Wisdom: The Mini Series. Part 2 - Adultery, Folly and Foolishness, oh my!

Semi-Organised thoughts on Proverbs

At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment. He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house...

Then out came a woman to meet him…Come let's drink deep of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with love. My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey…With pervasive words she led him astray, she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose…little knowing it will cost him his life…Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.

Solomon, like Mr T, pitied the fool. Whether Solomon is describing an actual event, or a collective road well traveled by men around him, there is lament in his heart at what he sees. Solomon dedicates Chapters 5 to 9 on adultery and folly, so I am thinking it weighed heavy on his heart. It’s my guess that he’s seen a number of men around him fall; not forgetting also that he is the son of David, remember the guy who had that nasty little incident with Bathsheba. I wonder if he knew about that too, and felt the shame that was caused in his family.

I have seen some friends go down the path of adultery, both real and virtual (online counts in this one too). I’ve seen the pain that this mistake makes to both sides of the marriage with some very close friends of mine a while back, as one partner took the marriage and threw it away. And while we are not to judge, but to embrace those around us who go through this, Proverbs is very clear about the consequences of these actions and very sadly I can testify I’ve seen these consequences come to pass in the lives of my friends, no matter how much support I gave them:

Keep a path far from her; do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel, lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man’s house….the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

Proverbs provides strong warning, but also great encouragement:

Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well…Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth…(some sexual bits)…may you ever be captivated by her love!

I love what Proverbs say about being corrected by wisdom:

Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; but rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.

What does this say about who we choose to rebuke? A fool won’t understand, he’ll pull away from you, you may lose a friend. But a wise man will see the error of his ways, he’ll realize the great mistake you are saving him from, and a greater friend you will find. But it provides a commentary on our heart also; how do I act when I’m corrected, what’s my reaction, is my heart grateful, or is my pride just hurt at having to be corrected and I should have known better: in fact I do know better, I was just doing this one little thing over here and its not really what it looks like, you’ve got it so wrong. And, look bro, you’ve got some serious plank-eye anyway, man I could tell you a few things about your life and see how you like it…..

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me you days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.

The more I read, the more I see that wisdom is not just a thing to have to help us make decisions about making lots of money, buying the right car and marrying the right girl, and after that we can put wisdom back in its box. No, it’s a way of life, a texture that permeates every aspect, like yeast in a dough. For if we are thinking and acting in the wisdom of the Lord, then surely the latitude for foolishness diminishes, and is not the latitude for self is diminished also.

So how do we get it? Maybe in Part 3 I’ll try and organize some thoughts about that.