Proverbs 8-9: RSVP Required

Proverbs 8-9 Summary

Proverbs 8-9 explained: In this commentary, explore how Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly extend identical invitations, yet they lead to vastly different outcomes. Soul-nourishing life versus death. Discover how Wisdom foreshadows Jesus as the Word at creation, and how Christ completes her call by offering Himself as the ultimate invitation to eternal life.

Proverbs 8-9 Introduction

In this episode, we will hear from Lady Wisdom for the second time. We first heard from her in Proverbs 1, crying out in the streets with a warning for anyone who refused her. She and Lady Folly are in a competition to recruit from the same audience, but their offerings are very different.

What is the difference between Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly?

Lady Wisdom offers life, but it requires fear of the Lord. Lady Folly offers stolen pleasure, but it results in death. In Proverbs 8-9, the author drives home the case for Lady Wisdom by:

Establishing Lady Wisdom’s credibility.
Exposing Lady Folly's deception so that the contrast is clear.
Expecting us to make the critical choice between them.

Why is wisdom personified as a woman in Proverbs 8?

Lady Wisdom is a personification of God’s wisdom as a woman for teaching purposes. Wisdom is female partly because the Hebrew word for wisdom, chokmah , is a feminine noun. There is also a literary reason. The father is warning his son against one woman, the adulterous woman of Proverbs 2:16, so he offers his son the persona of a better woman to embrace.

Many scholars see the “woman of noble character” in Proverbs 31 as Wisdom embodied in a real-life woman, bookending the book. Notice the clue. The Proverbs 31 woman is worth far more than rubies in Proverbs 31:10, which is the same thing said of Wisdom in Proverbs 3:15 and Proverbs 8:11.

Scene 1: Lady Wisdom Is Calling You

Proverbs 8:1-5

¹ Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? ² At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; ³ beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: ⁴ “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. ⁵ You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.

Who is Lady Wisdom calling?

Lady Wisdom is a beacon for all people. In the ancient world, formal schooling was mostly for scribes trained to serve the palace and Temple. Everyone else learned at home from their parents, which is exactly the setting of Proverbs: a father teaching his son. But Lady Wisdom takes her teaching out of the house and into the public square. She stands at the city gate where all people gather. Her knowledge is available to all.

Her message is for all, but she names the types she is specifically after: ⁵ You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. In Proverbs 1, she called three types: the simple, the mocker, and the fool. Here in Chapter 8, the mocker is gone. Only the simple and the foolish remain. Hold that thought, because in Chapter 9 her list gets even shorter. What happened to the mocker?

Why did Lady Wisdom stop calling out to the mocker in Proverbs 8 and 9?

Proverbs pictures the mocker as someone who rebuked Lady Wisdom, as she had warned. God didn’t stop speaking. The mocker chose not to listen. There is a New Testament warning of this same tragic outcome in Matthew 13. Jesus is explaining to the disciples why he speaks to the people in parables.

Matthew 13:13-15 ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. ¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes…

Matthew explains the mistake that the mocker and the fool make. A mistake we too are susceptible to: hearing but not understanding. And that is why, with the Bible Book Club, we are trying to read every word and discuss as much as we can. There is a blessing in hearing Matthew go on and make it hopefully clear:

Matthew 13:16-17 ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Note the contrast here. Compared with the adulterous woman from our last chapters:

Proverbs 7:27 ²⁷ Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 8:2 ² At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet…

Proverbs 7:9 ⁹ at twilight… as the dark of night set in.

Wisdom stands in broad daylight. There’s nothing secret about her. She is a noble woman who calls us to pursue the right path, the wise path, the path that leads to God. She is leading us up, not down. Leading to the light, not darkness.

Proverbs wants us to hear God, to choose the path of wisdom. Jesus wants us to hear Him, to choose the path to life. We must open our ears, eyes, and most of all our hearts. Nothing in God’s plan or path to life has changed. He tells the same truths in the Old Testament as in the New Testament.

