”The Folly of Rejecting Wisdom”

(Proverbs 1: 20-33)

Introduction: Thus far in the book of Proverbs we have seen that God has
given us this book in order to understand how we are to live in His covenant
community. It is a book of instruction and discipline which is directed
both to young and old alike. It is a book which applies God’s Ten
Commandments to all areas of life in a very practical way. We have also
seen where all God-glorifying knowledge is to begin, the starting point
apart from which everything we do and know will only end in destruction,
namely, the fear of God. The fear of the Lord is a necessary element to
your Christian experience. For if you do not fear Him, you will certainly
turn a deaf ear to His commands. This week, Solomon gives to us a very
sober warning against ever turning away from the knowledge and wisdom of
God.
Those of you who have read the book Pilgrim’s Progress know that the
book is full of vivid imagery and analogy. Bunyon has a very precious way
of bringing to life the very evils we fight against and the virtues that we
seek to inculcate in our lives in characters that you can easily relate to.
But Bunyon was not the first to use such imagery. It is laced throughout
the Bible. Our Lord often used it in His parables. And we find a large
amount of it in the poetical and proverbial portions of Scripture as well.
In our passage this morning, Solomon uses such imagery by picturing the
wisdom that he seeks to teach us as a woman. This woman is very precious
indeed. She is a woman to be embraced. She is a woman to be sought after
at all costs. Later in the book he will introduce us to another woman who
is to be avoided like the plague: the woman with a black heart who will
seek to lead you into an early grave. Her paths lead to Sheol. Falling
into her snare is like falling into a bottomless pit from which you will
never escape. But not so with lady wisdom. All her paths lead to life;
riches and honor are in her house, ”AND HAPPY ARE ALL WHO HOLD HER FAST”
(Prov. 3 : 1 8 ) .
This morning, I want you to see that this woman, this heavenly lady of
God’s courts, is calling to you to listen to her. And her message is simply
this,

Embrace wisdom with all your heart and learn her ways, for if you do
not, she will not deliver you in the day of your calamity.
First I want you to see that she is calling for you to listen;
secondly, there is danger in refusing to listen to her voice; and
thirdly, there is blessing promised to you if you will heed it.

I. First, Recognize that God’s Wisdom Is Calling to Each of You Here This
Morning (w. 20-23).
A. It Is from Within the Church that Her Voice Is Heard and from There
Is Extends Outside the Church (w. 20-21).
1 . You must never forget that the Bible is the possession of the
covenant community of God. It was not given to the world at
1arge.
a. In Romans, after Paul had shown that both Jews and Gentiles
were all under sin, he raised the question, ”THEN WHAT
ADVANTAGE HAS THE JEW? OR WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF
CIRCUMCISION? GREAT IN EVERY RESPECT. FIRST OF ALL, THAT
THEY WERE ENTRUSTED WITH THE ORACLES OF GOD” (3:1-2).
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b. T h e revelation o f G o d ’ s nature a n d o f H i s w i l l w a s e n t r u s t e d
t o the church. I t w a s a p r i z e d p o s s e s s i o n , f o r the
k n o w l e d g e o f G o d ’ s s a l v a t i o n i s b e y o n d value.
c. T h e s a m e i s true o f the New T e s t a m e n t church a s w e l l . T o i t
i s e n t r u s t e d the Word o f God. P a u l w r o t e t o T i m o t h y , ” I AM
WRITING THESE THINGS TO YOU, HOPING TO COME TO YOU BEFORE
LONG; BUT IN CASE I AM DELAYED, I WRITE SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW
HOW ONE OUGHT TO CONDUCT HIMSELF IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD,
WHICH I S THE CHURCH OF THE L I V I N G GOD, THE PILLAR AND
SUPPORT OF THE TRUTH” ( 1 T i m . 3: 1 4 - 1 5 ) .
d. U n b e l i e v e r s m a y p o s s e s s c o p i e s o f the S c r i p t u r e s . B u t i t i s
the p e c u l i a r treasure a n d r i g h t f u l p o s s e s s i o n o f the church,
w h i c h she i s t o p r o c l a i m i n t h i s w o r l d .

