Study Questions – Proverbs Week #8
Wisdom v Folly
Proverbs 9:1-18 (CGS#8)
INTRODUCTION: Proverbs chapter 9 is the conclusion of the opening section of the book. The first nine chapters were a discourse of a father to his sons. He implored them to heed wisdom’s call and to avoid the siren song of folly. To conclude his thoughts, this father once again compares and contrasts wisdom and folly. Lady wisdom and lady folly – just as we saw in Chapter 8, offer significantly different visions for life. I love the way that Tremper Longman expresses the importance of reading proverbs, he writes.
“Life isn’t easy. We may enjoy temporary rest from the battle, but no one is completely immune to the complexities of circumstances and relationships. These problems range from minor annoyances, such as getting called to jury duty at an inconvenient moment, to major disasters, such as a serious illness or a significant rupture in an intimate relationship. Sometimes we wake up in the morning and see the day as a series of obstacles to be avoided. We would love to be able to navigate life in a way that minimized the problems.
The Bible never suggests that the life of a follower of God will be devoid of problems. If anything, it says exactly the opposite. Life has its joys, but, according to 2 Corinthians 1:5 (“You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ”), even the joys are in the context of suffering. Unalloyed joy will come only in heaven. On this earth, we will have problems.
How do we handle life’s problems? How do we deal with difficult people or uncomfortable situations? What do we say and how do we act? How do we express our emotions? The Bible has a word to describe the person who navigates life well; that word is “wise.” A wise person lives life with boldness in spite of the inevitable difficulties.”[1]
Proverbs meets us in the thick of life. It speaks to the real things that we all experience. It calls us to live with wisdom. Wisdom is not merely intelligence, pure and simple. It does not necessarily exclude intelligence, but that is not the focus. Wisdom is, instead, rightly or correctly applied knowledge. We all know the difference between knowing and doing. It is entirely possible to know what the right thing is and fail or neglect to do it. Then, there are the accidental moments in our lives where we did the right thing but had no idea of what we were doing. Those tend to be few and far between. Wisdom, though, is not accidental. It is knowing what is right and doing what is right. This is why Proverbs will begin by telling us of the value of wisdom and what it saves us from. This kind of wisdom only finds its source in one place, God. So, we must lean into the Lord, or as Jesus says in John 15, abide in him. That is, stay close to him, see him rightly, and be willing to follow him in his commands and instructions. When we do this, it isn’t that we’ll be transported out of this world, but that we’ll be transformed to live differently and distinctively. Wisdom isn’t just good for our personal lives, but it is also good to demonstrate that God is loving, kind, and has our best in mind. So, we have to choose wisdom or folly?
GETTING STARTED – As a group, take time to answer this question. How do you experience every day the conflicting voices of wisdom and folly calling?
IN THE WORD – Let’s dig back into the passage(s). It is important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.
First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below. (O.P.A)
Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.
Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?
Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday- Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?
Note: Another way to approach your time together is to talk through the following questions.
- What did you hear God’s Spirit say to you through the passage this week? How does it encourage you? How does it sharpen you?
- Is there an image, word, or picture that stands out to you in the passage from this week, and what about it is powerful or helpful?
- We found the fear of the Lord at the center of chapter 9 and bookending chapters 1–9. Take time to sum up some of what you are learning about the fear of the Lord in Proverbs.
- The key question of Proverbs continues to be, “Are you teachable?” What are some qualities of teachable people that you’ve heard to this point in Proverbs? Hint – Consider the action words in the calls to wisdom and what heart postures they require.
- In what ways does the figure of Wisdom show you the blessings of salvation in Christ?
[1] Tremper Longman III, How to Read Proverbs (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002), 13–14.