she hath slaughtered her cattle, she hath mingled her wine, she hath also prepared her table;
Proverbs 9 opens with Wisdom as a host who has prepared a meal and now looks for guests. Verse 2 is the food itself, and it raises two questions: who is this host, and what does she serve?
Who is this hostess? The previous chapter speaks of wisdom as already with God before He made the world. One writer therefore reads this host as a person, not a quality.
In Proverbs 9:1-5 we have wisdom's feast. Who this wisdom is may be gathered from the previous chapter... Of whom could this be here but of "the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father," and who declared Him? And of none other indeed, for "no one has ever seen God" (John 1:18).
"Only begotten" is older wording for the Son who alone is God's own.
Slaughtering, mixing and setting the table are three of seven acts in this chapter. One writer gives each act a meaning, then asks what the whole sequence points to.
Wisdom has built her house (reception); carved out her pillars (stability); killed her beasts (sacrifice); prepared her table (satisfaction); mixed her wine (joy). She has sent out her servant girls (invitation), and she calls from the highest place of the city (urgency). Does this not point to the Son of God coming into this world to die an atoning death? And then, risen, sending out to the whole world the news of redeeming love? (Mark 16:15).
Why picture God's welcome as a meal at all? One writer traces the same image from the gospel call right through to the Lord's supper.
The food she provides is no less generous... How could it be otherwise, when divine love takes on the task of hosting in a way worthy of God? No picture of fellowship is plainer or more familiar than eating and drinking under the same welcoming roof. So the Lord set out the welcome of grace again and again in the gospel. So He shows our feeding on Himself by faith for eternal life. So He gave us His supper, so that we would keep remembering Him until He comes.
What does this meal consist of? One writer fills in the menu from John 6, and names the joys that the mixed wine stands for.
In the provision of that house, the slaughtered cattle would suggest the plentiful food available to feed our souls. The mingled wine would suggest the many joys of those who have a place at wisdom's table... We eat the flesh of the Son of Man, verse 53; we eat living bread, verse 51; we eat the bread of life, verse 48; and above all the Lord said, "whoever feeds on ME," verse 57. What an abundance of food! The mingled wine would also suggest the various joys found in that circle. We have joy in believing, Rom. 15:13; the joy of faith, Phil. 1:25; joy in the Holy Spirit, Rom. 14:17.
A table this well stocked seems to call for important guests. The invitation that follows runs the other way.
And who are the objects of her appeal? Not the rich or great; not the wise or prudent; but "whoever is simple, let him turn in here." God is always the giving God when truly known. He may test man for a special purpose; but as God loves a cheerful giver, so He is the most generous of all Himself... In the world as it is, no one knows such generous, unselfish love. So the welcome has to be repeated, and that repetition is precious.
Later in the chapter a rival woman calls to passers-by from her own doorway. One writer asks what she has to set before them.
What house had she built? She had hewn out no pillars. She had no beasts to kill. She had mixed no wine and set no table, as wisdom did. Wisdom has a heart that delights in good, and in doing good where need is great, dangers are endless and evil is beyond measure.
Commentators differ over whether Wisdom here pictures Christ alone. One writer also reads her as wisdom worked out in the lives of believers (L M Grant).
- Host. Wisdom spreads the feast, and writers here identify her with the Son who was with God before the world began.
- Cost. The killing comes first. There is a meal only because a sacrifice died, which one writer ties to the atoning death of the Son of God.
- Joy. The mixed wine stands for joy — not one joy but many, poured at one table.
- Guests. The invitation passes by the great and the clever. It calls the simple, and anyone who lacks understanding.
- Contrast. Folly calls too, but she has killed nothing, mixed nothing and set no table. Only Wisdom has food to give.
she hath sent forth her maidens she crieth upon the summits of the high places of the city,
Wisdom has built her house and spread her table. In verse 3 the invitation leaves the house and goes public. She sends out her young women, and she herself takes the highest ground in the city and calls.
Commentators trace the identity of this "Wisdom" back to the previous chapter.
In Proverbs 9:1-5 we have wisdom's feast. We can see who this wisdom is from the previous chapter. It says, "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth" (Prov. 8:22-23)… Who else could this be but "the only Son, who is at the Father's side," who made Him known? It can be no one else, for "no one has ever seen God" (John 1:18).
The verse gives two motions, not one. The messengers go out, and the one who sent them does not stay behind.
Wisdom had her messengers, rightly pictured as maidens whom she sent out on an errand of loving-kindness. But she takes no less trouble herself. There she stands on the highest ground of all, from which she can invite. And who are the objects of her appeal? Not the rich or great; not the wise or prudent; but "whoever is simple, let him turn in here." God is always the giving God when He is truly known… As God loves a cheerful giver, so He Himself is the most generous of all; and that is what wisdom makes known here.
Another writer asks why the messengers are maidens, and why the call goes out from the highest places.
