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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Prov. 7-9
These three chapters personify the only two paths we can really take in life. Each path is represented by a woman. Folly is the rowdy, seductive woman whose path leads to death. Wisdom is the woman who walks the path of life. Death or life; our ways or God’s. That’s our choice. On paper, the decision is obvious; easy. But our lives aren’t lived on paper. So we need to pay attention.
Prov. 7
I notice two things about the seductive woman. First, her victims are many. Countless, actually. Sadly, hers is a popular path. It’s popular because it is enticing. It’s more than that, though. Folly is not passive. She doesn’t just sit around waiting for somebody to cross her path. “…her feet do not stay at home. Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.” (Prov. 7:11b-12). Nor does she merely offer herself. “She seduces him with her persistent pleading” (Prov. 7:21a). Doesn’t that sound just like temptation? An unwanted thought pops into your head and refuses to shut up until you give in to it. Well, if we know that folly is actively intentional and persistent, shouldn’t we be the same in guarding against her?
Prov. 8
Unlike Folly, Wisdom doesn’t come directly to us. Instead, she calls us to come to her. We don’t actually have to actively choose Folly to find her. But we do have to choose Wisdom. That’s appropriate because wisdom is not our natural path. In fact, I very clearly see Jesus in everything Wisdom is and does in this chapter. “For my mouth tells the truth” (Prov. 8:7a), “I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me.” (Prov. 8:17), “I was there when He established the heavens” (Prov. 9:27a), and “For the one who finds me finds life” (Prov. 8:35a) are a few examples. Thus, Jesus is the voice of God’s wisdom, calling to us to leave our foolish ways and come to Him.
Prov. 9
Speaking of Jesus and Wisdom being one and the same, I find Wisdom’s words in this chapter quite interesting. She says, “Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave inexperience behind, and you will live” (Prov. 9:5-6a). At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples that the bread was His body and the wine His blood. At an earlier time He had told His disciples, along with the crowds, “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (Jn. 6:54a). Jesus is the voice of Wisdom, calling us to a new path that leads us back to life.