Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Proverbs 7-9
Proverbs 9:1
Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
The house in which wisdom dwells is an allegory. An allegory is “A figurative sentence or discourse, in which the principal subject is described by another subject resembling it in its properties and circumstances.” (Websters 1828 dictionary). In today’s assigned reading there are three houses mentioned. Consider all three.
The man who is writing to his son spoke of the window of his house in 7:6. From that vantage point he saw the strange woman’s house in 7:8. Then, in 9:1, wisdom proclaims that she has built her house. The good father that loves his son is doing all he can to warn his son of the strange woman’s house and to teach him about the house of wisdom that is so grand that it has seven great pillars. The first two houses are physical and allegorical, the third, wisdom’s house, is purely allegorical.
The father’s house is a place of safety. The strange woman’s house is a place of extreme danger to the body and soul. Wisdom’s house is the place of understanding. Which, to this writer, is the overall theme of Proverbs. Understanding. For Proverbs is a book unique from all others but at the same time similar to all others. It is filled with short concise teachings that makes it unique. But like all the other books its overall purpose is our Heavenly Father’s attempt to give His children understanding. Which is both physical and spiritual. That understanding is found in obtaining, retaining and maintaining wisdom.
Notice the problem the young man had as found in verse 7:7. …I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding. This young man’s problem was not that he was simple, it was that he was void of understanding. He was void of the wisdom that grows from understanding. Being simple is an absence of complexity. Wisdom however is complex. Young men are often simple in that they focus on one thing rather than considering all things. The young man that visited the strange woman’s house never considered the complication of such a decision. He was singularly focused on pleasure. Yet, as the reader of these chapters knows, his decision resulted in dire consequences. The loving father is hoping to use that young man’s story to give his son understanding through wisdom.
Wisdom and understanding are used 24 times in the same verses throughout Proverbs. They are also mentioned together another 29 times in 14 other books of the Bible. They seem to be inexorably tied. Understanding teaches wisdom and wisdom enhances understanding. But neither can be obtained without first being taught. Psalm 19:7 conveys this, The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. If a person desires wisdom, she can be found in the pages of God’s Holy Word, for His Word is His Way of giving wisdom to all His children. It has been said that some gain experience through their own mistakes and some find wisdom in the mistakes of others. The father in his house is hoping to teach his son wisdom for his own house, by telling the story of another young man and the strange woman’s house.
Dr. William T. Howe
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