It is one thing to laugh at someone going through misery and suffering. It is another thing alltogether to out and out not help someone who is going through the misery. 

Enter Proverbs 1:28-33. We looked at last week how wisdom was going to laugh and enjoy the misery and suffering to those who have rejected her. Now, not only will there be the sneering remarks and laughing, when those who are down and out in this misery reach out for help, we find that wisdom will not reach back! 

If we look at Proverbs 1:28, wisdom says they call, and she will not come to them. They are crying out for help, and wisdom just sits back. If that is not enough, in those moments, they also seek for wisdom. Wisdom will hide. 

This is a change from before. It was, in Proverbs 1:21 that she was in the open, able to be found, easy to be heard, reaching out, longing for the simple, foolish, mockers to reach back for her. But now, when they need her, she is hiding. Those in this misery are now left without help, without hope. We must ask the question, why? 

Proverbs 1:29 tells us why. Those who are in this position hated the knowledge that she was offering. But look at the last part of the verse. See the connection to Proverbs 1:7? It was said, all true wisdom and knowledge goes back to God and His existance. 

This is why we, as Christians, must be guarded against that which puffs itself up as knowledge. It is only knowledge in name only: 1 Timothy 6:20. This covers much. No matter the branch of study, if it does not arrive to God's feet in submission and humility, it is not wisdom. 

Evolution, is not wisdom or science. Humanistic theories are not wisdom. No matter how many degrees you may possess at the end of your title, if your wisdom has not caused you to bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ in submission and humility, it is not wisdom. That which is not wisdom is foolish. 

It is only in the fear of the Lord that wisdom can be found. Those who are now in this place of misery and hurt, though they call out for wisdom, they cannot find her because they have not first taken the step needed to find her. Repentance and confession to Jesus Christ. 

Instead, wisdom says they hated knowledge. Look at the world around us. In a country with a supposed majority Christian, true Christians are hated. True wisdom is hated. True knowledge is hated. Why then would Wisdom answer? Why would it reach back to help those who spit in her face? Hence she will let them wallow in their misery and pain. 

But as we see in Proverbs 1:30, it is also because those in this place dispised the advice and correction. Oh, we could go for hours here. A child that is given advice and ignores it is foolish. A child that rejects correction is foolish. An adult that is given opportunity to hear solid advice but then rejects that advice is foolish. Even worse, when a supposed adult rejects correction, that is major foolishness. 

We have seen them, have we not? They are now the "professionals" that tell us we cannot correct our children because of their "self esteem". They are the "professionals" who have done all they can to destroy the belief and knowledge of God. They are the "professionals" that have joined arm in arm with nothing more than knowledge falsely called and have opened themselves up to the hurt, pain and misery that will come. 

Want to test and see where they are at? Ask the following questions:

1) Does God exist?

2) If He exists, what does He expect from you? 

3) If He has that expectation, are you living up to His standard?

4) If you are are not living up to that standard, have you cried out to Him for mercy?

5) If you have not cried out to Him for mercy, and humbled yourself to admit you are sinner, why? 

Of course, we can make all forms of Biblically based, Theologically sound arguments and if we think about the questions, we can supply many Bible verses to aid in the discussion. 

These individuals, from the first question out, will deny the existance of God. Remember, any knowledge that rejects the absolute arrival to the feet of Jesus is false wisdom. 

Here is one challenge: If you say you have wisdom, then let me give you advice, Confess (or admit you are a sinner just as the Bible tells you), Repent (Turn away from your sin, which means your life is going to dramatically change), Ask Jesus to forgive you (this is the reason He died on the cross, so you can have freedom from Sin), and believe that Jesus is God, that He is perfect, and that He rose from the dead so we may have life. I just presented a very short, cut and dry gospel presentation. Advice to any sinner reading this is to follow this advice. True wisdom will be screaming at you to follow!

I will say this as a side note: If you do wish to know how to be saved, you can reach out to me here at the church. I would love to show you how you can have a new life in Jesus Christ. Understand a new life does not necessarily mean an easy or soft life. But it is free from the bondage of sin and death. 

Back to Proverbs 1:31. Wisdom is saying, "Fine, you wanted the pig pen, you can have the pig pen." The very fruit they wanted, is the bitter, sour fruit they will be forced to eat, and eat they will. The Bible tells us what we sow, we will reap (Galatians 6:7). As such, those who reject wisdom will sow foolishness. They will eat the fruit of foolishness. They will sleep in the filth of foolishness, they will wallow and swamp in the wallows of foolishness. Wisdom will be in the bushes, out of reach, and out of attainment. 

But this fruit is not just this bad. In Proverbs 1:32, they will be slayed and destroyed. Do not be foolish and simple. Do not eat the fruit. It will destroy. Instead, wisdom, in this very bleak passage, gives some hope. 

Proverbs 1:33. It is in wisdom there is safety. It is in wisdom there is security. It is in wisdom there will be no fear of evil. Does this mean that things are no longer dangerous, unsure, or evil? No. It means that the soul of those who are in wisdom cannot be touched. The physical body can, but it is the Spirit that is in focus here. 

Jesus said it best in Matthew 10:28. The physical body is the lesser, in the view of the Bible, between the soul and body. The soul is the primary focus. In this verse, our souls will be kept and we will not have to fear. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7 that any spirit of fear is not from God but notice what the verse says we do have fromn God. 

That ties in with what is being said here. As we close out this chapter, and tis discussion with wisdom, I make a final appeal. Do not be the foolish one. Do not ignore, mock, hide, or run from wisdom. Instead follow wisdom to its logical and only plausabil conclusion. God is real, Jesus is God, and salvation is found in none other than through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross (Acts 4:12).