Wisdom is not only a person to know (chap. 1) but also a path to walk. The word path is used seven times in this chapter. It suggests to us that life involves direction, decision, and determination, just like walking a path. God will do His part (vv. 6–9) if you do your part (vv. 1–5).
The path of wisdom is a guarded path (v. 8) and a good path (v. 9) that leads to life (v. 19) and righteousness (v. 20). The path of folly is a dark (v. 13) and devious (v. 15) path that leads to death (v. 18).
If you want to walk on the path of God’s wisdom, heed the admonitions in verses 1–5.
The Path of the Unwise
Wisdom addresses three kinds of people: the simple, the scorner, and the fool. The simple are people who believe everything (Prov. 14:15). They have no understanding (Prov. 7:7; 9:4) and cannot see the road ahead (Prov. 22:3; 27:12). Scorners think they know everything (Prov. 21:24), so they never attain wisdom (Prov. 14:6) or even profit from rebuke (Prov. 9:7–8; 13:1; 15:12). They are great troublemakers (Prov. 22:10) who ought to be punished (Prov. 19:29; 21:11). Fools are self-confident (Prov. 12:15; 28:26) and hate instruction (Prov. 1:7, 22; 23:9). They speak proudly (Prov. 10:18; 14:3), love to fight (Prov. 18:6–7; 27:3), meddle (Prov. 20:3), speak without thinking (Prov. 18:13; 19:11), and mock at sin (Prov. 14:9). They are not helped by discipline (Prov. 17:10; 27:22) and will finally fall (Prov. 10:8, 10, 14).
