Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 1:24
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
24. The abruptness of the transition from gracious invitation to awful threatening has led to the suggestion that a pause is to be introduced between the two divisions ( Pro 1:20-33) of this appeal of Wisdom. But, as Maurer points out, Pro 1:22 (How long!) shews, as do these Pro 1:24-25, that this is rather the last appeal of Wisdom than the first. She has already “all day long stretched forth her hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Isa 65:2; Rom 10:21). This is indicated by the LXX. by the tense used, , . The rejection of her overtures has been persistent and scornful; and now by the very abruptness and sternness of her address she makes a last effort to awaken and rescue.
“Save, Lord, by love or fear.”
Comp. Luk 13:24-28.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The threats and warnings of Wisdom are also foreshadowings of the teaching of Jesus. There will come a time when too late shall be written on all efforts, on all remorse. Compare Mat 25:10, Mat 25:30.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 1:24-28
Because I have called, and ye refused.
The rejected call of Wisdom
I. The manner in which it has called upon you–in which the appeals of Wisdom and of religion have been made. In the manner, the variety, the intensity, the tenderness, the unwearied nature, and the sleepless watchfulness of appeal, nothing has occurred that can be compared with the calls which have been made to you to abandon a sinful course and to give your heart to God.
II. The manner of the reception of this call. You have neglected these calls and warnings; you paid no attention to them, as if they did not pertain to you, or as if they had no claim to your regard. You have argued against the truth; you have cavilled against the truth; you have urged excuses that you might not obey the truth; you have sought plausible reasons for neglecting to do what you knew to be your duty; you have taken refuge under the imperfections of Christians for not being yourself a Christian. You have done this long. In some cases it has been the work of a life; in all cases it has been a leading object of life thus far.
III. The effect of neglecting and disregarding these calls. When your fear cometh, etc. Your wealth cannot save you; your accomplishments cannot save you. Death cares for none of these things.
1. You will die, and the fear of death will come upon you.
2. The fear of the judgment day will come upon you, for that cannot always be avoided.
IV. When these things come it will be too late to cry for mercy. There must be a limit to the calls of religion and mercy, for life is very brief, and they all lie this side the grave. Can you suppose that He will always appeal to the sceptic and the caviller, and bear with his scepticism and cavils through a vast eternity? This cannot be; and somewhere there must be a limit to the offers of mercy to men. That may occur before you shall reach the deathbed, short as is the journey thither. May not the mind become so worldly, and the heart so vain, and the conscience so seared, and the life so wicked, and the will so obdurate, and the whole soul so utterly shattered and ruined by sin, that conversion shall be hopeless and ruin certain? It may occur on the death-bed: then the cry for mercy may be vain. And there is a world where the cry of mercy is never heard. Embrace the call, whether to you it be the last or not, and your eternal welfare will be secure. (A. Barnes, D.D.)
The folly and danger of refusing the calls of mercy
I. That God calls on sinners.
1. This is clear from many parts of Scripture (Isa 55:1; Isa 55:3; Isa 55:6, etc., 65:1, 2; Eze 18:30-31).
2. The end to which He calls us in these different ways is to repent and turn from our sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Act 20:21; Mar 1:15). As to the nature and manner of those calls, they are–
(1) Kind and gracious; they are full of love, tenderness, and pity (Deu 32:29; Hos 11:8; Mat 23:37; Luk 19:41-42). What moving expostulations are these!
(2) They carry the highest reason and persuasion along with them. It is to avoid our own ruin and secure our own happiness.
(3) They last but for a season. His patience will at last be worn out by our many obstinate refusals. The shining day of grace at last ends in the eternal shades of night (Mat 23:38; Isa 66:4; Jer 7:13-15).
II. That sinners too often refuse to hearken to the calls of God. Many hear the gospel calls, but few are obedient to them. The old world would not be reformed by the preaching of Noah. The Israelites stoned the prophets that were sent to them (Jer 7:24-26; 2Ch 24:21). Now, whence can this proceed, that so many are disobedient to the heavenly call?
1. It is partly owing to unbelief.
2. Others slight the Word because they are prejudiced against the messenger that brings it, regarding his imperfections and inadvertencies more than the weight of those things which he delivers.
3. Others do it through ignorance: darkness and blindness of mind make them hardened and obstinate. They know not God, their sinful state, their need of Christ, nor the beauty and excellency of spiritual things.
4. Others through pride reject the calls of God (Rev 3:17).
5. Others through love of the world. The business of the world engrosses their time, and the pleasures of it entirely captivate their affections.
6. Others through a false peace.
III. The evil and danger of refusing to hearken to Gods calls, His counsel and reproof
1. It is the most heinous ingratitude to God.
2. It is a contempt of Gods power.
3. We rob ourselves of the greatest advantages.
4. By rejecting the calls of God we run ourselves into the greatest misery and ruin.
What threatenings and woe are denounced against the obstinate sinner! I now come to apply the subject.
