Proverbs 9:1-18

9:7-12 | This section lies between two different kinds of invitations, each with its own destiny: wisdom’s banquet (9:1-6) or the way of folly (9:13-18). The wise person who sits at wisdom’s banquet will be still wiser because wisdom begets more wisdom.

9:10 | Again, Solomon states that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (1:7). Here, however, he explains the fear in terms of knowledge of the Holy One. For wise, skilled living in the world, God requires, above all, a right understanding of God’s holiness and a reverent submission to His ways (Ps. 111:10).

9:13-18 | The power of foolishness is presented here in the form of a seductress. She may be clever, acquainted with the ways of the world, and crafty, yet she is blind to spiritual realities. Her brazen ways and exciting (clamorous) talk may be persuasive, but persuasion does not equal permission in the Lord’s eyes. The fact that the woman admitted her pleasures (stolen water) were wrong should be the Christian’s signal to flee, no matter how tantalizing they may seem to the flesh.