Proverbs 9:7 Commentary and Bible Study

Verses 7-9 seem to be a little out of place. You have the maidens of wisdom, and wisdom herself appealing and preaching. And now from verses 7-9, there seems to be a kind of aside, in which two or three proverbs are given, or wisdom speaks to herself. But what is happening here is that in these verses wisdom is stating her position, and when we preach for Christ, when we witness, we must state our position. The church makes its position clear. ‘He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.’ The Hebrew is ‘a stain’, on his reputation. It stands no doubt for scorn and derision. Just as a blot or a stain will bring a garment into disrepute, and make it unwearable, turning it into something disgusting or unpleasant, so if you rebuke a wicked person, you become unwanted, an object of derision; you become one cast aside. Wisdom is stating her position. She knows what is going to happen to her, for calling people into this separate house, for calling people out of the world, and to the wisdom of God. She knows that the scorners and the wicked will have no time for her. But that does not concern her; she is going to do it anyway. ‘Let me make my position clear,’ says wisdom, speaking for herself, and her maidens, ‘I am not after universal popularity, I am not here to win the world, I am not here to get everyone. I know that to declare these things, to explain these truths, is going to make enemies; it is going to bring derision, and scorn from so many people. I am aware of that.’