1. Let us admire the mercy of God in thus calling sinners.
2. Let such as have obeyed the calls of God rejoice therein; they have cause of eternal joy and eternal thankfulness.
3. Let such as have shut their ears against the calls of God be persuaded now to hearken to them. (T. Hannam.)
Irreversible chastisements
These words are awful, but not hopeless; they pronounce Gods judgment on the finally impenitent; the penitent they but awaken, that they may hear the voice of the Son of God and live. The sentence pronounced is final. If, hearing, men will not hearken, a time will come when all these calls will but increase their anguish and misery. Because these words relate to the day of judgment, is there no sense in which they are fulfilled in this life? It should appal any one to find that they do not appal him. Conscience bears witness that he has been one of those against whom the words denounce woe. All suffering, mental or bodily, has a twofold character; it is at once punishment and chastisement; it at once expresses Gods hatred for sin and mercy to the sinner; it is at once the wrath and love of Almighty God. Of Gods judgments, many are for this life without remedy. God warns that He may not strike; but, when He does strike, a mans whole life is changed. To certain courses of sin God annexes certain punishments, and although, for a time and up to a certain degree of sin, they may not, to any extent, follow, yet, beyond that bound, they do follow irresistibly, irreversibly. Manifold diseases of mind, body, or estate, whereby God chastens sin, have this in common, that there is no certain time when the blow comes. We cannot tell the rule by which God dispenseth suffering and loss. To us they seem to fall more suddenly on some, while others go on longer without visible punishment. We only know that happy they who are chastened soonest. The judgments God is constantly sending should awe us all, especially such as are even half-conscious that there is some besetting sin, slight as it may seem, to which they are continually yielding. Unheedful, such permit sin to accumulate after sin. And sin after sin is filling up the measure of their provocations and the fearful treasure of the wrath of Almighty God. All sin must be eating out the love of God and His life in the soul. If Gods fire do fall, then mans only wisdom is, with what strength he has, darkened though his path be by the bewildering of past sin, to grope his way onward in the new path wherein God has set him. The past is, in one sense, closed. He has been tried, has failed, and is in this way, perhaps, tried no more. His trial is changed. If we failed, we have missed what, by Gods grace, we might have become. Man may gather hope from the very severity of Gods punishments. While we mourn our neglect of past calls, our sorrow, which is still His gift and call within us, will draw down His gladdening look, which will anew call us unto Him. As we would hear the last blissful call, hearken we each one of us to the next, whereby He calleth us to break off any, the very slightest, evil, or to gird ourselves to any good, and follow Him without delay. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
God and the impenitent sinner
I. God and the impenitent sinner in probation.
1. Gods conduct towards the sinner in probation.
(1) He calls them, by His Word, His ministry, His Spirit.
(2) He stretches out His hand to them. His arms are outstretched to receive them.
(3) He counsels them. Presents lessons of wisdom to them.
(4) He reproves them. Rebukes them for their sins.
2. The sinner s conduct towards God in probation.
(1) They refuse His call. Ye refused.
(2) They disregard His outstretched hands. No man regarded.
(3) They set at nought His counsel. They rejected His reproof.
II. God and the impenitent sinner in retribution. 1.Gods conduct towards the impenitent sinner in retribution.
(1) He laughs at their distress. I will laugh at your calamity. Their distress is great. Their destruction has come as a whirlwind, and what is more, it has grown out of their conduct. They eat of the fruit of their own way.
(2) He disregards their prayers. I will not answer.
2. The impenitent sinners conduct towards God. They cried to Him for help. They may bitterly call upon Me, but I will not answer. There is earnest prayer in hell, but it is fruitless. (Homilist.)
Wisdom personified, and love incarnate
Wisdom is one of the Divine attributes; and Christ is of God made unto us wisdom, as well as righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. We may surely expect, then, that up to a certain point the utterances of Wisdom and of Christ would coincide; so that in these passages in the Book of Proverbs we should be able to find, as we find throughout the whole of the Old Testament, some portion of the testimony of Jesus. But does it follow that because some, or even many, of Wisdoms utterances may be correctly spoken of as the words of Christ Himself, therefore all of them may be so regarded? To see how utterly foolish is this way of reasoning, we have only to remember how many of Davids words not only coincide with those of Christ, but are actually quoted in the New Testament as if Christ Himself had uttered them; and yet no one is so foolish as to insist that all the words of David can be safely put into the mouth of Christ. As we said at the beginning, wisdom is one of the attributes of God; and therefore the words of Wisdom must be, up to a certain point, the expression of the Divine mind. We may say that Wisdom expresses the mind of God in creation, in providence, in the whole realm of law. And in this realm, as well as in the realm of grace, the Son of God has His place as the Revealer. We may regard Christ and Wisdom as identical throughout the realm of natural law; so that no error would result from the substitution of the one for the other within that range of truth; but when we leave the realm of law and enter that of grace, it is entirely different; then it may not only be injurious but fatal to take the utterances of mere wisdom and put them into the mouth of Christ. If Christ had been only wisdom, He could not have heard the sinners prayer. But He is also righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; and that makes all the difference, for now that He has made an atonement for our sins and opened up the way of life, He can speak, not only in the name of wisdom, but of pardoning mercy and redeeming grace; and, accordingly, far from laughing at calamity and scorning the penitents prayer, which wisdom if it were alone might do, He can, and will, and does save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him. Having thus considered the extent to which we may expect to find the testimony of Jesus in the words of Wisdom, let us now test the principle we have laid down by an examination of the passage. The paragraph begins with this bold and striking personification: Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying–and then follows the passage with which we have mainly to do. Let us, then, listen to Wisdoms cry, and observe how truthfully and powerfully it is translated into the language of men. We shall see its truth to nature better if we first look back a little. She begins, not with a cry, but with tender words of counsel and of promise (verses 8, 9), My son, hear the instruction of thy father, etc. These are the tender and kindly words of counsel in which she addresses the young man setting out in life. Following this are tender and yet solemn words of warning against the tempter whom every one must meet (verse 19): My, son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not, etc. But now time passes on, and Wisdoms proteg begins to go astray, to forget the instruction of the father and the loving law of the mother; and so now she lifts up her voice and cries, entreating the wanderer to turn before it is too late (verses 22, 23). Time passes on, and the warning cry has been as little heeded as had been the tender voice of Wisdom at the first. The son, instead of being prudent, has been rash; he has been, not economical, but extravagant; not temperate, but dissipated; and so he has gone on till his last opportunity has been thrown away, his patrimony squandered, his health gone, his