Proverbs 9:1-6

 

Prov 9:1 (KJB)

Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:

 

Builded - Established

Hewn - Cut out or dug out

 

Here is one of those verses which give us a good insight into the practical end of wisdom. First of all, in the wisdom of God, all the physical creation was made. Secondly, after the creation was made, in the wisdom of God, He made mankind. Thirdly, He knew that man would fall into sin and then He brought forth His plan of salvation to redeem a multitude of people. In wisdom, this is called the house of God. (Heb 10:20-21 KJV) By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; {21} And having an high priest over the house of God; The Lord Jesus Christ would come to earth and die for those He planned to save and this group would come to be known as God’s House as we read in Hebrews 10:20-21 that the Lord Jesus Christ is not only the Savior of the house of God but He is also the High Priest over it. Then the verse goes on to say that she had hewn out her seven pillars. Seven is the number of sufficiency and completion which means the seven pillars that wisdom has hewn out is the body of believers which will soon be completed on the last day when the last one becomes saved and then the seven pillars will be complete, that is, the body of believers will be completed.

 

Prov 9:2 (KJB)

She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.

 

Furnished - To prepare, to arrange, or set in order

 

Here we see wisdom in a little different light. She is portrayed as a great banquet which is being prepared for those who will attend and understand wisdom. (Psa 23:5 KJV) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. David saw a great feast which the Lord had prepared for Him. It was not a feast of physical food but a feast of spiritual food. Notice the table is prepared in the presence of his enemies, just as the table of the Lord is prepared in the presence of our enemies. The enemy of the believer is the unbeliever. The unbeliever is still in Satan’s kingdom and that makes them our spiritual enemy, even if they are physically our friends. If you have unsaved friends, start talking about the Lord Jesus Christ and see how fast they run away. In ancient cultures, many times water was mixed with wine to make it a little more agreeable to the taste and this is what mingling the wine was. (Song 2:4 KJV) He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. The Lord draws us to that great banquet of salvation and then mingles the wine, which is a figure of the Holy Spirit, with our mortal bodies and as a result we become regenerated and then we go out and invite others to the banquet.

 

(Luke 14:17-23 KJV) And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. {18} And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. {19} And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. {20} And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. {21} So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. {22} And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. {23} And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

 

The scene in Luke 14:17-23 is the sending forth of the Gospel and as we see those who are not the Elect of God are tied to the things of this world and have every excuse as to why they cannot come to the feast of salvation prepared for the Elect of God. Once the last day arrives the feast will be ended and salvation will be ended and the only thing left for the unbeliever will be to look for judgment and damnation.

 

Prov 9:3 (KJB)

She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,

 

Crieth - Call or proclaim

 

Here is Wisdom sending forth her maidens and proclaiming the Gospel to all who have been qualified to hear and understand. Unlike the harlot who keeps her cries very low to her intended victim, Wisdom proclaims itself to all in the highest places, or the most populated places in the town. We can even expand that and say that the city could also be the world in that the Gospel goes forth to the entire world and then the end shall come. (Mark 16:15 KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Wisdom, in the form of the Gospel, is sent to the entire world and only in this manner, when all the Elect of God are saved, then the banquet will be full and the seven pillars will have been completely hewn out. Where are they hewn out of? The Elect of God are hewn out of all the people of the world, just as a few trees are hewn out of an entire forest.

 

Prov 9:4 (KJB)

Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

 

Simple - Conveys the idea of young or naïve

Wanteth - Lacking

Understanding - Discernment or heart

 

The wisdom of God can fix two ingrained conditions which seems to pervade the time that we live in as well as the time Solomon lived in. First, wisdom holds out an invitation to those who are young or naïve. When a person is young, that is the time to begin their training in the wisdom of God. (Prov 22:6 KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. A young child is still malleable and can go in either direction. When the parents teach a child the wisdom of God, they will start life out on a sure footing and if they continue on that path, they will live their whole life in the wisdom of God. Not saying they will never make a mistake, but when they do, they can quickly rely on Wisdom to repair that breach. Secondly, wisdom holds out the invitation for those who lack discernment. This can a be a person of any age. True Godly wisdom can repair the breaches of lack of discernment for anyone. If a person seems to be in want of true understanding, then wisdom is the very way to gain understanding in every situation.

 

Prov 9:5 (KJB)

Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.

 

In total opposition of the stolen waters and bread eaten in secret which is sinful. (Prov 9:17 KJV) Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. The end of this chapter will contrast the true bread of wisdom which is given in public because it is pure and not sinful, unlike the sinfulness of the harlot who does everything in secret. Wisdom has nothing to hide but everything to offer. The harlot has nothing to offer but everything to hide. True Godly wisdom wants to draw people out of the sinful ways of the world and bring them into the house of God where they will never lack wisdom or any good thing. The feast is now ready and will be ready and waiting until the doors shut on the last day.

 

Prov 9:6 (KJB)

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

 

Forsake - Leave or abandon

 

This is the second half of the invitation in verse six. As we eat the bread of wisdom, we are to abandon the life of the fool which only leads to destruction. We are not to live in wisdom and then try to live in the world with all its folly. The principle of put off and put on is also found in Ephesians 4. (Eph 4:22-24 KJV) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; {23} And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; {24} And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. As we continue to grow in wisdom, we continue to put off more of the world because wisdom shows us the pitfalls of the world system. It does no good to try and live two lives because then we wind up as a double minded individual and we would not be able to experience the peace of God in our lives. So we must put on the new man of wisdom and put off the old man of the old nature. Once we do that, the way of understanding opens very wide to us and then we live in that understanding, and it becomes much easier to reject the ways of the world which will result in a stable Christian walk.

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