2. T h e voice o f w i s d o m , then, i s h e a r d i n the church through the

S c r i p t u r e s , a n d w h e r e v e r the church w i l l p r o c l a i m t h a t m e s s a g e .
a. i n I s r a e l , the o n l y p l a c e i t w a s h e a r d w a s i n the h o u s e h o l d
o f God, the n a t i o n o f I s r a e l . O n l y those w h o c a m e there
c o u l d hear o f G o d ’ s w i s d o m . O u t s i d e there w a s o n l y the
l i g h t o f nature, w i t h i n , i n their conscience, a n d w i t h o u t ,
i n the creation, t o bear w i t n e s s t o t h e m o f God.
b. B u t n o w t h a t the L o r d h a s given the Word o f H i s command t o
H i s church t o , ”GO . . . AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL THE
NATIONS” ( M a t t . 2 8 : 1 9 ) , the church i s t o take t h i s Word o f
w i s d o m t o a l l o u t s i d e o f i t s confines.
C. T h i s m e s s a g e i s f i r s t d e c l a r e d i n the w o r d o f H i s
revelation; i t i s secondly taught t o the p e o p l e o f God; and
then i t i s t o be taken o u t s i d e t o those i n d a r k n e s s i n o r d e r
t h a t t h e y m i g h t hear a n d be s a v e d .
d . And so l a d y w i s d o m i s c a l l i n g p r i m a r i l y w i t h i n the church,
but her voice i s a l s o h e a r d through the church t o those
outside.

B. And Her Message I s V e r y C l e a r : ” T u r n t o My R e p r o o f , a n d I W i l l

T e a c h Y o u Knowledge” (w. 22- 23).
1 . Her m e s s a g e i s not f o r those o f you w h o a r e w e l l , but f o r those o f
you w h o a r e sick. T o those P h a r i s e e s w h o thought t h e m s e l v e s t o be
righteous i n t h e m s e l v e s , J e s u s s a i d , ” I T I S NOT THOSE WHO ARE WELL
WHO NEED A PHYSICIAN, BUT THOSE WHO ARE SICK. I HAVE NOT COME TO
CALL THE RIGHTEOUS BUT SINNERS TO REPENTANCE” ( L u k e 5 : 3 1 - 3 2 ) .
2. Her m e s s a g e , then, i s f o r those o f you w h o a r e sick, t o those o f
you w h o f a l l i n t o the f o l l o w i n g g r o u p s o f i n d i v i d u a l s w h o f o r one
reason or another f i n d s o m e t h i n g d i s t a s t e f u l about G o d ’ s w i s d o m .
a. T o you w h o a r e the naive or s i m p l e ones, she s a y s , ”HOW
LONG, O SIMPLE ONES, WILL YOU LOVE SIMPLICITY?”
( i ) T h e r e a r e those w h o a r e s i m p l e f r o m birth. T h e L o r d d i d
not g i v e t o t h e m the e q u i p m e n t t o u n d e r s t a n d much o f
G o d ’ s truth. T h i s i s not p r i m a r i l y a d d r e s s e d t o t h e m .
( i i ) B u t there a r e a l s o those w h o a r e naive, either because
t h e y think i t i s a virtue t o be so, or because t h e y
d e s p i s e the k n o w l e d g e o f God i n their hearts.
(iii) A s w e s a i d b e f o r e , s o m e think i t i s g o d l y t o be
ignorant. T h e y take the p a s s a g e , ”KNOWLEDGE MAKES
ARROGANT, BUT LOVE EDIFIES” ( 1 C o r . 8 : 1 ) , t o m e a n t h a t
w e ought not t o r e a d a n d s t u d y the Word o f God,
f o r g e t t i n g t h a t the context i s o n l y s p e a k i n g about the
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kind of knowledge used to destroy weaker brethren, and

forgetting that the Lord exhorts His people to grow in
knowledge. Peter wrote, ”BUT GROW IN THE GRACE AND
KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST” ( 2 Peter
3:18). All of us fall into this category to one degree
or another.
(iv) But there are yet many more, some within the church,
but a much greater majority outside, who are still
darkened in their hearts, who will not come that they
may learn, but who hate and seek to drive out of their
minds the wisdom of God. Her message is directed to
them.

b. But there are also those who scoff at God’s wisdom. To you,
she says, ”How long, O scoffers, will you delight yourself
in scoffing?”
(i) The scoffer makes fun of the word. He delights to try
and disprove it. And he even takes pleasure in doing
exactly what it tells him that God hates.
(ii) Yes, it is possible for the regenerate to scoff to some
degree at God’s Word. Because we still have indwelling
sin, we sometimes think ourselves wiser than God. We
scoff at His Word and we do our own will.
(iii) But one who continually ridicules and rejects the Word
of God, understanding that it is His will, but refusing
to do it, is yet dead in his sins.
(iv) Wisdom’s message is also directed to them.