last friend lost. Then once more his early monitor appears. The prodigal remembers the tender words of counsel and of promise. He remembers how, when he was just beginning to go astray, before he had become hopelessly entangled in evil, Wisdom lifted up her voice and cried. For a long time his old counsellor has not been present to his mind at all. He has been hurrying on in courses of evil, but now his very wretchedness forces him to stop and think. And, again, there stands Wisdom before him. How does she address him now? Does she speak to him in soothing tones? Does she promise to restore him his money, or his health, or his friends? Alas, no: she cannot. All she can say is, I told you it would be so. I warned you what would be the end; and now the end has come. You must eat the fruit of your own ways, and be filled with your own devices. That is positively all that Wisdom can say; and there is no tenderness in her tone. She seems to mock him rather, she seems to laugh at his calamity. Such is the voice of Wisdom in the end to those who have despised her counsel in the beginning. And is not the whole representation true to nature? Yes, it is perfectly true that Wisdom crieth without, she uttereth her voice in the streets, and says these things so loudly that no listening ear can fail to hear them. It is no matter of deep philosophy. It is no ecclesiastical or theological dogma. It belongs to the Proverbs, the proverbs of the streets. The merit of Solomon, in this chapter, is not in telling us something we should not otherwise have known; but in putting what everybody knows in a very striking form. I question whether in all literature there can be found any more vivid and alarming description of the terror and despair of a remorseful conscience, as it looks back and recalls, when too late, the neglected counsels alike of earthly and of heavenly wisdom. So far Wisdom; and if it were only with her that sinners had to do, it would go hard, not only with the profligate and openly vicious, but with the most respectable. But He with whom we have to do is not known as wisdom. He is wise indeed; and all wisdom is from Him. But there is that in Him which is higher than wisdom. God is love. Wisdom is the expression of His will in the realm of law; but love is the expression of Himself. The love of God is not a lawless love. It is not at variance with wisdom. The law which ordains that the sinner must eat of the fruit of his own way and be filled with his own devices cannot be set aside by the mere emotion of compassion. Hence it was necessary, in order to redeem man from the condemnation of sin, that the Holy One of God should suffer. Hence, too, it is that, though by the suffering and death of Christ believers in Him are set free from the condemnation of sin, yet the natural consequences of the transgressions of wisdoms laws are not abolished. If health has been wasted, it will not be miraculously restored. If money has been squandered, there must be suffering from the want of it. If character has been forfeited by dishonesty and impurity, it may never be redeemed on this side the grave. The laws of wisdom are not repealed or set at naught; they remain in force. But such has been the ingenuity, so to speak, of the Divine love, that without infringing on the proper domain of wisdom expressing itself in law, the way has been opened up for the full pardon and ultimate restoration even of those who have wandered farthest and sinned most. And accordingly, a passage like this awful one in the first chapter of the Book of Proverbs, instead of obscuring the Divine love in the smallest degree, or interposing so much as a thread between the sinner and his Saviour, rather serves as a background on which to set forth the radiant form of the Saviour of mankind,
Whose love appears more orient and more bright,
Having a foil whereon to show its light.
(J. M. Gibson, D.D.)
A neglected warning
Some years ago a terrible inundation occurred in Noah Holland, due entirely to neglected warnings. The dykes, as the custom is, are inspected by a dyke engineer on certain days every year. A farmer reported the dangerous condition of one repeatedly, but whether from carelessness or because he considered it interference, the engineer laughed at all his fears, saying the dyke would stand many years yet. Not long after, during a violent storm, part of the dyke was carried away by the waters. In a short time several villages, and miles of cultivated land, were under water, many lives being lost. (S. S. Chronicle.)
Critical periods in a sinners life
Every sinner, while unreconciled to God, is in constant and imminent danger of the loss of all things. Yet there are seasons of special danger, periods in his life when, unless he repent and turn to God, he ripens very fast for judgment.
I. The season of youth is one. The mind is then receptive, the heart is tender, the character is unformed, evil habits are not yet matured, and all things invite. It is flood-tide, and is sure to lead on to victory if he takes advantage of it. But neglected, thrown away, the future is almost sure to miscarry.
II. The period of conviction of sin is one of extreme peril. Then the sinner is on the threshold of life. But hesitating, grieving the Spirit, turning back, losing his conviction, he may be ruined for ever.
III. The period of Divine chastisements is a critical period. Gods end in these usually is to reclaim men. To sin on in spite of them; to refuse to be corrected; to wax worse and worse in the day of trial, and under Gods afflictive dispensations, is to run a fearful risk of final and eternal abandonment. (Anon.)
I also will laugh at your calamity.
Retribution
We have here a personification of that attribute of God which is specially employed in words of counsel and admonition, and is here made to represent God. The voice of Wisdom is the voice of God.
I. The merciful appeal of God to sinners, and its rejection.
1. God is said to call.
2. God is said to stretch out His hand. In the gesture of earnest appeal, making use of arguments of deed as well as of word. Providence warns. The hand of God in history demonstrates what providence in its dealings with individuals teaches, that virtue and happiness, vice and misery, go hand in hand; that morality and self-interest in the long run merge; that the path of duty and the path of safety coincide.
3. God is said to counsel. The message of Scripture, with its manifold invitations and warnings, is faithfully delivered.
4. God is said to reprove. By severe strokes of discipline God speaks to those who in their infatuation have refused to pay attention to His former appeals. But the rod of correction may be disregarded. The possibility of such reckless opposition to the merciful appeal of God demonstrates the power of the evil principle in fallen human nature. We have here a complete reversal of the ordinary principles of self-interest which actuate men in all circumstances, except in the sphere of morality.
II. The despairing appeal of sinners to God, and its futility. Their position, as here depicted–
1. It is unspeakably awful. The text speaks of calamity, of fear, of desolation, of destruction like a whirlwind, of distress and anguish. The text speaks of a terrible aggravation of their distress, occasioned by the stinging sarcasm which accompanies their suffering.
2. It is strictly retributive. All their suffering has been earned by themselves. As they formerly eluded Him in His efforts to seek and to save them, so now He will not be found of them.
3. It is utterly hopeless. The futility of their appeal is absolute. Their cry is the cry of blank despair. They have sinned away their day of grace, and their offended God will be entreated of them no more. It may be said that the moral sense is shocked by such a representation of Gods conduct towards impenitent sinners as that which we have drawn from the text. Our reply is, that it is presumptuous for any mortal to say what is, and what is not, in harmony with the Divine perfection, or consistent with the Divine character. In nature we know God can assume an attitude of sternness. In the moral sphere there may be occasions when He shall stand forth as an inflexible Ruler, as an immovable, righteous Judge. (A. O. Smith, B. A.)