Scene 2: Lady Wisdom wants you to choose her

Proverbs 8:6-19

⁶ Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. ⁷ My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. ⁸ All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. ⁹ To the discerning all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge. ¹⁰ Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, ¹¹ for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹² “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. ¹³ To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. ¹⁴ Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power. ¹⁵ By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just; ¹⁶ by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth. ¹⁷ I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. ¹⁸ With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. ¹⁹ My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.

What does Lady Wisdom want us to do?

Lady Wisdom wants us to choose her, because she is valuable. Wisdom is explicitly stated to be better than silver, gold, rubies, and anything else you desire. We read this in Proverbs 3, and we will read it again in Proverbs 20. Proverbs repeats it because we must struggle to believe it.

Proverbs mentions the fear of the Lord over a dozen times. Most of the verses tell us what it brings: life, security, and honor. This verse comes closest to a definition: to fear the Lord is to hate evil. Jesus makes the same point in Matthew:

Matthew 6:24 ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Note also that Matthew is talking about money in this case. Wisdom has been described as more valuable than gold, AKA the money of the Old Testament. So now we have two lessons wrapped up in one. Maybe riches are a great temptation, like our adulterous woman.

The fear of the Lord is to love Him.
You cannot love evil and love the Lord at the same time.
Money can be a demanding master.

We must remember that God and his wisdom are more valuable than gold and money included. If we love God, we will hate anything that could usurp our love for God: money, power, control, pornography, etc.

How is Wisdom more valuable than gold or silver in Proverbs 8:10-11?

Kings rule by wisdom, and Solomon knew this firsthand. In 1 Kings 3:9, when God offered him anything, Solomon asked for, “A discerning heart to govern your people.” Choose Wisdom because she is powerful. Wisdom loves those who love her. Those who seek her find her, as Solomon did. And if we find her, we gain access to her:

Power.
Counsel.
Judgment.
Insight.

These will be bestowed on us, and as we have read, what we gain is more valuable than gold or silver. That promise is reflected in the New Testament in James 1.

James 1:5 ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Seek, find, ask for wisdom, and it will be given to you.

Scene 3: Lady Wisdom Wants You to Trust Her

Proverbs 8:20-31

²⁰ I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, ²¹ bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.

²² “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; ²³ I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. ²⁴ When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; ²⁵ before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, ²⁶ before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. ²⁷ I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, ²⁸ when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, ²⁹ when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. ³⁰ Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, ³¹ rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.

Why does Lady Wisdom think you should trust her?

Lady Wisdom was there with God in the beginning. She states that the Lord brought her forth at the very beginning of His work, before the world came to be. This is interesting because it echoes other words in the New Testament. Consider John 1:

John 1:1-5 ² In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

This personification of wisdom is presenting herself as one who was with God in the beginning.

Is Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 actually Jesus?

No, Lady Wisdom does not go so far as to imply that she is Jesus. She was on the team that observed and delighted in God’s creation. However, the connection is fascinating, as Proverbs was written about 1,000 years before John. But no, Proverbs isn’t describing a person. It’s personifying an attribute of God, His wisdom, as a woman.

However, we can see in Lady Wisdom a preview of something better. There are many ways that Lady Wisdom foreshadows Jesus.

Proverbs says wisdom was with God at creation. John says the Word (who we know is Jesus) was with God in the beginning.
Lady Wisdom’s invitation is open to anyone who wants it, as is Christ’s invitation.
Responding to her invitation brings life and an escape from darkness, just as in Christ:

John 1:4-5 ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus is the wisdom of God, and Lady Wisdom is presented as the same. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul calls Christ:

1 Corinthians 1:24 ²⁴ … the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Colossians 2:3 says all the treasures of wisdom are hidden in Him.

To Summarize

In Proverbs, wisdom is pictured as a woman calling out in the streets. She is a living portrait of God’s own wisdom. The New Testament shows us what that portrait was pointing to all along: Jesus.

And we cannot forget that the beginning of wisdom is “the fear of the Lord.” A fear of the Lord translates to a faithful relationship with the Lord. By establishing that wisdom was there in the beginning of creation itself, the author suggests that living wisely isn't just about following God’s rules. It means aligning your life with God and the design of the universe. Because wisdom was there in the beginning, it is presented as essential and trustworthy.

