Who Can Understand?

   They are all straightforward to him who understands, 
   And right to those who find knowledge.
   --Proverbs 8:9

Solomon writes about wisdom as if wisdom were a woman calling loudly to people to listen.

“They” refers to the words that she (wisdom personified) speaks.

Her words of wisdom are ‘straightforward.’ They are not 'crooked or perverted' (v. 8). In other words, they are not twisted or tricky. They can be easily understood.

So, who could possibly ‘misunderstand’ the proverbs?

Remember the scoffer?
The scoffer* does not listen.
He is not open-minded.
He already ‘knows.’

When the scoffer hears something unfamiliar, he immediately rejects it, even if it is God’s word. His mind is already made up. So, God’s wisdom seems tricky, contradictory, or difficult to understand (though he would never admit it). It does not fit into his frame of reference of understanding. So, it must be rejected.

Unless you are a scoffer, God’s wisdom can be understood. If you are only 12 years old or still kicking at 112 years old, you can benefit from the wisdom that God offers. The only question is: Are you able to accept God’s wisdom as true, even when your experience ‘seems’ different? Are you willing to trust his teaching above your own understanding?

You can understand. God wants you to understand.

Wisdom calls out . . . "LISTEN!"

[*The following posts tell more about the scoffer: Musar, Someone's Missing, A Pair to Remember, I Was Only Trying to Help..., and Broken Beyond Remedy.]