The after-time for the sinner
Wisdom is represented as calling, waiting, pleading; but, as concerning some who heard the call, altogether in vain. At last Wisdom grows indignant, as well she may. In carrying out His gracious purpose of revealing Himself to us, God may use every act and every feeling that is genuine to man. It is quite proper that men should deride the proud and the malicious when they are baffled and put to shame, and this natural feeling is here used to represent the feeling of God towards those who contemptuously despise the riches of His grace. The merely human gave the tone to the revelations of God that were made in Old Testament times. It is the divinely human–it is humanity at its best–which gives tone to all the representations of God made in the New Testament. So we have now severities and indignations, even the wrath of the Lamb, but not derisions, not scorn, not any laughing at calamity. The text does but express the feeling we have when the wicked meet their deserts.
I. Evil has its certain fixed consequences. Law equally reigns in the moral and in the material world. Every moral action has its certain and well-defined consequences.
II. Nothing checks consequences but the removal of causes. Illustrate from cases of infectious disease. Mans great evil is wilfulness, and to remove this ever-fruitful source of moral mischief requires no less than a regeneration.
III. By the resistance of good counsel the evil grows stronger. He who goes after sin has to resist much counsel and persuasive influence. And this is the ever-working law, good resisted leaves evil stronger.
IV. If evil grows stronger, its consequences must become more serious, and will be brought on more rapidly. The simple ones turn deaf ears, and hurry after the tempters; and then their fear comes as desolation.
V. Evil may grow beyond all influence of reproof, and then its issues must prow overwhelming indeed. Men may get beyond the reach of all available moral influences. Conceive what that condition must be. Compare the state of the devil-possessed. A most awful and alarming picture is that of a moral being abusing himself until he actually becomes insusceptible of moral impressions. In those who resist moral counsel and invitation a wilfulness grows up which becomes every day more difficult to overcome; a process of heart-hardening is actually going on. Be warned, then, of the wrath of the Lamb. (Weekly -Pulpit.)
And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind.–
The figure of the whirlwind
In eastern countries, so rapid and impetuous sometimes is the whirlwind that it is in vain to think of flying; the swiftest horse or the fastest sailing ship could be of no use to carry the traveller out of danger. Torrents of burning sand roll before it, the firmament is enveloped in a thick veil, and the sun appears of the colour of blood. The Arab who conducted Mr. Bruce through the frightful deserts of Senaar pointed out to him a spot among some sandy hillocks, where the ground seemed to be more elevated than the rest, where one of the largest caravans which ever came out to Egypt, to the number of several thousand camels, was covered with sand. The destruction of Sennacheribs army (2Ki 19:25) was probably (comp. Isa 37:7) by the blast of the hot pestilential south wind blowing from the deserts of Lybia, called the simoom. (B. E. Nicholls, M.A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 24. Because I have called] These and the following words appear to be spoken of the persons who are described, Pr 1:11-19, who have refused to return from their evil ways till arrested by the hand of justice; and here the wise man points out their deplorable state.
They are now about to suffer according to the demands of the law, for their depredations. They now wish they had been guided by wisdom, and had chosen the fear of the Lord; but it is too late: die they must, for their crimes are proved against them, and justice knows nothing of mercy.
This, or something like this, must be the wise man’s meaning; nor can any thing spoken here be considered as applying or applicable to the eternal state of the persons in question, much less to the case of any man convinced of sin, who is crying to God for mercy. Such persons as the above, condemned to die, may call upon justice for pardon, and they may do this early, earnestly; but they will call in vain. But no poor penitent sinner on this side of eternity can call upon God early, or seek him through Christ Jesus earnestly for the pardon of his sins, without being heard. Life is the time of probation, and while it lasts the vilest of the vile is within the reach of mercy. It is only in eternity that the state is irreversibly fixed, and where that which was guilty must be guilty still. But let none harden his heart because of this longsuffering of God, for if he die in his sin, where God is he shall never come. And when once shut up in the unquenchable fire, he will not pray for mercy, as he shall clearly see and feel that the hope of his redemption is entirely cut off.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I have called, by my ministers, and by my judgments upon you or others, and by the motions of my Spirit and your own consciences. Stretched out my hand; offering grace and mercy to you, and earnestly inviting you to accept of it. Lest through your deafness or distance from me you should not hear, I have beckoned to you with my hand, which this phrase signifies, Isa 13:2; 65:2.
No man regarded; few or none complied with it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. stretched . . .handEarnestness, especially in beseeching, is denoted by thefigure (compare Job 11:13;Psa 68:31; Psa 88:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Because I have called, and ye refused,…. This is to be understood not of the internal call of Wisdom, or Christ, which is by the special grace of his Spirit; is according to an eternal purpose, the fruit of everlasting love, peculiar to God’s elect, and by a divine power; and is also a call to special blessings of grace, and to eternal glory; and which is always effectual, unchangeable, and irreversible, and can never be refused, rejected, and resisted, so as to become void and of no effect: but of the external call by the word, to the natural duties of religion, and to an attendance on the means of grace; which may be where no election goes before, no sanctification attends, nor salvation follows, Mt 20:16; and this may be refused and rejected, as it often is; as when men, notwithstanding that call, do not attend on the ministry of the word, or, if they do, it is in a negligent careless way; or, they show an aversion to it, despise, contradict, and blaspheme it, as the Jews did, who were the persons first called to hear it; see Mt 22:2;
I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; this is a gesture of persons calling to others, as orators and preachers, requiring silence and attention; and when eager and fervent, and importunate in their discourses; it is attributed to Christ, Isa 65:2; but, notwithstanding all Wisdom’s eagerness, zeal, warmth, and importunity, expressed by words and gestures, it was all disregarded; no attention was given to it, which is here complained of.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The address of Wisdom now takes another course. Between Pro 1:23 and Pro 1:24 there is a pause, as between Isa 1:20 and Isa 1:21. In vain Wisdom expects that her complaints and enticements will be heard. Therefore she turns her call to repentance into a discourse announcing judgment.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused;
Stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 And ye have rejected all my counsel
And to my reproof have not yielded:
26 Therefore will I also laugh at your calamity,
Will mock when your terror cometh;
27 When like a storm your terror cometh,
And your destruction swept on like a whirlwind;
When distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Commencing with (which, like , from , to oppose, denotes the intention, but more the fundamental reason or the cause than, as , the motive or object), the clause, connected with , ego vicissim , turns to the conclusion. As here (as the word of Jahve) are connected by to the expression of the talio in Isa 66:4, so also , with its contrast , Isa 1:19. The construction quoniam vocavi et renuistis for quoniam quum vocarem renuistis (cf. Isa 12:1) is the common diffuse ( zerstreute ) Semitic, the paratactic instead of the periodizing style. The stretching out of the hand is, like the “spreading out” in Isa 65:2, significant of striving to beckon to the wandering, and to bring them near. Regarding , viz., , to make the ear still (R. ), arrigere , incorrectly explained by Schultens, after the Arab kashab , polire , by aurem purgare , vid., Isaiah, p. 257, note.