c. But there is a third category, that of the foolish. And to

you she says, ”How long, O fools, will you hate knowledge?”
The fool is the one who lacks sound judgment. But even
knowing where the truth of God is to be found, he still
refuses to seek after it. He hates knowledge.
Unbelievers are fools. Knowing that God exists, they
will not acknowledge Him or seek Him. ”THEY SAY TO
COD, ’DEPART FROM US! WE DO NOT EVEN DESIRE THE
KNOWLEDGE OF THY WAYS” (Job 21 : 14).
They do not even care that they are lost and on their
way to everlasting perdition. Bridges writes, ”If they
hate the knowledge of their lost condition, they
exclude all that follows upon it, to make them ’wise
unto salvation.’ Of other knowledge they have often
too much: mischievous, as keeping out better things;
giving them an evil eye, filling the soul with
darkness; making them ’hate the light, so that they
will not come to the light, lest their deeds should be
reproved.” ( J o h n , iii. 19, 20.) ( 9 ) .
And yes, it is even possible for one of God’s children
to play the fool for a time and reject God’s will. But
not fully, nor final1y.
Wisdom also lifts her voice to the foolish.

2. If you are in one of these categories this morning, Her message

to you is, ”TURN TO MY REPROOF, BEHOLD, I WILL POUR OUT MY
SPIRIT ON YOU; I WILL MAKE MY WORDS KNOWN TO YOU.”
a. She is saying, ”Give heed to my admonitions against your
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ignorance. Listen to what I have to teach you.”

(i) A teacher is only of any value if his or her pupils are
willing to listen and to learn.
(ii) If you are unwilling to hear for one reason or
another, then teaching will not profit you at all.
(iii) But this teacher comes to you with authority this
morning. She says, ”TURN TO MY REPROOF!” Listen to
what I am seeking to teach you. I want to turn you out
of the way of destruction. I want you to live.
b. If you are Christ’s here this morning, the Lord has already
given you His Spirit, and He is teaching you God’s wisdom.
You need to listen to Him and submit to His instruction.
c. But if you are without Christ this morning, then you are
like a man who is both deaf and blind cast out into a sea.
Those on the boat are calling to you to reach out and take
hold of the lifesaver. But you cannot hear, and you cannot
see. Your eyes must first be opened, and your ears
unstopped before you can hear the message that will save
your life. You do not yet see its beauty or its
desirabi1i ty.
(i) And so lady wisdom says to you, ”BEHOLD, I WILL POUR
OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON YOU, I WILL MAKE MY WORDS KNOWN TO
YOU.’y

(ii) It is the same promise of Christ to his followers,

TOME TO ME, ALL WHO ARE WEARY ANn HEAVY-LADEN, ANn I
WILL GIVE YOU REST” (Matt. 11:28).
(iii) If you are aware of your weariness under your load of
sin, if you are aware of your lack of knowledge and the
danger that you stand in of God’s impending judgment,
then listen to the reproof which wisdom offers you, and
come to Christ Jesus, and take His yoke upon you and
learn of Him.
(iv) You will find that it was only by God’s grace that you
were enabled to do so.

11. But If You Refuse to Listen to Her Warnings in these Days of Your
Prosperity, She Will Not Listen to You in the Days of Your Adversity
(VV. 24-32).
A. Wisdom Is Calling, But There Are Those of You Who Will Not Give Heed
to Her Voice (w. 24-25).
1 . She is calling to you; she is stretching out her hands to you.
a. God’s wisdom is speaking to you this morning through the
mouth of His ambassador.
b. The Savior is calling you through His Word, through His
benevolent dealings to you in life, and through your
conscience.

2. But perhaps some of you are refusing to listen.

a. You will not give heed to wisdom’s counsel; you do not want
her reproof.
b. The Lord says, ” I HAVE SPREAD OUT MY HANDS ALL DAY LONG TO A
REBELLIOUS PEOPLE, WHO WALK IN THE WAY WHICH IS NOT Goon,
FOLLOWING THEIR OWN THOUGHTS, A PEOPLE WHO CONTINUALLY
PROVOKE ME TO MY FACE” (Isa. 65:2-3).
c. But you might say, ”In what way have we done this? How have
we not given heed to what the Lord has spoken?”
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d. Knowing that apart from Christ you will certainly perish,

have you embraced Him?
e. Knowing that no one can come to Him who does not give up all
his own possessions, have you given them up to follow Him?
f. Knowing that you may only come to Him if you also surrender
your own life in this world to follow after Him and serve
Him with all your heart, have you done so?
g. Do you bach at any of His commandments? Do you try and
lessen your responsibility before the Lord, and lower His
requirements to meet your desires?
h. If so then you tempt the Lord. You have never been born
from above.
i. You need to listen to what God’s wisdom is saying to you
this morning. You need to give heed to her admonitions.

