SoCal Theologica: Musings from the West Coast

One of the most obvious realities within Proverbs is that the wise voice of the loving father has stiff competition, covenant-hostile voices. The father who urges his “son” to learn proverbs and sayings of the wise, to pursue wisdom, to unashamedly favor the voice of wisdom over other voices, to seek for and search for it as if it was of life changing inestimable value. He does this in the midst of other competing voices. Voices that are marked by a few characteristics.

First, as mentioned above, their appearance seems an inevitable reality.

Proverbs 1:7 (ESV) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The class of “fools,” who incidentally are not one of the groups of people to whom Proverbs is written, are a real set of people. They are and always will be around and engaging the prudent, the wise, as well as the morally unformed.

Second, they, the covenant-hostile voices, seem to have access to the “son” perhaps as much as the father does. This notion seems to appear in the father’s presentation of the group.

Proverbs 1:10-11 (ESV) My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. [11] If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason;

The writer expresses another group in the next chapter. These “men” are integral to the world in which the “son” lives and are defined by their disregard for covenant relationship and a delightful abandon in doing evil and sinful things. The delight may be secret or public. The important thing is that it is there and defines who these “men” really are.

Proverbs 2:12-15 (ESV)
delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
[13] who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
[14] who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
[15] men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.

The most prominent expression of the covenant-hostile competing voices appears several times throughout the first 9 chapters and provides us with our third point. These covenant-hostile voices are not altogether unattractive. In fact, they can be extremely provocative and alluring. The most obvious expression is the promiscuous woman. Chapter 2 introduces the reader to this provocative, sexy, and dangerous voice.

Proverbs 2:16-17 (ESV) So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, [17] who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;

We see the same woman again in chapters 5, 6, and 7 respectively. In chapter 5, this woman, like the father, has a voice.

Proverbs 5:3 (ESV) For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,

That voice is defined by sexy invigorating talk that, like all pornographic speech, seeks to elevate the listener’s sense of self. She will convince you that you are sexy, virile, still athletic, and undeniable. She will persuade you that you are every woman’s dream. In the end, the one who follows her speech will die.

Her danger appears no less in chapter 6. However, the writer provides the necessary competing speech that can repel her and bring life. One must understand the inherent value of the father’s teaching and commandments and respond to it. This and only this is an appropriate response that buttresses the “son” against the dangerous voice of this woman.

Proverbs 6:23-25 (ESV)
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, [24] to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. [25] Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;

Chapter 7 provides the reader a similar insight to the value and preciousness of wisdom, personifying it to be a trusted sister and insight as a competing intimate acquaintance.

Proverbs 7:4-5 (ESV)
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
[5] to keep you from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words.

The covenant-hostile competing voices are personified in chapter 9. Opposite of woman wisdom sits woman folly. She is most unimpressive and yet presents herself as a serious contender for the minds of those who cannot recognize her for her devastating capacity.

Proverbs 9:14-17 (ESV)
She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
[15] calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
[16] “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
[17] “Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

Another point to be made about these voices is that they, not wisdom, are the status quo in the world in which the son finds himself. Thus, he is called to be subversively sagastic. His wisdom will both undermind and redefine. The instruction of the father, driven and shaped by the fear of the Lord, will subvert and deconstruct the present “covenant-hostile” sense of who God is and how one is to perceive humanity. The son’s view is covenantal. It is rooted in YHWH’s power to deliver, framed by his steadfast covenant love and faithfulness, and focused on the hope of justice, righteousness, and equity. It demands an ethic that sees all humanity as precious and equally demands resultant action.