Pro 1:25 is synonymous with , Pro 1:8; cf. Pro 4:15 , turn from it. Gesenius has inaccurately interpreted the phrase of the shaving off of the hair, instead of the letting it fly loose. means to loosen (= to lift up, syn. ), to release, to set free; it combines the meanings of loosening and making empty, or at liberty, which is conveyed in Arab. by fr’ and frg . The latter means, intrans., to be set free, therefore to be or to become free from occupation or business; with mn of an object, to be free from it, i.e., to have accomplished it, to have done with it (Fl.). Thus: since ye have dismissed ( missum fecistis ) all my counsel ( as , from , Arabic w’d ), i.e., what I always would advise to set you right. combines in itself the meanings of consent, Pro 1:10, and compliance, Pro 1:30 (with ), and, as here, of acceptance. The principal clause begins like an echo of Psa 2:4 (cf. Jer 20:7).
Pro 1:26-27 , as Pro 31:25 shows, is not to be understood with ; is that of the state or time, not of the object. Regarding , calamitas opprimens, obruens (from = Arabic ada , to burden, to oppress), see at Psa 31:12. is related to as arriving to approaching; is not that for which they are in terror – for those who are addressed are in the condition of carnal security – but that which, in the midst of this, will frighten and alarm them. The Chethb is pointed thus, (from = , as , after the form , ); the Ker substitutes for this infinitive name the usual particip. (where then the Vav is , “superfluous”), crashing (fem. of ), then a crash and an overthrow with a crash; regarding its root-meaning (to be waste, and then to sound hollow), see under Psa 35:8. (from = ), sweeping forth as a (see Pro 10:25) whirlwind. The infinitive construction of 27a is continued in 27b in the finite. “This syntactical and logical attraction, by virtue of which a modus or tempus passes by or by the mere parallel arrangement (as Pro 2:2) from one to another, attracted into the signification and nature of the latter, is peculiar to the Hebr. If there follows a new clause or section of a clause where the discourse takes, as it were, a new departure, that attraction ceases, and the original form of expression is resumed; cf. 1:22, where after the accent Athnach the future is returned to, as here in 27c the infinitive construction is restored” (Fl.). The alliterating words , cf. Isa 30:6; Zep 1:15, are related to each other as narrowness and distress (Hitzig); the Mashal is fond of the stave-rhyme.
(Note: Jul. Ley, in his work on the Metrical Forms of Hebrew Poetry, 1866, has taken too little notice of these frequently occurring alliteration staves; Lagarde communicated to me (8th Sept. 1846) his view of the stave-rhyme in the Book of Proverbs, with the remark, “Only the Hebr. technical poetry is preserved to us in the O.T. records; but in such traces as are found of the stave-rhyme, there are seen the echoes of the poetry of the people, or notes passing over from it.”)
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(24) Because I have called.Wisdoms call having been rejected, she now changes her tone from mercy to judgment (Psa. 101:1). (Comp. Rom. 10:21 : All day long I have stretched forth my hands, &c.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24. Stretched out my hand To invite you, welcome you, receive you.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
But If They Refuse To Respond To Wisdom’s Voice And Fail To Choose The Fear Of YHWH Then One Day, When They Suffer The Consequences Of Their Refusal As They Surely Will, Wisdom Will Mock At Them, And When They Call Will No Longer Hear Them. It Will Be Too Late For Repentance And They Will Continue To Suffer The Consequences Of Their Rejection. But Those Who Do Respond Will Live In Quietness And Peace Without Fear ( Pro 1:24-33 ).
Wisdom now draws their attention to the alternative. If they will not listen to her then disaster will come upon them, and then they will learn too late the laughable nature of their own human wisdom. Note the assumption that in each city there are large numbers who refuse to respond to wisdom. Solomon was well aware of the hardness of men’s heart
Pro 1:24-25
‘Because I have called, and you have refused,
I have stretched out my hand, and no man has regarded,
But you have set at nought all my counsel,
And would none of my reproof,’
It is possible, in line with other places in Scripture, that there is here a sudden introduction of the voice of God Himself. It is in fact quite common in the Old Testament to find God suddenly speaking without the writer giving any indication of the fact. It is something which can only be discerned by the content of the words. And that could certainly be true here. But taking the passage as a whole it would still appear to be Wisdom who is speaking. However, in this case the question is not too important, for if it is Wisdom speaking, as it almost certainly is, the writer constantly makes clear that, like the word of God to the prophets, it is the Wisdom of God speaking to men (Pro 2:5-6). Thus she is to be seen as speaking on behalf of God Himself. For in the end it is God Himself Who calls to men and stretches out His hands to them through His Wisdom. And the point here is that they have refused to hear the voice of God and submit to the fear of YHWH (Pro 1:29).
