry is public, it is passionate, and it demands a response.
Our text today presents us with this dramatic scene. It reveals three profound truths: Wisdom’s public plea, the perilous rejection of her call, and the permanent consequences of that rejection. Let us listen carefully, for this is one cry we cannot afford to ignore.
I. The Public Plea of Wisdom (vv. 20-23)
The first thing we see is that God’s wisdom is not hidden or exclusive. It is generously and publicly offered to all.
A. Her Unmistakable Presence (vv. 20-21)
Verse 20 says, "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets." Verse 21 continues, "She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words..."
This is not a secret, whispered message. This is a proclamation shouted in the busiest places imaginable. The "chief place of concourse" was the marketplace. The "openings of the gates" were the center of civic life, where business was done and judgments were made.
Application: God has not made it difficult to find His wisdom. He shouts it through the glory of His creation (Psalm 19:1), through the conviction of our conscience (Romans 2:15), and most clearly and perfectly through His Holy Word. The problem is not that God is silent; the problem is that we are often deaf to His call amidst the noise of the world.
B. Her Urgent Appeal (vv. 22-23a)
Wisdom’s call is directed at specific groups: "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?"
She identifies three kinds of people who reject her:
The Simple: Not those with low IQ, but the naive and undisciplined who drift through life without moral direction. They "love" their simplicity because it requires no effort.
The Scorners: These are the proud and cynical. They mock righteousness and scoff at correction. They believe they are wiser than God.
The Fools: In Proverbs, a fool is not intellectually deficient but morally defiant. They actively "hate knowledge" because it interferes with their love for sin.
Her core message is a command and a plea: "Turn you at my reproof" (v. 23a). This is the call to teshuvah, to repent, to turn around from your self-destructive path and come back to God.
C. Her Gracious Promise (v. 23b)
Look at the incredible promise attached to repentance: "behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."
This is a stunning offer. To those who turn, Wisdom promises not just information, but divine illumination. She promises to pour out her very spirit—giving understanding, insight, and a deep, personal knowledge of God’s ways.
This points forward to the promise of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant. When we turn from our sin to Christ, God gives us His Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). The plea is public, the appeal is urgent, and the promise is glorious.
II. The Perilous Rejection of Wisdom (vv. 24-27)
The sermon now takes a dark and sobering turn. After the gracious offer comes the dreadful reality of what happens when that offer is refused.
A. The Deliberate Disregard (vv. 24-25)
Wisdom declares, "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."
Notice the active, willful nature of this rejection. It is not an accident.
"Ye refused." A conscious choice.
"No man regarded." A deliberate ignoring of God's outstretched hand of mercy.
"Ye have set at nought." To treat God’s counsel as worthless.
"Would none of my reproof." To despise correction.
This describes a heart that has become hard. It has heard the call so many times that it no longer even recognizes it as important.
B. The Divine Retribution (v. 26)
This is one of the most shocking verses in Proverbs: "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh."
This is not the laughter of a cruel deity. It is the terrifying laughter of cosmic irony. It is the universe affirming the very truth that the fool denied. The one who mocked God now finds himself in a situation so desperate that his only hope is the very God he mocked.
God's laughter signifies the absolute vindication of His righteousness and wisdom. The calamity the fool experiences is the natural and just consequence of his choices. He is simply reaping what he has sown.
C. The Destructive Reality (v. 27)
The consequences are described with terrifying imagery: "When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you."
The rejection of wisdom doesn't lead to a minor inconvenience; it leads to total catastrophe.
Desolation: An empty, barren wasteland.
A Whirlwind: Sudden, swift, and utterly overwhelming destruction.
Distress and Anguish: The internal, emotional, and spiritual agony that accompanies total ruin.
This is the inevitable end of a life built on the foolishness of sin.
III. The Permanent Consequence of Rejection (vv. 28-31)
Finally, the passage describes a point of no return. It shows us the final, settled state of those who persistently reject Wisdom's cry.
A. A Prayer That Is Too Late (v. 28)
"Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me."
This is a terrifying truth. There comes a time when the opportunity for repentance is gone. It's not that God's mercy has run out, but that the human heart can become so hardened by sin that it is no longer capable of genuine repentance.
Their cry is not from a love for God, but from a fear of consequences. They don't want God; they just want a firefighter to put out the flames of their self-made hell. It is the cry of desperation, not the cry of a broken and contrite heart.
B. The Root of the Judgment (vv. 29-30)
Wisdom gives the clear reason for this final judgment. It is not arbitrary. "For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof."
The verdict is based entirely on their own choices. The core issue was a heart condition:
They hated knowledge.
They did not choose the fear of the Lord.
They wanted none of His counsel.
They despised His correction.
Thus, their end is a direct result of the path they deliberately chose to walk.
C. The Harvest of Self-Will (v. 31)
The final verse is the summary of this tragic end: "Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."
What is the ultimate judgment for those who want nothing to do with God? God gives them exactly what they asked for: a life entirely on their own terms. They wanted to be the god of their own life, so He lets them.
To "eat the fruit of their own way" means to live with the full, bitter consequences of their sin. To be "filled with their own devices" is to be eternally trapped in the emptiness of their own self-centeredness. This is the very definition of Hell.
Conclusion: The Voice in the Streets
The cry of Wisdom in the streets of Jerusalem two thousand years ago is the same cry that echoes in our world today. But for us, that cry has a name. In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus Christ is "the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24). Jesus is the perfect embodiment of the wisdom that cries out in the streets.
He stood in the public places and cried, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will rest" (Matthew 11:28). He is God's outstretched hand, offered to the simple, the scorner, and the fool. He is the one who calls us to "Turn... at my reproof."
Today, the choice of Proverbs 1 is our choice. We can "set at nought" his counsel, despise his correction, and one day eat the bitter fruit of our own way.
Or, we can listen. We can turn. We can heed the cry. We can fall at the feet of Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God, and receive not a spirit of fear, but the Spirit of God Himself, who will make His words known to us and lead us into everlasting life.
Which voice will you listen to today? The noise of the world that leads to a whirlwind of destruction, or the cry of Wisdom that leads to peace? The choice is yours.
