Proverbs 1:20-33 – Wisdom Calls the Fool

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

While God will show mercy to our ignorance, God does not love one who chooses to be a fool. God rebukes our being wise in our own eyes, and for good reason.

Introduction

While God will show mercy to our ignorance, God does not love one who chooses to be a fool.  The question all of us must answer is this: Do you desire to truly be wise?

What is wisdom?  Do you believe yourself to be wise?  One of the greatest struggles man fights daily is accepting that our wisdom is incredibly limited.  When it comes to the wisdom of man, God has a rebuke that all of us must be attentive to, because the wisdom of man leads to grave danger. This week’s Sunday School commentary covers Proverbs 1:20-33. 

What we will focus on learning in this week’s Sunday School commentary:

1. What true wisdom is.
2. Why we should lean on God’s wisdom more than our own.
3. The calamity that awaits the fool.

God Despises Ignorance

Our lesson this week opens with wisdom being personified as a teacher.  In fact, throughout the book of Proverbs, wisdom is often personified as a teacher.  

The proverb states, “Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.  She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates of the gates in the city she speaks her words… (Prov. 1:20-21).”

Let us note these places where wisdom is going and crying aloud: the open squares, the chief concourses, and the openings of the gates in the city.  Now, why do you suppose Wisdom is going to these public and very populated places to cry aloud?  The answer is obvious, right?  Wisdom wants everyone to hear what she has to say.

Wisdom cries aloud with a message that begins with a very pointed question:    “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity (Prov. 1:22)?”  One who is simple (or simple-minded) is one who lacks knowledge and understanding; one who is ignorant.  

This question raises an incredibly important point that I want to share when it comes to ignorance.  You see, all of us are going to be ignorant when it comes to something.  

For example, I was completely ignorant when it came to gardening, in that I knew so little about gardening.  Is it a bad thing that I was ignorant about gardening?  Absolutely not.  However, what would have been bad is me gardening without seeking to learn anything about it, right?

So, what was it that Wisdom was desiring to teach?  Proverbs 1:7 makes it clear that fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.  Fearing the Lord is to fear God’s judgment of sin.  As shown throughout Scripture, God does not tolerate sin and will cast sin from His presence at the day of judgment.

Therefore, let us understand that Wisdom went to those public places desiring to teach the people to fear God’s judgment, but she was met with a problem.  The problem:  Those who were simple loved what wasn’t complex; they loved being ignorant of God’s judgment.  When one is ignorant of God’s judgment of sin, they will happily continue in the way of sin.

Let me ask this question:  Do you think God would be pleased to let anyone continue living sinfully?  Absolutely not.  God’s desire is to dwell with mankind, not apart from mankind.  God made mankind in His image, according to His likeness so that He could dwell with His creation!  

So, because ignorance works against God’s will, we ought to understand that God despises ignorance.  God desires for one to know Him, His grace, mercy, and salvation.  Again, the reason why God desires for one to know of His grace and mercy is because He desires for one to dwell with Him for everlasting life.

Ignorance is Rebuked

God rebukes ignorance!  In Proverbs 1:22-23, we will see where Wisdom rebukes the simple, crying out for the simple to turn at her rebuke, as she makes her words known.  

What are the words that Wisdom makes known?

Proverbs opens by saying, “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment; to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion – a wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel… (Prov. 1:2-5).”

The reason why Wisdom rebukes the simple for loving simplicity is because of what loving simplicity leads to.  One choosing to love simplicity when knowledge has been made available is one choosing to hate knowledge.  When we look back to Proverbs 1:22, Wisdom noted that fools hate knowledge.

There is a notable difference between one who is a fool and one who is ignorant.  Let’s repeat: one who is ignorant is one who simply lacks knowledge and understanding.  However, a fool is one who was ignorant, was taught knowledge, hated it, and chose to continue in its way.  

Proverbs 1:7 states that a fool despises wisdom and instruction, and therefore, a fool can’t be taught anything because the fool does not think that he/she needs to learn.  Whereas one who is ignorant can receive knowledge (wisdom and instruction), if one desires to learn.

God does not love ignorance, which is why He is willing to give those who desire to be wise instruction.  We know that God does not love ignorance because He gave the world His only begotten Son when the world was lost in darkness (ignorance).  God gave His only begotten Son to take away the ignorance of man.  

Because God gave the world His only begotten Son to be a light (wisdom) to the world, He has left the world with a choice:  Be wise or be ignorant.  To be wise, one must heed the Word of God, which was made flesh and dwelt among mankind.  The wisdom of God, who is omniscient (all-knowing), is far above the wisdom of man.

