“The woman folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing.”
– Proverbs 9:13
Three descriptions there of folly as contrasted with wisdom in Proverbs 9:13, don’t miss them. First, folly is loud. There is so much noise coming from folly around us in the world, loud. You see and hear folly. I see and hear folly, foolishness that which is not wise like it’s all around us. It’s in what we are scrolling through on our phones, so much foolishness. It’s in what we talk about, it’s in what we hear in conversations all around us in the world. And it’s in what we see advertised. It’s what we see promoted as good and right and satisfying. It’s folly. Very loud. It’s all around us. It’s noise. Everywhere. That’s one.
Folly is loud and seductive, yet it knows nothing. Lord help us to see through foolishness. May we turn to Your Word and live out of the overflow of Your wisdom.
Folly Is Loud, Seductive, and Knows Nothing
Two, it is seductive meaning it draws us in. Foolishness is not repulsive to us, it’s seductive to us. It allures us. It entraps us not because it says, like foolishness doesn’t announce, here’s foolishness, come after this. Says here is that which is good. Here is that, a way that is right. Here is a way that is pleasing. And here is something that will satisfy. Folly is seductive. It promises that which it cannot keep. It promises that which it cannot fulfill. That’s the whole point of the third description so folly is loud, folly is seductive and yet folly knows nothing, knows nothing, see the emptiness of folly. Loud folly, seductive folly, loud foolishness, seductive foolishness it is totally empty. It is cavernous. It doesn’t fulfill at all. And it knows nothing.
Proverbs 9:13 Prays For Us To See Folly For What It Is
We pray God help us to see through it. Help us to see folly for what it is, all around us on a continual basis as we’re bombarded with foolishness, with foolish ideas, foolish thoughts, foolish desires, foolish temptations, the ways of this world, the so-called wisdom of this world, help us to see it as loud seductive emptiness. Not just emptiness, what Proverbs 9:13 goes on to say it leads us to the depths of Sheol it leads us to death. God help us to see rightly. Lord help us to see through the messages this world is selling us all around us, loudly, seductively, God help us to see your wisdom in your word, to believe your wisdom from your word, to discern wisdom according to your spirit amidst all the loud seductive folly messages we hear all around us.
God, thank you for not leaving us to our folly and foolishness. Thank you for saving us from folly and foolishness. Thank you for giving us your word, for giving us your wisdom when we ask. We ask for it and we pray that you help us to live in it, help us to turn from the loud, seductive folly of this world that knows nothing. Help us to trust in you and your word. From the one who knows everything, from the one who knows what is best for our lives, Lord help us to live out of the overflow of your wisdom, in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