In verse 3 wisdom does the work of evangelism, sending out "her maidens." They are maidens because they stand for those who have received the Word of God into their own soul. Wisdom must not be hidden in a corner. She is announced from the highest places of the city. No one is shut out. The same is true of the gospel of the grace of God, sent to all the world, for God wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Where she calls from tells us what kind of message this is. She gives it in broad daylight, and she tells the people she invites exactly what they are.
The invitation is open and in broad daylight — "she has sent out her young women; she calls from the highest places in the town." And the apostle Paul could say, we "have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God" (2 Cor. 4:2). Further, she does not hide what kind of people she is inviting. She makes them welcome, but she also lets them know how she sees them: "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here"… What a blessing it is to accept God's estimate of ourselves and to take His generous gift!
Later in the chapter a foolish woman calls in words that sound almost the same. The difference shows in what she has to send and to give.
Wisdom had her maidens to send out, and she herself cried aloud. She was eager to win people for the LORD and to warn from Him, and she sought the highest places of the city. Folly had no such maidens, any more than she had the generous provision of wisdom… Yet both make their appeal in words that closely resemble each other. How opposite their wish and aim! "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here" (vv. 4 and 16). Notice that the foolish woman in particular aims her call at those who pass by, who go straight on their way. What malicious pleasure to lead such people astray!
Verse 3 holds the last two steps in a chain that begins with building a house. One writer names each step and what it stands for.
The one who finds Wisdom finds life. Wisdom has built her house (reception); hewn out her pillars (stability); slaughtered her beasts (sacrifice); furnished her table (satisfaction); mixed her wine (joy). She has sent out her maidens (invitation), and she calls from the highest places of the town (urgency). Does this not point to the Son of God coming into this world to die an atoning death? And then, risen again, sending out the news of redeeming love to the whole world? (Mark 16:15).
- Voice. Chapter 8 tells us whose voice this is — the only Son at the Father's side, who has made the unseen God known.
- Sent. The maidens are her messengers, sent on an errand of loving-kindness. They picture people who have taken God's word into their own soul and now carry it out.
- Height. The cry goes up from the highest places. This message belongs in broad daylight, never hidden in a corner.
- Reach. The appeal passes by the rich, the great and the wise. It names the simple. To accept it, you must first accept God's estimate of yourself.
- Rival. Folly copies the words but has no maidens and no generous feast. She calls to those walking straight past, to pull them off their road.
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither. To him that is void of understanding, she saith,
Proverbs 9 opens with wisdom building a house, preparing a feast and setting her table. Then, from the top of the city, she calls out. The wonder of verse 4 is who she calls: not the clever or the qualified, but people with nothing to bring.
Who is speaking? Commentators look back one chapter for the answer.
In Proverbs 9:1-5 we have wisdom's feast. We learn who this wisdom is from the previous chapter. There it says: "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth"... Of whom could this be here but of "the only Son, who is at the Father's side," and who made Him known? And of none other indeed, for "no one has ever seen God."
Wisdom's call names the people she wants. They are not the ones you would expect.
And who are the objects of her appeal? Not the rich or great; not the wise or prudent; but "whoever is simple, let him turn in here." God is ever the giving God when truly known. He may test man for a special purpose; but as God loves a cheerful giver, so He is the most generous of all Himself; and so wisdom here makes it known... In the world as it is, such generous unselfish love is unknown; so this repeated welcome is both needed and precious.
Wisdom does not hide what she thinks of the people she invites. She tells them, and still spreads the table.
Further, there is no disguise as to the character of the persons invited. For while making them welcome, she lets them plainly know how she regards them: "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here! To him who lacks sense she says, Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed." How blessed it is to adopt God's estimate of ourselves and to accept His bounty!
Wisdom asks nothing the ignorant cannot do. That is the point of offering food rather than a lecture.
The message is not merely for the intellectual; rather, "Whoever is simple (that is, lacking in intelligence), let him turn in here" (v. 4). If one lacks understanding, that understanding is made available for him. At least, however ignorant one is, he still knows how to eat and drink. Eating what wisdom offers, he will find it not so difficult to take in what seems strange and unfamiliar to him.
Twelve verses later the foolish woman uses this exact sentence. The words match; nothing else does.
Wisdom had her maidens to send out, and she cried out herself. She was in earnest to win people for the LORD, and to warn them on His behalf. So she sought the highest places of the city. Folly had no such maidens, any more than she had the generous provision of wisdom... Yet the text presents both as making their appeal in words that closely resemble each other. How opposite their wish and aim! "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here" (vv. 4 and 16). And notice that the foolish woman aims her call at those who pass by, going straight on their way. What malicious pleasure, to lead such people astray!
One writer separates them by what each one does with her guest — one gives, the other takes.
These are the appeals of evil and of good. But there is a difference in the activity of genuine love, which does not invite us to selfish enjoyment. Wisdom prepares, and sends out to invite to blessing. The "clamorous woman" sits "on a throne, at the door of her house," and makes the one who comes the slave of her own desires.
