The Way of Wisdom: A Study of the Book of ProverbsSample

(This day of study was written by Jen Wilkin.)

The book of Proverbs is structured like this:

• Chapters 1–9: Prologue
• Chapters 10–30: Collected Sayings
• Chapter 31: Epilogue

The prologue builds the framework by which we will understand the collected sayings that form the main portion of the book. These first 9 chapters also introduce us to four main characters: a father, a son, and two women who share nothing in common. From the father’s statements to his son we learn about Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly, two figurative women he uses to teach the benefit of pursuing wisdom and the peril of rejecting it. Each woman beckons the son to a path: one that leads to life, and one that leads to death. Just as in Solomon’s time, these same two paths lie before us today. We, too, should lean in to learn the way of wisdom.

Read Proverbs 1:1-7.

While chapters 1–9 form the prologue for the book as a whole, the first seven verses of chapter 1 serve as the “prologue to the prologue.” They state the purpose of the book using repetition in parallel statements. All paths begin somewhere. Today, we will look for the trailhead to the path of wisdom.

In Proverbs 1:7, we see the first contrast of the two paths that lie before all of us: Wisdom and Folly. These two paths will be explored throughout the rest of the book of Proverbs.

Take note of which path each phrase describes:

The Way of Wisdom: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”
The Way of Folly: “fools despise wisdom and discipline”

What does it mean to fear the Lord? Proverbs 8:13a says, “to fear the Lord is to hate evil.” So, we see that hating evil comes before the fear of the Lord, and the fear of the Lord leads to the beginning of knowledge. In summary: Hatred of evil is the beginning of the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom.

In Proverbs 1:20-21, we meet Lady Wisdom for the first time. In contrast to the enticing but ultimately destructive path of folly, Lady Wisdom beckons us to embrace discipline, discernment, and reverence for God, imploring us to see that the way of wisdom is the way of flourishing in God’s world.

Proverbs 1:20-33 is one of many passages in these first 9 chapters that teaches us about Lady Wisdom. In it we can make a few key observations:

1. Her name: “Wisdom”

2. Her words: words of caution and reproof: How long will fools hate knowledge? Seek me!

3. Her actions: she hides herself from those who seek her too late.

4. Her path’s end: “whoever listens to me will live securely” (v. 33)

Just as the father exhorts his son to pursue Lady Wisdom, he also warns him about another woman, one whose behavior and words stand in direct opposition to the first woman we have met. This adulterous woman is Folly personified, as Proverbs 9:13-18 will emphatically indicate. Using the analogies of sexual immorality and adultery, the father paints a compelling picture for his son, showing what awaits those who give in to the temptation of choosing the path of folly. Are these helpful passages for considering the dangers of sexual immorality? Certainly so. But they do far more than that when also viewed metaphorically, pointing us to the adulterous nature of all sin.

Though not explicitly named until chapter 9, Lady Folly is described to us in four parallel passages in chapters 2; 5; 7; and 9. Let’s look at some key observations from chapter 2:16-19.

1. Her name: the forbidden woman, the wayward woman

2. Her words: flattering talk

3. Her actions: abandons the companion of her youth/ forgets the covenant of her God

4. Her path’s end: “her house sinks down to death, and er ways to the land of departed spirits. None return who go to ger; none reach the paths of life.” (vv. 18-19)

Now that we have looked at each woman individually, it’s time to compare them. Chapter 9 intends to drive the comparisons we’ve already made home for us. It presents the two women in opposing language, demanding that we choose between them. The father is summarizing his plea to his son to choose well.

Proverbs 9:1-12 summarizes the persona of Lady Wisdom. She is depicted as butcher, bartender, hostess, and baker. Her invitation is warm and welcoming and the implication is that we should make wisdom our pursuit (v. 6). Meanwhile, Proverbs 9:13-18 describes Folly as “a rowdy woman; she is gullible and knows nothing” (v. 13). Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly are presented side by side, like two candidates on a ballot. The obvious conclusion this comparison should lead us to draw is that pursuing Lady Wisdom is a pursuit of life, while pursuing Lady Folly will lead to death.

Take a moment to consider: Which path are you following: that of Wisdom, or that of Folly? What is one step you can take this week to better live in light of the truths you’ve studied today?