Note again the intensity of feeling. Through His wisdom God has ‘called’, He has ‘stretched out His hand’, He has given ‘counsel’, He has ‘reproved’. He has done all that He could. But they have ‘refused’, they have ‘disregarded’, they have ‘set at naught’, they would ‘have none of it’. So through His words of wisdom God has called for man’s response, but men have refused to hear; He has stretched out His hand, but they have disregarded it. Indeed they have set His words of wisdom at naught, and have refused to take note of their reproof. The implication is that they are thus found guilty before Him. They have not come to His wisdom in the fear of YHWH. There is a reminder here that we too should take note of His words of wisdom, if we too would avoid His judgment. The proof that we fear God will be found in our response to His Wisdom (and His word).
Pro 1:26-27
‘I also will laugh in the day of your calamity,
I will mock when your fear comes,
When your fear comes as a storm,
And your calamity comes on as a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.’
When the day of calamity (a day of trembling) comes, and when the things that they fear most come upon them, (as come they will, just as inevitably as storms and whirlwinds come), Wisdom will laugh at their folly in following their own wisdom. She will mock the folly of their ideas. In other words, wisdom will show up their stupidity. The emphasis is not on her mocking them in their situation, but on her mocking the folly which has brought them to their situation. They had been wise in their own eyes, and now their wisdom has come to nought. It has proved futile. Their wisdom has turned out to be laughable. The point is that basically they had mocked wisdom, and thus wisdom now mocks them. The aim of the words is in order to bring out the laughable folly of those who do not receive the wisdom that comes from God.
Note the interesting contrast between the ‘pouring out’ of her ‘spirit’ (Pro 1:23) like the fruitful rains, and their ‘fear’ coming like a fierce storm and whirlwind of calamity. If we refuse the first we will experience the second. Note also the small chiasmus in the parallels, ‘Calamity – fear – fear – calamity’, typical of Hebrew poetry. Wisdom emphasises the greatness of the calamity and fear that is coming. Here fear indicates ‘what you fear’. What they fear will come like a storm, something which is inevitable and fiercely destructive. Their calamity (cause of trembling) will come on them like a whirlwind, which arises suddenly and causes distress and chaos. And as a result distress and anguish will inescapably come upon them. It is the inevitable consequence of their refusal to respond to the wisdom of God. Whoever is seen as speaking, whether Wisdom or God Himself, the idea is consonant with other Scriptures that what men sow they will reap, that all our actions lead to consequences. The principle is rooted in Scripture.
Pro 1:28-30
‘Then will they call on me,
But I will not answer,
They will seek me diligently,
But they will not find me,
In that they hated knowledge,
And did not choose the fear of YHWH,
They would none of my counsel,
They despised all my reproof.
Then when men and women find themselves caught up in disaster and calamity, they will be brought up short and begin to seek the wisdom that comes from God. They will be desperately looking for any solution. They will thus call on Wisdom, seeking answers to their dilemma. But she will not answer, for they have turned from the way of wisdom. How true to history this is. And how much in line with the teaching of the prophets. When disaster strikes men and women do begin to seek God and His wisdom. But they do it with blinded minds and hardened hearts. It is all superficial. He is the last resort. And once the disaster passes God’s wisdom is once more put aside. As Jesus pointed out, the seed sown on rocky ground, which appears to have taken root, will merely grow superficially, and will soon die away when circumstances alter (Mar 4:16-17).
Note the parallels between Pro 1:24 and Pro 1:29-30:
‘I (wisdom) have called’ — ‘they hated knowledge’’
‘I (wisdom) have stretched out my hand’ — ‘they did not choose the fear of YHWH’.
‘You set at naught my counsel’ — ‘they would none of my counsel’.
‘You would none of my reproof’ — ‘they despised all my reproof’.
Here wisdom is clearly equated with ‘the fear of YHWH’.
So Wisdom (in Proverbs God’s wisdom) is here warning that she is not so easily to be found by those who have once rejected her. And why is she not found? Because men hate true knowledge, the knowledge of God (Pro 2:5), and they do not choose to fear Him. They want the benefit without the true response. They do not want God’s counsel. They do not want His reproof. They want Him to show them an easy way out so that they can then get back to sinning.
The warning is that if we close our minds to God’s wisdom now there will come a time when that wisdom is no longer easily accessible. We will seek it and will not be able to find it, because our hearts will have become hardened. If we do not submit to the fear of God whilst God is speaking to us, and while our hearts are open, (‘now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation’), we will not find it so easy to submit to it once He has stopped speaking so clearly and once our hearts have built up their barriers against Him.
Pro 1:31-32
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be filled with their own devices.
‘For the backsliding (turning away) of the naive will slay them,
And the careless ease of fools will destroy them.’
And the result for them of all this is that they will reap the consequences that they deserve. They will eat the fruit that results from their choices. They will be satiated with the consequences of their chosen manner of life. Both ideas, ‘eat the fruit’ and ‘be satiated with’ indicate full participation. They will experience what is coming to the full. And that fruit, and those consequences, will, for the naive and for the fool, be death and destruction. They will be slain. They will be destroyed. The naive, who carry on turning away from, and are heedless of, God’s wisdom, and the fools who deliberately with careless ease blind their eye to it, will both inevitably come to final judgment. And instead of finding life they will find death. For, as Paul reminds us, the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). That is also the recurrent message of Proverbs.
Pro 1:33
‘But whoever pays heed to me will dwell securely,
And will be quiet without fear of evil.’
In contrast, those who heed God’s wisdom will dwell in peace and security. They will live peaceful and quiet lives without fear of evil. They will not bring upon themselves the ‘fear’ (Pro 1:26-27) which is the consequence of rejecting God’s wisdom. Here we find the regular Old Testament principle that the good will prosper and enjoy a good life, whilst the sinful will face the consequences of their sin. Whilst it was not always literally true, it was making clear that the way to the ‘good life’ was through righteousness and fearing God. In Jesus’ terms, whatever outwardly happens to them, they will still find abundant life (Joh 10:10). Indeed even when the world seems to be collapsing around them, they will have peace, for their trust will be in God. It is the way of the transgressor which is hard.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Consequences of Rejecting Wisdom After wisdom makes her call (Pro 1:20-23), wisdom then gives warnings to those who fail to heed this call (Pro 1:24-33). This passage applies to the daily walk of the Christian as well as to the sinner. For the child of God, wisdom often warns us of dangers to come, so that we will avoid calamities.