B. If You Do Not Listen to Her Now While You Have the Opportunity, She
Will Turn a Deaf Ear to You When Your Judgment Comes (w. 26-32).
1 . She says she will laugh when you reap the consequences of your
foolishness (w. 26-28). ”BECAUSE I CALLED AND YOU REFUSED; I
STRETCHED OUT MAY HAND, AND NO ONE PAID ATTENTION; AND YOU
NEGLECTED ALL MY COUNSEL, AND DID NOT WANT MY REPROOF; I WILL
EVEN LAUGH AT YOUR CALAMITY; I WILL MOCK WHEN YOUR DREAD COMES,
WHEN YOUR DREAD COMES LIM A STORM, AND YOUR CALAMITY COMES ON
L I M A WHIRLWIND, WHEN DISTRESS AND ANGUISH COME ON YOU.”
2. If you seek after her then, it will be too late; she will not
answer, and you will not find her (v. 28-30). ”THEN THEY WILL
CALL ON ME, BUT I WILL NOT ANSWER; THEY WILL SEEK ME DILIGENTLY,
BUT THEY SHALL NOT FIND ME, BECAUSE THEY HATED KNOWLEDGE, AND
DID NOT CHOOSE THE FEAR OF THE LORD. THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY
COUNSEL, THEY SPURNED ALL MY REPROOF.”
3. She will leave you to reap the fruits of your own actions, and
you will be filled up with the consequences of your own ways
(w. 31-32). She says, ”SO THEY SHALL EAT OF THE FRUIT OF THEIR
OWN WAY, AND BE SATIATED WITH THEIR OWN DEVICES. FOR THE
WAYWARDNESS OF THE NAIVE SHALL KILL THEM, ANn THE COMPLACENCY OF
FOOLS SHALL DESTROY THEM.”
4. The Lord is kind and good unto all, but there is coming a day when
the door of His grace will be forever shut to you. Bridges
writes, ”The Savior calls by His word, his providence, his
ministers, conscience. But ye refused. Not till his calls have
been refused, does he thunder forth his warnings. But such grace,
so rich and free, yet rejected -- who can take the guage [sic] of
this guilt? All creatures beside are his servants. [Ps. cxix.
91.) Man alone resists his yoke. He stretched out his hand [Isa.
lxv. 2 ) to afford help; to confer a blessing; to beseech its
acceptance; yea, even to command attention to his call. [See
Acts, xxi. 40) But no man regarded. The wisest counsel, the most
solemn reproof, all is set at nought. Thus does he ’endure with
much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.”
(Rom. ix. 22.1 But, 0 sinner! the day cometh, when he, who once
yearned, and wept, and prayed, and died, will have no pity [Ezek.
v. 11, viii. 18, with xxxiii. 1 1 1 ; when he shall be, as if he
laughed and mocked at your calamity [Comp. Judg. x. 14, Isa. i.
24); when he shall delight in the exercise of his sovereign
justice over you. (Comp. Deut. xxviii. 63. Ezek. v. 13.1 All
will then be the desolation of realized fear [Chap. x. 24);
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suddenly as a whirlwind; the distress and anguish of utter

despair. (Job, xv. 24. Dan. v. 5, 6, 30.1” [l0-111.
5. Now is the time of God’s mercy and grace. Now He is calling out
to you. Listen to Him while there is still time. Seek the Lord
while He may be found. A time is coming when the door of mercy
will be forever shut against you.

III. But Lastly, If You Will Listen to Her and Learn Her Ways, You Shall Be
Blessed (v. 3 3 ) .
A. Those of You Who Have Received the Grace of God Will Be This Lady’s
Consorts.
1 . There is no better companion for you through life than this
precious wisdom.
2. She will be your life-long friend and will lead you into the
riches of God’s grace.
3 . She will teach you not only what you are to do, but show you how
to do it that you might best honor and glorify her Lord.
4. If you will receive her and walk with her and do what she
commands, then realize that there is a precious blessing here
for you.

B. ”BUT HE WHO LISTENS TO ME SHALL LIVE SECURELY, mn SHALL BE AT EASE

FROM THE nmm OF EVIL.”
1. David was able to lie down and sleep even in the worst
situations because he had taken refuge in the Lord ( P s . 3 ) .
2. Noah, when judgment came upon the world, was kept safe in the ark
because he trusted his Lord (Gen. 6).
3 . Are you trusting in the Lord this morning? Are you listening to
His wisdom, and are you being schooled in His knowledge? And
more importantly, are you practicing what you have learned?
4. If you can honestly say ”yes”, then you are under His wings in a
place of safety, you are dwelling where you will have no fear of
evil. As Bridges wrote, ”Thou shalt behold the world on fire,
and feel thou hast lost, thou canst lose, nothing. The ’day of
darkness and gloominess’ will be to thee a day of unclouded
sunshine, the entrance into everlasting joy” (13). People of
God, listen to what wisdom speaks to you, do it with all your
heart, and then rest secure in the everlasting arms of God.
Amen.