The TWO forces: Woman VS Wisdom

I came across an interesting idea in the book of proverbs chapter 9. It is quite an interesting view the preacher or the wise one provides as a piece of advice out of the many. He compares wisdom and woman in a rather subtle way. I will try to dive into that today. The story goes like this:

Wisdom has built her house, she has carved out her seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maidens, and cries from the highest places of the city, "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him, "Come, eat some of my bread, drink some of the wine which I have mixed! Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding."...The foolish woman is loud, undisciplined, and knows nothing. She sits in the high places of the city, to call to those who pass by, who go straight on their ways, "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here." As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him, "Stolen water is sweet. Food eaten in secret is pleasant." But he doesn't know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

He (the advisor, Solomon) states that wisdom shouts out to call on to a feast. In his own words, it rather says cries from the highest of places. He refers to wisdom as a “she” and goes on to say that she has made her house and prepared all the food and drinks. She calls on, “Whoever is simple” and “whomever void of understanding” to come to her feast and eat from her table. She tells them to leave their old ways and then goes on to say to come and live in the walks of understanding.

As the verses go down, it then again brings to us another woman. He states that this is a foolish woman, who is loud, undisciplined, and knows nothing. Subsequently, in the same way, that wisdom has called out to those who are simple and void of understanding to come to her, she does too. 

Now, this had me questioning why wisdom and this woman, a rather foolish woman, called out to those men and offered them their services. Could there be any point to all this? What does the old thoughtful man have that we need to understand?

I am no expert in the field of theology or scripture for those wondering but I am just as curious as it gets. 

So, let’s break it down, both are hosts in this scenario, and both called out to a particular group of people. Their services seem to be dependent on the fact that these men be simple and void of understanding. Why? I figure these men seem to be more of use and have at their disposal an abundance of time. Hence, they could spend time in their presence and feast on their tables. All these seem to have a purpose or rather seem to be a persuasion to achieve a certain goal. What could be that goal?

Wisdom here needed a clean slate or a cup that was empty to pour into it from the abundant source that she seems to have. She asked the simple and void of understanding to come to her and leave their simple ways and walk in the ways of understanding. She calls to give them understanding and move them out of the oblivion that they seem to be living in.

The simple ways, she says here for me, is the way of life in which a person lives in indifference. Simple in this case doesn’t mean in the minimalist approach to life or the life of moderation but in the life of ignorance and deliberate neglect of the reality in which we live. These men look as if they are wandering along in the city looking for the next set of recreational pursuits and endeavors. That’s why she sent her maids out into the city to grab their attention and I also think that the way she planned it out into a feast is a very intelligent way of hosting these groups of men. I think it would have been thought by them to be very boring if she had just called on them to have a talk or dialogue. It says that she has even mixed-up wine for them to drink. Quiet the party I would say. She wanted to correct their ways of life; her goal was to shift them from their void understanding to a walk of understanding. I figure she wanted to spark inspiration in the short amount of time she has them in her presence.

On the other hand, the second woman wanted this group of men to keep them at their current state of condition, to manipulate them, use them and keep them in her presence for the cheap attention she wants to receive. It says that this is a foolish woman who is loud, undisciplined, and knows nothing. She sits and opens her house, sits in the highest of places in the city, and seeks the attention she wants to have. She doesn’t seem to need any preparation for the men that are to come to her. She tries to seduce them by giving them a sense of adventure and telling them that stolen water is sweet and food eaten in secret is pleasant. She does not offer these men the feast that the first woman does but intends to do so by pushing them into theft and misdeeds.

This here is the difference between the two women, one is calling out to men to improve their way of life and invest a significant amount of time and money to accommodate them. The other, however, just strives for what she is to receive and in return hands out the hope of some sexual engagement. She is loud and sits at the highest of places in the city, an attention seeker who is striving to make as much of a follower as she can.

These two paths are the major battles we face in our current times. We are bombarded with means of getting instant gratification, filled with many loud Ads which are visible in the highest of places (for us today-social media). Making us live this life of conformity, a life of following the masses, a life simple and void of understanding. It doesn’t necessarily be a woman or man in our case but an equal replacement that are the distraction from the way of understanding that we are meant to live.

There is a whole lot of information to be gathered from this story and I hope I have put some light on it. If you want a part two of this, let me know in the comment sections.