In Pro 1:24-33 the voice of wisdom changes from a tone of a plea to a warning. How often have we spoken to our children in love by pleading with them to do right and following this with a warning to them if they do wrong.
But thank God, this chapter which tells us of the call of wisdom does not leave us struggling to understand how to discern the voice of wisdom. In chapter two, we are told how to gain discernment by studying the Word of God (Pro 2:1-5) so that we are better able to distinguish between the voice of the Holy Spirit (Pro 2:6-11) and the voice of the evil man (Pro 2:12-15) and the strange woman (Pro 2:16-19). In the following chapters, wisdom tells us how the Word of God transforms our hearts, minds and bodies so that the voice of wisdom shines brighter and brighter as the noonday sun.
The Progression of Calamity as a Form of Divine Judgment – We see a progression of events in Pro 1:24-33. When God calls out to a person and this call is not heeded (Pro 1:24-25), the Lord will send calamity in order to get their attention (Pro 1:26). This calamity brings fear into the heart of the poor soul. This is the first phase of judgment. When the sinner does not respond to this judgment, God goes to phase two and intensifies the calamities. As they continue and do not cease, the person fall into distress and anguish (Pro 1:27). It is only in such a desperate condition that a hardened heart will call upon God (Pro 1:28), but, alas, it is too late. God will not hear. Since they chose not the fear of God (Pro 1:29), they will receive the fear that comes from calamities, called the fear of evil (Pro 1:33). God will bring them into the third phase of judgment, which is destruction (Pro 1:32).
Judgment in the Epistle of Romans – We see this three-fold progression of judgment in Rom 1:18-32. Mankind left serving God and worshipped idols. God then gave them up unto fornication (Pro 1:24). As they continued in their sins God then gave them up unto homosexuality (Pro 1:26).
Judgment in the Book of Genesis – This same progression of degradation in the heart of man can be found in the book of Genesis:
1. Pro 1:19-20 (Genesis 1 – The creation of man)
2. Pro 1:21 (Gen 4:16, “Cain went out of the presence of the Lord.”
3. Pro 1:21 (Gen 6:5, “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
4. Pro 1:22 (Genesis 11 – Tower of Babel)
5. Pro 1:23 (Jos 24:2 – Abraham’s fathers served other gods.)
6. Pro 1:23 (Genesis 19 – Sodom and Gomorrah)
According to Rom 1:18-32 idolatry leads to fornication and fornication leads to homosexuality. This progression of events is easy to see within the book of Genesis. This progress of depravity can progress in a nation as well as in a person. In the time of Noah, man had progressed to a state of depravity that God had to destroy them.
Judgment in the Book of Isaiah – It is interesting to compare this progression of events to that found in Isa 1:3-9. The people hardened their hearts (Pro 1:3) and became very corrupt as a result (Pro 1:4). This led to sickness (Pro 1:5-6), then divine judgment upon their nation (Pro 1:7-8) and eventually the destruction of all but a remnant of people (Pro 1:9). This was all because God gave up on His chastisement realizing it would not do any good. Thus, He says, “Why should ye be stricken any more?” (Pro 1:3).
Judgment in the Book of Revelation When we read about the Tribulation Period in the book of Revelation we see how God pours out His judgments in progressive intensity. Although many people will repent and be saved during these days, we read how many of these men repented not despite these intense calamities. But it becomes clear that these calamities were designed to bring man to repentance.
Rev 9:20, “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands , that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:”
Rev 9:21, “ Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
Rev 16:9, “And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory .”
Rev 16:11, “And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds .”
In one book written by a person who visited Heaven, Jesus was asked if His death on Calvary was the most difficult thing that He had ever gone through. Jesus replied, No, that the most difficult thing He will ever have to face had not yet taken place. For the most difficult thing that He will ever have to do will be to turn His back upon the many souls who have rejected Him on the Day of Judgment.
Judgment in the Epistle of 1 Corinthians – We see a three-fold form of chastisement for God’s children in 1Co 11:30, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” Note that this verse lists the effects of God’s chastisement in a progressive order. God first allows problems to come into our lives to get our attention. These problems weaken us. If we still persist, God will allow sickness to come into our lives. Finally, if we continue in sin, God will take us home early to be in heaven. He will judge us now so that we will not go to Hell.
As young Christians, we look for God to work miracles in our lives and bring us out of problems. As we continue in the Christian life, God requires that His children grow in the knowledge of His Word and live by faith in Him. If we fail to grow in His Word and allow it to become a part of our daily lives (Heb 5:11-14), we will face a time when He will not step in and work a miracle because He is requiring us to trust and obey His Word. Miracles are often given to young believers to “jump-start” their faith in God, and to direct them to His Word. If we do not grow in His Word, we will find ourselves poorly equipped for the future, and overcome in times of trouble because we are unable to apply God’s Word to our lives and walk through difficulties in victory. This is the reason God’s children walk in lack and sickness in the midst of God’s exceedingly great and precious promises.
Illustration – Kenneth Copeland tells the story of Roy Hicks, who compiled over the years many testimonies of calamities that his church members and other Christians encountered in their lives. [55] Copeland said that almost without fail, the Christian experienced a “forewarning” of impending danger before it happened. In other words, the Holy Spirit warned the believer that there was danger lurking down that path. When the believer took that path despite the warning, the calamity did occur, even when the believer had prayer for protection. This is because he had walked out of the protective will of God. My pastor sent me into the mission field with these words, not knowing that within a few years, his church building would be hit by a tornado with him and his wife in the building, being divinely delivered from harm. He said, “The safest place to be is in God’s will.”
[55] Kenneth Copeland, Believer’s Voice of Victory (Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Fort Worth, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
Illustration – Kenneth Copeland said on his program that the Lord spoke to him and said that on the day the Twin Towers were struck by terrorists on 11 September 2001, God warned everyone who worked in those buildings. He spoke to some who were too dull to hear. He spoke to others who heard but did not heed their inner witness. He spoke to others who took heed and saved their lives.