Scene 4: Lady Wisdom Rests Her Case

Proverbs 8:32-36

³² “Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. ³³ Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. ³⁴ Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. ³⁵ For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. ³⁶ But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”

Finding Life and Favor

Lady Wisdom has made her case. Now then we must choose. With wisdom we will find life and favor from God. Finding favor. You know these are two of my favorite words because we don’t think about them enough. Imagine how different our lives would be if we cared about God’s favor here on earth as much as we will in eternity.

The phrase “finding life” here points us back to finding the way back to that Tree of Life. The eternal life lost to us is found again. Here’s what comforts me: Wisdom was there before the world began, which means the path back to the Tree of Life was in God’s plan before we ever lost it. In Proverbs, Lady Wisdom calls us back, shows us the path, and points to Christ even though this book of Proverbs was written way before Christ was born. And if we answer the call, we will find favor with God.

The Invitations Are Out. We Must Choose.

Have you ever seen people’s videos on social media where they line up all the family members—parents, grandparents, siblings—against one wall, and they place a toddler across the room from them to see which one the child will go to? They all start yelling to the child and holding out their arms, "Come to me." In Proverbs 9, two voices are calling. One of them is pointing to a third voice (Jesus), who will complete her invitation. Who will we go to?

Scene 5: Lady Wisdom, “Come to Me.”

Chapter 9 is the climax of this opening section of Proverbs 1-9. In this scene, the invitations have gone out. The hostesses, Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly, are rivals with very different parties planned. And here’s the reality: everyone will end up at one party or the other.

Proverbs 9:1-6

¹ Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. ² She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. ³ She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, ⁴ “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, ⁵ “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. ⁶ Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.”

Lady Wisdom’s Invitation to Come

Wisdom has dropped from inviting three types of people to one.

Proverbs 1: Three on the list: the simple, the mockers, and the fools.
Proverbs 8: Two: the simple and the fools.
Proverbs 9: Only one: the simple.

Wisdom is narrowing her focus. Meals were the party back then. Every celebration seems to have been a feast of some sort, so the preparation of the meal was important. And in this story, it really starts from scratch. She even has to build the house. Her house is located at or near the highest point of the city and has seven pillars. What does that mean? All we have are theories that perhaps her house was:

Symbolic of the Temple.
Pointing to her wealth and the size of her house.
Meant to point to perfection, as seven was symbolic of perfection and completeness.

We don’t know. Because the pillars of the house are at such a high point, I am leaning toward thinking they are symbolic of the Temple where the presence of God was located. This would mean that when she invites people to come to her, they are coming to God. Lady Wisdom is inviting the simple to a chance to eat from the Tree of Life. She promises them, “You will live.”

Scene 6: Invitation Interlude

The author or editor of Proverbs has a hard time resisting the temptation to interject, so we have another interlude like in our last chapters.

Proverbs 9:7-12

⁷ Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. ⁸ Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. ⁹ Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. ¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ¹¹ For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. ¹² If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.

A Warning, Reminder, and Outcome

The author interjects right between the two invitations as if he can’t help himself. As if he doesn’t think Lady Wisdom’s invitation is appealing enough, or he is worried we will like Lady Folly’s invitation. The author inserts a warning, a reminder, and an outcome.

The Warning

There is no point in trying to teach a mocker. The mocker has already chosen Lady Folly. Correct the wise. They appreciate instruction. And that is the irony. The people who least need correction are the ones who want it. It’s as if once you get a taste for wisdom, you want it more, but the same is true of folly: a taste creates desire for more.

A reminder.

You are not going to have wisdom without the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1-9 open and close with the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 opens this section with ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’. Now Proverbs 9:10 closes it with almost the same words. Everything in between is built on that foundation.

The Outcome

The author gives us the outcome. Each choice has one. The wise will be rewarded. The foolish will suffer.

