Proverbs 9 Commentary

Solomon describes Lady Wisdom’s efforts to construct a sturdy dwelling and invites us all to dwell there with her.

Wisdom calls out to the naïve and the fools, inviting them to the table she has prepared.

There are two ways to respond to the correction and teaching of Wisdom. The first is to scoff and the second is to accept and apply. Which reaction we choose reveals which path we have chosen.

Solomon is setting the stakes for the two life paths we can follow—wisdom or wickedness. Life or death. At the hinge of his presentation, he returns to one of the cornerstones of the path of wisdom: the fear of God.

Folly’s strategies are meant to deceive and confuse, but the differences in messaging show that folly is the way to death and only wisdom is the path of life.