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 4th 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,