Scene 7: Lady Folly, “Come to Me”

Proverbs 9:13-18

¹³ Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. ¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, ¹⁵ calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, ¹⁶ “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, ¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” ¹⁸ But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

What is Lady Folly inviting the simple to?

A chance to eat more. Adam and Eve already took the first bite for them from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil with a total focus on the evil. The sweet water and delicious food are stolen and eaten in secret. So secret is this society that those who accept the membership have no idea that from the minute they walk through the door, their steps are leading them ever down, deep in the realm of the dead.

Wisdom and Folly say the exact same words in their invitation:

Same potential to reach: both call from the highest point of the city
Same audience: all who are simple
Same type of party venue: “Let all who are simple come to my house!”

The Contrast

The invitations look the same, but the party is not. The contrast reveals their intent. Look at the preparation for the party:

Wisdom works hard. She builds, prepares, and sends out her servants. Folly just sits at her door and calls out.
Wisdom serves a lavish meal of meat and wine to feed their soul. Folly serves stolen water and secret bread to rob their soul.
Wisdom says, “Leave your simple ways, and you will live.” Folly asks nothing of you, but her guests are in the realm of the dead.

To provide them a future, Wisdom works hard. To rob them of a future, Folly does little. The personification of Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly is a teaching tool. It takes abstract moral principles and turns them into two vivid, competing characters fighting for the allegiance of the human heart. It is a visible way to imagine yourself making choices and living with the results. These fictional characters represent two foundational paths of living. God’s wisdom and covenant faithfulness versus foolishness and self-indulgence.

Scene 8: A Third Invitation from Jesus, “Come to Me”

Fast forward to the New Testament, when the invitation to eternal life, or the Tree of Life, is extended to all humanity. The invitation does not negate Lady Wisdom’s invitation but builds on it. She is portrayed as the Wisdom of God. And the Wisdom of God was, of course, there in the beginning when, in His wisdom, God laid out the plan for us to be saved through His Son, who was also there in the beginning.

How does Jesus's invitation in John 7 connect to Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 9?

Jesus’s invitation completes the plan. Consider John 7.

John 7:37-38 ³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Like Lady Wisdom, Jesus asks all who desire to “come.”
Lady Wisdom “ raises her voice. ” Jesus “ stood and said in a loud voice .”
Lady Wisdom says, “ Come to my house. ” Jesus says, “ Come to me. ” Because He is the house or Temple, and in His house we find the presence of God.

John 2:19-22 ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Like Lady Wisdom, Jesus extends an invitation to a meal with a promise. While Wisdom says:

Proverbs 9:5 ⁵ “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.

John 6:35 ³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

He doesn’t just prepare the meal. He sacrifices Himself for it.

Luke 22:19-20 ¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Wisdom mixed her wine. Jesus poured out His blood.

What All Three Do

Say, "Come."
Invite us to a house.
Offer food for our soul. Lady Folly’s leads to death. Lady Wisdom’s puts you on the path to life, and Jesus offers eternal life, because what He offers is Himself.

In Revelation 22, we have a final invitation to come just four verses before the entire book of the Bible comes to a close:

Revelation 22:12-21 ¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

An invitation has been set before us. An invitation to all. Jesus couldn’t make it any clearer: an offer more precious than gold, a free gift, a membership to eat from the Tree of Life. An RSVP is Required. Wisdom says come. Jesus says come. The Spirit and the bride say come. Now it’s our turn to answer and to pass on the invitation.

Discussion questions

Lady Wisdom calls out in public places, while Lady Folly offers quick, secret pleasures. In your daily routine right now, what subtle shortcuts compete for your focus, and how can you actively choose Wisdom's path instead?
Both Lady Wisdom and Jesus invite us to a meal and a house to find life. What does accepting Jesus’s personal invitation to "come" look like in your life this week?
Proverbs 9 mentions that mockers reject correction while the wise welcome instruction to grow wiser. Can you think of a recent situation where receiving correction was tough? And how did your reaction reflect your pursuit of wisdom?

Show Notes

God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life, by Timothy and Kathy Keller
The Path to Good or Evil
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Previously on Bible Book Club