Wisdom welcomes the simple, but she does not leave them simple.
Wisdom does not allow inconsistency. If we receive her despite our folly, it is so that we may become wise according to a wisdom above our own. This is truly to "live" where all else is death. And, as living, it is to walk in the way of intelligence, looking up to Him who is above, and not like the animals that look down and perish.
- Who calls — The wisdom speaking here was with God before the earth existed. Commentators hear in her voice the Son who made God known.
- Who is called — Not the rich, great, wise or prudent, but the simple; God is the giving God, and the guest list proves it.
- How she calls — From the highest place, with no flattery. Wisdom tells her guests what she thinks of them, and welcomes them anyway.
- What she asks — Only eating and drinking, which even the most ignorant person knows how to do. The table supplies the understanding he lacks.
- Where it leads — Folly copies the words, sits still and enslaves. Wisdom goes out, feeds her guests, and makes them wise enough to live.
Come, eat ye of my bread, and drink of the wine that I have mingled.
Proverbs 9 pictures Wisdom as a hostess: she has built her house, prepared the meal and set the table. In verse 5 she calls people in to eat — but who is she, and why does she feed the ones she calls simple?
The invitation carries weight only if we know whose voice it is. Commentators find the answer one chapter earlier.
In Proverbs 9:1-5 we have wisdom's feast. We can see who this wisdom is from the previous chapter, which says, "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth"... Of whom could this be but of "the only Son, who is at the Father's side," and who made Him known? Of no one else indeed, for "no one has ever seen God."
Verse 5 asks nothing of the guest but appetite. The host bought the food and cooked it before she called anyone.
Then the provision is no less generous. "She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table." How could it be otherwise, if divine love takes on the hosting in a way worthy of God? Eating and drinking under the same hospitable roof is the clearest and most common picture of communion. So the Lord set out the welcome of grace in the gospel over and over. So He speaks of our feeding on Himself by faith to life eternal. So He gave His supper, so that we remember Him again and again until He comes.
Wisdom aims verse 5 at the person "who lacks sense." That is not a slip in the guest list; it is the guest list.
And who are the objects of her appeal? Not the rich or the great; not the wise or the clever; but "whoever is simple, let him turn in here." God is always the giving God when He is truly known. As God loves a cheerful giver, so He is the most generous of all Himself.
She also tells them to their face how she sees them.
There is no disguise about the character of the people invited. While making them welcome, she plainly lets them know how she regards them... How blessed it is to accept God's estimate of ourselves and to receive His bounty!
One writer traces this bread and this mixed wine through the New Testament.
The slaughtered cattle suggest the ample provision available to feed our souls. The mixed wine suggests the many joys of those who have a place at wisdom's table. One chapter alone shows the variety of this food — John 6. We eat the flesh of the Son of Man, verse 53. We eat living bread, verse 51. We eat the bread of life, verse 48. Above all, the Lord said, "whoever feeds on ME," verse 57. What an abundance of food! The mixed wine would also suggest the various joys found in that circle. We have joy in believing, Rom. 15:13; the joy of faith, Phil. 1:25; joy in the Holy Spirit, Rom. 14:17.
Those who come for bread find the welcome runs past what they asked.
Come, eat of My bread. You need it. The prodigal heard of it in the far country, when he was starving, and turned to his father for it. Bread enough and to spare. But he got more than he came for. His father covered him with kisses. He got a deep drink of the wine that was mixed for people like him. In picture he received the Holy Spirit, who poured out the love of God in his heart. The wine gladdened his heart.
Later in the chapter a rival hostess makes her own offer, and the contrast exposes something about us.
All was open, sound, holy and unselfish on wisdom's part. How sinister is the speech of the foolish woman! "Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." But wisdom's appeal needs grace to make it taste good. Her rival's invitation suits the dark heart of man just as he is. He enjoys what is forbidden — what he can only grab by cunning. He suspects what is given freely. He cannot understand the greatest good coming as a matter of grace.
The meal is not the end. What the guest eats is meant to change how he walks.
Wisdom does not allow inconsistency. If wisdom receives us despite our folly, it is so that we may become wise with a wisdom above our own. This is truly to "live" where everything else is death. And, as living, we walk in the way of insight. We look up to Him who is above, not like the animals that look down and perish.
- Prepared. Wisdom kills the animals and mixes the wine before she calls anyone. The guest brings hunger, not groceries.
- Personal. Commentators identify this Wisdom as the Son, who was with God before the earth existed. The bread she offers is Himself.
- Free. The invitation passes over the rich and the clever and names the simple. Taking it means accepting God's estimate of you.
- Refused. Stolen bread tastes better to the natural heart than a free meal. Grace is the one thing we struggle to believe is ours.
- Live. Those who eat do not stay as they were: the food is what enables them to leave folly and walk in the way of insight.