Woman Wisdom's Party

December 13, 2007

By George P. Wood

My wife is the best party-thrower I know. The house looks great, the food tastes great, and everyone has a great time. Excellence characterizes every aspect of a party by Tiffany.

I thought of Tiffany's parties when I read Proverbs 9:1-6 (NIV), which describes a party thrown by Woman Wisdom.

Verse 1 describes its location:

"Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars."

The key word in this verse is seven. Although modern people do not attach symbolic importance to numbers (except perhaps the number 13), ancient people did. Seven is a number of perfection. Symbolically, then, this proverb is describing the perfection or excellence of wisdom. The life of wisdom is a well-built house, perfect and excellence in all its dimensions.

Verse 2 describes the food Woman Wisdom serves.

"She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table."

In the ancient world, meat was a luxury for all but the very rich. A party with meat was a feast indeed. Mixed wine  --  i.e., wine sweetened by spices  --  contributed to the joviality of the party. And a well-set table bespoke the hostesses' wealth and extravagance. Wisdom, the Book of Proverbs is saying, is rare but delicious, a cause for joy, and a sight to behold.

Verses 3 and 4 describe the guests whom Woman Wisdom invites to her party.

"She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. 'Let all who are simple come in here!' she says to those who lack judgment."

In the ancient world, "the highest point of the city" (in Greek, the Acropolis) always contained a temple. The highest point of any city was the place where God (in Israel's case) or the gods (in the case of pagan nations) held court among human beings. By identifying Woman Wisdom's house with "the highest point of the city," Proverbs is drawing a tight connection between wisdom and God, between common sense and religion.

And whom does God, personified as Woman Wisdom, invite into His presence? "All who are simple" and "those who lack judgment." A good deal of Proverbs distinguishes the wise person from the fool. A simple person is somewhere in between. They could go to either extreme, but for now, they are undecided. Woman Wisdom's goal is to encourage such people to choose her. In the ancient world, such an invitation by a woman to a man was brazen; it was an invitation to intimate relationship. But that is what Woman Wisdom wants. She wants to know and be known by us at every level of her being; or rather, this is what God wants at every level of His being.

Finally, verses 5 and 6 describe what happens at Woman Wisdom's party:

"Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live;

walk in the way of understanding."

The good-life journey begins when we accept Woman Wisdom's invitation ("Come"). It continues as we enjoy the moral and spiritual truths she has prepared ("food" and "wine"). And it ends in life.

Won't you come to Woman Wisdom's party?

 --  George P. Wood is senior pastor of Living Faith Center (AG) in Santa Barbara, Calif., and author of The Daily Word online devotionals.