Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 606 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Tale of Two Houses – Proverbs 9

Hello, my friend, and welcome to Wisdom-Trek! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your Guide to Wisdom and Creating a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 606 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore Proverbs 9 from The Voice Translation which will give us a fresh perspective on this book of timeless wisdom.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The weather this week has turned absolutely beautiful. The temperatures are in the 80’s, and the sun is shining. Paula and I were able to plant our outdoor flowers around the house, and the peonies are in full bloom. With the nice weather this week we will see rapid growth.

The hawks have been providing an almost endless supply of fresh food for their chicks. There appear to be two chicks, and we can hear their cry for food and are now seeing their heads pop up above the rim of the nest as their parents feed them. We don’t have a clear view of the nest since the leaves obscure part of our view. Like most children, it won’t be long before they take flight for a life of their own. This is why it is so important that we teach our children and grandchildren the godly attributes of wisdom and integrity so that they are ready to handle life grounded in Biblical precepts.

Our granddaughter Hazel is at Nationwide Children Hospital for two days this week for further testing and additional treatments for her leukemia. The first-day results are extremely positive, and her blood is responding well to her first month of treatments. We are praying that the remainder of her tests will also be positive. If they are, it does not shorten the two-year treatment cycle, but the intensity of the treatments may be less severe. We would appreciate your continued prayers for Hazel and her tribe.

As we do influence others for good, we want to teach them how to choose wisely in every area of life. As we explore Proverbs Chapter 9 today, we will compare and contrast Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly in…

The Tale of Two Houses

Chapter 9 is the last story chapter in Proverbs before we move onto the actual proverbs. This chapter starts out with the 4^th speech by Lady Wisdom. The structure of this chapter is very symmetric. It opens with a 6-verse invitation to the house of Lady Wisdom (1-6) and closes with a 6-verse invitation to the house of the adulteress who is Lady Folly (13-18). These two invitations are separated by a 6-line call to practice humility (7-12).

The summons from the two ladies is strikingly similar, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” (4, 16). Both women make the same appeal, but each for different reasons. One wants to lift the simple up to life, while the other wants to cast the simple down to the grave. Notice that both have houses (1, 14) and both serve bread (5, 17).

Both make a speech (5-6, 17), but each of them differs in nature. Lady Wisdom’s words ring out clear and pure as a bell, “Leave your simple ways.” The words of the adulteress are slinky and provocative as she purrs, “Stolen water is sweet.” The simple reader is left with a choice, but the author has made it easy – this boils down to life or death.

These two similar-but-contrasting invitations wrap around the central portion of the text (7-12). This middle section clarifies the key to choosing wisely – humility! As I read verses 7-12 consider them prayerfully. Abide by these words and live. “If you are a mocker,” the author warns, “you alone will suffer the consequences” (12).

This chapter marks the end of the 9-chapter section of speeches from a father and from Lady Wisdom. To sum them up…Choose life! Choose wisdom! Now listen up as I read Proverbs 9.

¹ Lady Wisdom has built her house;
she has supported it with seven pillars.
² She’s prepared a feast:
She’s slaughtered her animals, poured a spiced wine,
and set her table.
³ She has sent out her servants with the invitation to come to the party;
she, too, calls out from the highest point of the city:

⁴ Whoever is young and gullible, turn in here.
You are welcome in this place!

Then, turning to those who are naive, she says:

⁵ Come in. Come, eat my bread,
and drink my spiced wine.
⁶ Give up your gullible ways, your naive thoughts, for true life.
Set your course for understanding.

⁷ Whoever tries to discipline a scoffer should expect a hail of insults in return.
Whoever tries to correct an evildoer is likely to get hurt in the process.
⁸ So do not correct a scoffer unless you are ready to be hated,
but correct the wise and you will be loved.
⁹ Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser.
Teach upstanding people, and they will learn even more.
¹⁰ Reverence for the Eternal, the one True God, is the beginning of wisdom;
true knowledge of the Holy One is the start of understanding.

¹¹ Through me your days will be lengthened,
and years will be added to your life.

¹² If you are wise, wisdom is its own reward.
If you mock what you don’t understand, you alone will suffer the consequences.

¹³ Compared to Wisdom, the Lady Folly is rowdy and loud,
naive and ignorant.
¹⁴ She sits by the door of her house,
on a bench at the highest place in the city,

¹⁵ Crooning to passersby
who hurry straight on to their destinations:

¹⁶ Whoever is young and gullible, turn in here.
You are welcome in this place!

Then, she turns to the naive.

¹⁷ Stolen water tastes so much sweeter!
Bread secreted away is much more satisfying to eat!

¹⁸ But those who pause to listen to Lady Folly do not know death is the next stop,
that her guests are walking cadavers.

That will conclude our exploration of Proverbs 9. You need to choose Lady Wisdom and not Lady Folly. You need to follow the precepts that God has written to us from the Bible, which is His letter of instruction to us as bearers of His image.

Next week we will begin a new section in Proverbs that dive right into the heart of Solomon’s wisdom with Chapter 10, and each week we will explore a full chapter in Proverbs. I hope that you will join us each week so that you can gain wisdom, insight, and understanding for yourself.

All of the Proverbs provide us with rich wisdom, insight, and understanding on a myriad of life issues. Regardless of where you are in your faith walk, if you follow the precepts in Proverbs, your life will be rich and satisfying. I encourage you to take them and plant the seeds of wisdom in your heart so that you will reap a harvest of wisdom throughout your life.

Tomorrow we will hike another short trail of Wisdom Unplugged where we will discover an inspirational wisdom quote. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our trek for today.  If you would like to listen to any of our past treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe at iTunes or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you in through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!