Proverbs 9

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 65:1-4
• Hymn — A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (#92)
• Prayer of Adoration
• Hymn — My Jesus, I Love Thee (#648)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Proverbs 9:1-18
• Sermon
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Two Banquets — An Invitation to Life or Death

Scripture: Proverbs 9:1-18

I. The Banquet of Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1-6)

A. Wisdom's house is grand and perfect

1. Seven pillars signify both great size and perfection in Hebrew thought
2. The house is open to welcome many guests
3. Parallels Jesus preparing a place in his Father's house — John 14:1-4

B. Lady Wisdom is tirelessly active in her preparations

1. She hews, slaughters, mixes, sets, and sends — in contrast to Woman Folly's idleness
2. Wisdom sends out messengers to call guests, as the king in the parable sends servants — Matthew 22:1-14

C. The invitation goes out to the simple and the wise — the bad and the good (Matthew 22:10)

1. The simple (gullible, sinful) are called — as Jesus called sinners, the Samaritan woman (John 4)
2. The wise and righteous are called — as Simeon and Anna awaited Messiah (Luke 2)
3. Scoffers and mockers are notably set aside (developed in section II)

D. The banquet is offered without cost

1. No payment is required — only hearing and turning
2. Isaiah 55:1-3: Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price
3. The call is a call to repentance — "let him turn" (Proverbs 9:4); cf. the rich young ruler and Jesus' call to follow him
4. Jesus Christ is Wisdom incarnate — the fulfillment of Wisdom's call and purpose

II. The Difference Between the Scoffer and the Wise (Proverbs 9:7-12)

A. The wise teacher is not to correct or reprove the scoffer (Proverbs 9:7-8)

1. The scoffer abuses and injures the one who corrects him
2. Wisdom sometimes means knowing when to keep silent
3. Matthew 7: Do not cast your pearls before swine

B. Silence toward the scoffer is not the same as giving up on him

1. The prodigal son was arrogant and proud — yet he "came to himself"
2. Sometimes the most loving act is to let someone go, pray for their humbling, and keep the door open like the waiting father
3. Pray that God would bring the scoffer to himself through pain and humility

C. The wise grow in wisdom without end (Proverbs 9:9)

1. Only Christ is perfectly wise; all others are continually growing
2. Philippians 3:12-14: Paul presses on toward the upward call of God in Christ
3. Growing in wisdom is for our own benefit and our soul's good (Proverbs 9:12)

D. The fear of the Lord bookends the entire first discourse of Proverbs

1. Proverbs 1:7 and Proverbs 9:10 — the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
2. Who you fear determines who you listen to

III. The Banquet of Woman Folly (Proverbs 9:13-18)

A. Woman Folly is loud but knows nothing (Proverbs 9:13)

1. She makes a great show of importance while possessing no true knowledge
2. She takes a seat in the highest places — prominent and celebrated in society
3. Parallels the celebrity culture: loud, prominent, but empty

B. Woman Folly is idle where Lady Wisdom is active

1. Folly sits; Wisdom builds, hews, slaughters, mixes, sets, and sends
2. Folly is all appearance — lazy, with none of Wisdom's industry

C. Both Wisdom and Folly cry out to the simple with the same words (Proverbs 9:4 and Proverbs 9:16)

1. Wisdom offers wine — a symbol of celebration, festivity, and abundance
2. Folly offers only water — a measly and stolen feast
3. Folly's goods are stolen; she owns nothing and has no right to offer anything
4. Satan is a mere creature — he cannot truly offer life, security, or peace; everything is stolen

D. The ultimate contrast is life and death (Proverbs 9:6 vs. Proverbs 9:18)

1. Only the Creator owns life and can give life
2. To walk in wisdom is to walk in life; to walk in folly is to walk in death
3. This is the sum of Proverbs 1–9: fear God, hear his call, and live
4. All the treasures of wisdom are found in Jesus Christ — Colossians 2:3