Proverbs 1:23, Standing at the Crossroads – Part II
January 12, Proverbs 1:23
Rom. 3:1-18; Acts 20:17-21 “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen” (Mt. 20:16).
Standing at the Crossroads – Part II
- The Prospect: These are the words of Christ, who, under the name Wisdom, is heard crying without, in the streets, in the opening of the gates. We may take this as the public preaching of the Word, by Christ Himself or His ministers. Yet, in spite of the open disregard and contempt for the message, God still displays His purpose of grace to sinners. Now there remedies are proposed (v.23), following the three questions of verse 22.
a. The Reversal: Turn… at my reproof. Is this proof that man can turn if and when he will and be saved, or can he be excused by saying he has no ability to repent? This is an all too common view of this passage, but a study of the context tells, we believe, a different story. The call to turn is not to repentance and conversion, as many think, but to turn to (le), to attend unto Wisdom’s reproof. Reproof indicates rebuke or counsel (both linked, vs.25, 30). Even sinful man can so turn. The tragedy arises not from an inability to obey this call, but because they persistently refuse to turn. They hated knowledge, treated with contempt every warning, despised all reproof, but they are not thereby free of responsibility for refusing the remedy of reversal at Wisdom’s Call (v.31).
b. The Renewal: Clearly there is no evidence of grace in those who are addressed here. They are depicted as the simple, the scorner, and the fool. The promise, I will pour out my spirit unto (la) is not the same as upon (‘al) in Isa. 44:3, Ez. 39:29, or Joel 2:28, as many commentators and preachers imply. In these latter passages the action refers to the extraordinary gifts or saving graces of the Spirit. The difference between upon and unto should not be ignored. Here spirit represents the mind of Wisdom, and the pouring out unto you brings the knowledge of it to men (Remedy 3), thus rendering all men without excuse, as Paul unmistakably teaches elsewhere. These calls may sometimes be sufficient to produce an external renewal or reformation, yet they are not sufficient in themselves to effect repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
c. The Referral: I will make known my words unto you. Who can grasp the inestimable blessing contained in this referral of sinners to the Word? We, sinful mortals, can have in our hands God’s precious, preserved Word, and in our own language. The tragedy of the you, spoken of here, is that they refused this referral to Wisdom’s words and continued to trust in their own wisdom. Does not the apostle Paul point to this referral when dealing with the Word-rejecting Jews (Rom. 3)? There is an external call by the ministry of the Word that may be resisted and become useless. This, undoubtedly, is the call referred to here. If we kept this distinction in mind, a lot of confusion on this critical point could be avoided. To make His Word known God must both give it and proclaim it, and He has. He also holds us responsible for His referral and our response to it.
Thought: “Man naturally is apt to crown anything but Christ” (Thomas Brooks).
Prayer: Lord, for the revival of strong Biblical, Spirit-anointed preaching.