Pro 1:24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Pro 1:24
Isa 66:4, “I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.”
God called to Judah before destruction came. Note:
Jer 17:13, “O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.”
Note also:
Zec 7:11, “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.”
This is similar to the story in Luk 7:29-35:
Luk 7:32, “They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.”
This cry is similar to the time when Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people had rejected Him as the Messiah.
Luk 19:41-42, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.”
Pro 1:25 “I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded” Comments – While the phrase “Because I have called, and ye refused” implies words, the phrase “I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded” implies actions. Thus, God had performed many divine interventions in a man’s life as a way of letting him know that God was real. He saved them from death, from an accident and calamity. Yet, they would not turn to Him although He had been working in someone’s life for years. Still, a man refuses to come to God.
Pro 1:25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
Pro 1:26 Pro 1:25-26
Psa 2:4, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision.”
Pro 1:27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Pro 1:27
Isa 33:14, “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
Pro 1:28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
Pro 1:28
Isa 55:6, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:”
King Saul called upon the Lord, but He did not answer.
1Sa 28:6, “And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.”
The Lord did not hearken to the five foolish virgins:
Mat 25:11-12, “Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
Those whom the master shut out were not heard:
Luk 13:25, “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:”
The reason that God will not hear is found in Pro 29:1.
Pro 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
Pro 1:29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
Pro 1:30 Pro 1:31 Pro 1:31
Pro 1:31 Scripture References – Note similar verses:
Pro 11:6, “The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.”
Pro 14:14, “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.”
Pro 1:32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Pro 1:32
Comments – This word shows that the fool’s deception is to believe that his prosperity brings lasting prosperity, when it in fact brings destruction. It looks like prosperity, but it is actually destruction in disguise.
Comments – There are a number of illustrations for Pro 1:33 b in the Scriptures. We find a wealthy man named Nabal in 1Sa 25:1-38 who refused to help David when he and his men were in exile. David came near to slaying him because Nabal’s prosperity was partly credited to the fact that David protected this man’s flocks. The Lord then slew Nabal because of his wicked heart. When Jesus was teaching about covetousness He told the story of the rich fool who has plenty. He then said to himself in a covetous spirit that he would heap his goods into barns and endeavor to eat, drink and to be merry (Luk 12:16-21). Yet he did not know that very soon God required his soul. In order to overcome covetousness Paul told Timothy to warn those who were rich with this world’s goods to be generous towards others. Note:
1Ti 6:17-19, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
Pro 1:33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
Pro 1:33
1Ch 4:10, “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil , that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”
Psa 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Mat 6:13, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Pro 1:32-33 Comments – Two Destinies Given to Men Pro 1:32-33 reveals that there are two, and only two, destinies for every human being. There is heaven and there is hell, but no alternatives. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that many will follow the path of destruction, while few will find the path of wisdom and life (Mat 7:13-14).
Mat 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Pro 1:24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Ver. 24. Because I have called, and ye refused. ] If any ask, why did God suffer them to refuse, and not make them yield? I answer with Augustine, Doctiorem quaerat, qui hanc quaestionem ei explicet: Let him look one that can tell him, for I cannot.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
refused: i.e. refused [to hear], verses: Pro 1:24-33.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I have called: Isa 50:2, Isa 65:12, Isa 66:4, Jer 7:13, Eze 8:18, Zec 7:11, Zec 7:12, Mat 22:5, Mat 22:6, Mat 23:37, Mat 23:38, Heb 12:25, Heb 12:26
stretched: Psa 31:20, Act 4:30, Rom 10:21
Reciprocal: Gen 27:34 – he cried Gen 27:38 – General Exo 10:3 – How long 2Ch 36:16 – despised Neh 9:17 – refused Job 33:14 – perceiveth Psa 27:5 – For in Psa 68:21 – of such Pro 15:32 – refuseth Pro 29:1 – General Pro 31:20 – She stretcheth Isa 65:2 – spread Jer 6:19 – even Jer 9:6 – refuse Jer 35:17 – because Jer 38:21 – if thou Zec 7:13 – as Mat 22:3 – and they would not Mar 12:9 – he will Luk 8:12 – by Luk 13:24 – for Luk 13:34 – and ye Luk 14:24 – General Joh 7:34 – General Act 13:41 – ye despisers Act 24:25 – Go Act 26:1 – stretched Heb 12:17 – he was Rev 22:11 – that is unjust
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 1:24-28. Because I have called, &c. By my ministers, my judgments, the motions of my Spirit, and your own consciences; and ye refused To obey my call; I have stretched out my hand Offering mercy and grace to you, and earnestly inviting you to accept of them; and no man regarded Few or none complied with my will, and accepted my offers. But ye have set at naught all my counsel Have despised or made void my design of doing you good, and have disregarded my commands, counsels, and exhortations; I also will laugh at your calamity As you have scoffed at me and my ways, so I will not pity and relieve you, when sickness, pain, and death assault you, as they soon will do; I will mock when your fear cometh The misery which you do or should fear. When your fear cometh as desolation As the sword, or some desolating judgment, which quickly overruns a whole country; and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind Which instantly spreads itself from place to place with great and irresistible violence, sweeping all before it, and making terrible destruction; when distress, outwardly, and anguish, inwardly, cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me When it is too late, and would gladly be beholden to me for that mercy, which they now reject and make light of; but I will not answer Because when I called they would not answer me: all the answer then will be, Depart from me, I know you not. This has been the case of some, even in this life, as of Saul, whom God answered not by Urim, or by prophets; but ordinarily, while there is life there is room for prayer, and hope of being answered; and therefore this must chiefly refer to the inexorable justice of the last judgment. Then those that slighted God will seek him early, that is, earnestly, and without delay, but in vain; they shall not find him, because they did not seek him when he might be found, Isa 55:6. The rich man, in torment, begged in vain for a drop of water to cool his tongue; and much more would he have been denied if he had begged to be released out of the infernal prison.