The Failings of Mankind’s Wisdom

What can mankind accomplish by disregarding God’s wisdom for its own wisdom?  

Well, let’s first take into consideration the instructions that God has given mankind to follow.  Jesus told the apostles that the great commandment is to love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.  Then, Jesus said that the second great commandment is like the first in that one should love their neighbor as themselves (Matt. 22:36-39).

Now, of course, within the command of loving the Lord, there are the instructions of being penitent.  WIthin the command of loving our neighbor, there are the instructions of helping, supporting, uplifting, and caring for.  God has given no other added instructions to man aside from that of loving.  

Anything beyond the command of loving God and loving our neighbor steps in the direction of manmade rules, rituals, and traditions.  The scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees suffered because they had religion but not faith.  

I am going to be frank in what I say next, and some of you may not like what I will say.  Much of the world’s problems stem from religion; the practice of ritual and religion by those who presume to force their rituals and traditions upon others.  The Lord doesn’t desire tradition and ritual; He desires sincere faith – one who faithfully abides by the command to love God and to love one’s neighbor.

Man’s wisdom in religion is filled with worldly desire.  The world is in the condition it’s in today because of man’s religion, rather than man’s faithfulness to God’s instructions.

In James 4:1-3, James asked, “Where do wars and fights come from among you?  Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?”  James then stated, “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Then, in James 4:4, he asked, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?”  You cannot call yourself a child of God while heeding worldly instruction and disregarding God’s instructions.

Wisdom’s Response to the Fool’s Calamity

Let’s pay attention to Wisdom’s response in Proverbs 1:24-30 to one who chooses to disregard her call.

Because the simple had become fools, refusing Wisdom’s invitation to learn from her, Wisdom said that she would laugh at the calamity of fools.

Because the simple had chosen to become fools by refusing Wisdom’s invitation to learn from her, Wisdom said that she would also mock the fool when terror comes.  

Moreover, Wisdom said that when the fool cries out in the midst of their destruction, distress, and anguish, she will not answer.  

Now, why won’t Wisdom answer the cries of the fools in the midst of their calamity?  Wisdom said, “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke (Prov. 1:28-29).”

Now, some of you may think to yourself, ‘Pastor, this doesn’t sound right’.  Some of you may think to yourself, ‘Pastor, I thought God was supposed to be merciful and gracious’.  Let me bring clarity to Wisdom laughing at the calamity of fools.

The “calamity”, “terror”, “destruction”, “anguish”, and “distress” that Wisdom speaks of in this Scripture have nothing to do with daily struggles.  The calamity of the fool occurs at God’s judgment of them.  This is implied and is certain because Wisdom said the fool brought on their destruction because they despised every rebuke.

When one despises God’s rebuke of their way, God gives them over to their corruption.  As Paul said in Romans 1:18, 28, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness … Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.”

When one denies God’s rebuke and chastening, the Lord is faithful to let them go the way in which they have chosen to go in, even if it means their destruction.  Does God desire to condemn and to cast anyone away from His presence for eternity?  Absolutely not, and we know that is true because He gave His only begotten Son to the world.

However, what is also true is that at the day of judgment, God will judge, and it will be too late for one to plead their case.  God will judge whether one heeded His instructions and repented by choosing to follow Christ or not.  If one tries to make excuses at God’s throne, Wisdom is going to be standing by, chuckling and mocking, saying that you should have listened to her.

Is it mean that Wisdom will stand by laughing at one who chose to ignore her?  I suppose.  Yet, at the same time, it’s quite mean for one to suggest they know more than Wisdom.

It’s Better to Heed Wisdom than Not

This lesson becomes a great warning to the fool, doesn’t it?  The warning:  Don’t disregard Wisdom because there is a disaster that awaits if you do.  In that disaster, Wisdom spoke of how the fool will be left to eat the fruit of their own way, and the fruit of their own way is that of a temporary world which leads to destruction (Prov. 1:31-32).

Within this warning comes a plea from Wisdom.  Wisdom states that whoever listens to her will dwell safely and will be secure, without fear of evil (Prv. 1:33).  God’s thoughts towards those who heed His wisdom and instruction are not evil, but are of peace, a future, and a hope (Jer. 29:11).

Jesus, who said that He is the way, the truth, and the life, ministered that all should repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  To this day, Wisdom goes into the open squares, chief concourses, and to gates of cities, crying out that one should fear God’s judgment.  Wisdom has made herself widely available over a world wide web, and can be freely learned from, but again, the question one has to answer is whether or not they desire to learn from her.