angela hormberg

Tag: Folly

  • Proverbs Chapter 9

    Proverbs Chapter 9

    Commonplace –

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

    Proverbs 9 is the culmination of Solomon’s plea for readers to embrace wisdom. He describes wisdom and compares her with the foolish woman; Wisdom cries upon the high places and declares that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the holy is understanding” (v.10) , while folly loudly declares at her own doorstep that “stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten is secret is pleasant” (v.17). The result of following wisdom is long life (v.12), and the result of following folly is death and hell (v.18).

    In his introduction to Proverbs 9, Matthew Henry shares the following:

    “Christ and sin are rivals for the soul of man, and here we are told how they both make their court to it, to have the innermost and uppermost place in it. The design of this representation is to set before us life and death, good and evil; and there needs no more than a fair stating of the case to determine us which of those to choose, and surrender our hearts to. They are both brought in making entertainment for the soul, and inviting it to accept of the entertainment, concerning both we are told what the issue will be; and, the matter being thus laid before us, let us consider, take advice and speak our minds. And we are therefore concerned to put a value upon our own souls, because we see there is such striving for them” (686).

    In his summary, Henry gets to the heart of Proverbs 9. Solomon does set the scene well. Wisdom prepares her home with seven pillars, kills the beast, which will be served, prepares the wine and the table; it is a hospitable and welcoming scene. Then, she sends out her handmaids to call in the guests. Her message is how to get wisdom and understanding: fear the Lord. In contrast, folly is loud and boisterous as she sits at the door of her house, and her only preparation is her enticement to the simple to partake in stealing and secrecy, while inside her home is death and hell.

    Solomon opens Proverbs 9 with the following verse:

    “Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars” (v.1).

    What these seven pillars are we are not told directly, but there is speculation. Some believe they are a reference to: the fear of the Lord, knowledge, understanding, discretion, counsel, correction, and instruction. Henry makes the following reference related to the seven pillars: “Some reckon the schools of the prophets to be here intended” (687).

    I really like what Hebrew4Christians.com has to say about today’s chosen commonplace, Proverbs 9:10.

    “The scriptures declare that the starting point for wisdom is not to be found in speculative or abstract reasoning, but in understanding that a personal, holy, and righteous God has give us absolute imperative to love and do justly (see Mark 12:28-31). That is we are truly wise when we reverentially submit our lives to God in obedience to His commandments” (“Binah”).

    Works Cited

    “Binah”. Hebrew4Christians.com, John J. Parsons. https://hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Binah/Printer_Version/printer_version.html. Accessed 9 Dec 2025.

    Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 9.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Proverbs Chapter 1

    Proverbs Chapter 1

    Commonplace –

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

    As noted by Matthew Henry, “the first nine chapters of [Proverbs] are reckoned as a preface, by way of exhortation to the study and practice of wisdom’s rules, and caution against those things that would hinder therein” (648).

    Chapter 1 begins with Solomon introducing himself, “the son of David, king of Israel” (v.1). He then offers the following objectives of the text:

    1. “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding” (v.2);
    2. “To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;” (v.3);
    3. “To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion (v.4)”.

    The profit to those who heed the wise counsel offered is safe dwelling and “quiet from fear of evil” (v.33).

    Also within Proverbs 1, Solomon compares the call of wisdom vs. folly, which echoes the opening of David’s Psalm 1, which compares the path of good vs. evil. The call of folly sounds like sinners conspiring with you to join them as they hide and lay in wait for an innocent victim, who has not caused them any harm, intent on destroying their victims by, essentially, burying them alive. These are people who run toward evil and are in a hurry to harm others. The fate of the evildoer is fear, destruction, distress, and anguish.

    The call of wisdom is very different from the call of evil. Unlike evil who hides and lurks, wisdom is out in the open, spreading her message loudly in the streets. She asks thought provoking questions to the crowds around her. How long will you remain simple? How long will you delight in scorning? How long will you hate knowledge? Wisdom offers to pour herself into her listener, allowing the hearer to understand all she reveals. The fate of those who seek wisdom is safe dwelling and a quiet spirit, free “from fear of evil” (v.33).

      Works Cited

      Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 1.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

      Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

      © 2025 Angela Hormberg, LLC