“The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, ‘Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!’ And to him who lacks sense she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.” Proverbs 9:13-18
How should we understand this passage of Scripture? That’s the question that should be forever on the lips of the redeemed. “What does the Scripture say?” That’s the way to life – the way to knowledge of God, which is the purpose of life, after all – to know God.
And here’s the key to the passage. Proverbs makes a point of contrasting wisdom with foolishness. True wisdom is in the knowledge of God and this knowledge, informed by Scripture, tells us of our terrible plight before him, our vast need, and his wonderful provision for us in Christ. Thus, knowledge of God is the beginning of wisdom in that it informs us as to ourselves and the world around us.
Ah, but the woman Folly, here seen as the personification of man’s insistence on going his own way, is loud and seductive. Christ is humble and meek but the world is flashy and promises riches and wisdom without the reality of sin and the cross. Indeed, the cross is folly to those who are wise in their own eyes. The woman Folly offers us the conformity to the world – she’s the carrot the Enemy uses to lure the simple to destruction. The simple are those who are “leaving their options open.” They think they’re moral free agents. They say things like, “who can really know?” But they’re walking through the battlefield that is planet earth and they’re easy prey for this woman, Folly.
She has the media. She has the halls of power. She has the pride of life and all the riches of fame and pleasure. She’s a click away on the computer, promising “stolen waters” and “sin in secret” where no one can see. She says, “you will surely not die.” The simple, therefore, is like a skiff floating along on the tumultuous seas of life, drifting into a battle zone. The Christian life, as Gabe Fluhrer said once, isn’t a cruise ship, but a battleship. Lady Folly is calling, she’s in the center of town, which is the center of man’s life, our business and our leisure. She says, “come…you can have what you want and there’s no price to pay because there’s no God. Surely, judgment won’t come.”
But what does the Scripture say? He (the simple) doesn’t know that the dead are there. This is what Jesus means about the man who builds his house without a foundation. It looks fine and lovely until the storm comes and then it’s too late. The wise person is the one who has Jesus Christ as their foundation and knows that the wages of sin are death. Wisdom teaches us to trust in the Lord, not the fleeting riches and fads of a world soon to pass away.
Are you simple? Are you the one that’s walking without commitment to the Lord? If you are, then you’re in a danger more grave than you can possibly fathom. You are no match for those tides that will consume you and you will not stand under the judgment of God. The simple are simple because they already have an awareness of God, which is supplied by nature (Psalm 19 and Romans 1:18). But this awareness is suppressed by sin and the hatred of God for being God, for being sovereign. Wisdom is the response to this awareness, the turning to Christ and the commitment to him. Folly is the result of thinking you don’t have to make the decision when, in fact, you must. The woman Folly calls to you every day, every hour. Nature and your conscience testifies to God.
Choose this day whom you will serve. Straight is the way and narrow is the path that leads to life. The path to destruction, with the woman Folly as your guide, is broad and padded with the alleged ease and comforts of the flesh. The thing is, should you choose to walk it, you will be dying with each step. You will be less of a man or woman, not more because sin degrades you. You will become more and more an irrational being that seeks only physical pleasures – some may be more refined than others, sure, but there will be no spiritual life, only the increasing shadow of death. All of that is a warning. Turn back. Run to Christ. Seek him and you will not be rejected. Submit to him and see that his yoke is easy. Yes, it’s a yoke; none of us are metaphysically free, but it’s easy and, in point of fact, beautiful. We are either slaves to sin, which dehumanizes us, makes us irrational beasts, or slaves to God, which restores us, saves us and gives us eternal life.
Resist the woman Folly. Don’t be conformed to her but be transformed by the renewal of your mind through the word of life. Do it now because right now counts forever. Do it now because Christ says, “riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.”
Believe Christ, not the Enemy; follow the Word, not the woman Folly.
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