TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - May 28, 2025 - Proverbs 1:20-25 - Wisdom Cries in the Streets

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart explore the voice of wisdom calling publicly—not in temples or secret places, but in the streets, the markets, and at the gates of power. Proverbs 1:20–23 pictures wisdom as a woman shouting to the simple, the scorners, and the fools: Repent while you still can. This message reminds believers that God’s truth is not reserved for the elite or the educated—it’s calling out to everyone. But the window to respond is limited. Wisdom warns: if you continue rejecting truth, there will come a time when understanding will be withheld. The episode includes urgent reflections on spiritual apathy, societal rebellion, and the power of receiving rebuke with humility.Verses Covered:Proverbs 1:20Proverbs 1:21Proverbs 1:22Proverbs 1:23

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Morning Manna. Today is Wednesday, and we're delighted to have you with us for this edition of Morning Manna, where brothers and sisters from many nations gather in real time at 8 a.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, at faithandvalues.com for a live virtual Bible study. And of course, later throughout today, thousands of people watch or listen to morning manna on social media or video on demand. It doesn't matter. Whatever is best for you. We're just delighted that you are here for one hour to study the word of God. By the way, I want to remind you, you know, we're still streaming Morning Manor on the True News social media account, but that is going to go away. We have a new feed titled Morning Manor. So whatever social media platform you're using from True News, I want to encourage you to

locate and switch over to the Morning Manna feed on that same social media platform. Eventually, it's the True News account is going to fade away and it will only be Morning Manna. The other thing I need to say at the beginning of the class is that since we've made the change and stopped doing the newscasts, well, we anticipated that there would be people who would say, well, Rick, Doc, this is where we get off the train and we're going in a different direction. That's okay. We get that. However, what I need you to know is that the morning manna class is the only group of people

to support this ministry. It's you or nobody. And so we are trusting in the Lord that you will be generous and support this work. I know we're going to continue to do this every day and grow and expand. I'm not worried. I'm not afraid. It is a challenge to my faith. I'm not going to be dishonest about it.

It absolutely is a challenge to my faith. I'm not going to be dishonest about it. It absolutely is a challenge to my faith. This is one of those times where the Lord is pruning the ministry, but new growth always comes. And I've seen this over the years and I've watched him prune and cut back and I've watched him And I've watched him eliminate, move people out and bring new people in. And he's done it periodically over the 26 years I've been here. And it's, when it's happening, when you're going through it, you know, it's a little unsettling.

But as the years have gone by, I've come to recognize the pattern. Aha, Father, I know what you're doing. You get your pruning shears out. All right, cut away. Go ahead, do what you gotta do. But there's gonna be new growth. Eventually, we're going to be bigger

and better than we were before. So seeing the pattern gives me peace and confidence. So seeing the pattern gives me peace and confidence. But I do encourage you to give generously. We're going into the summer months, and ministries always have difficult times in the summer. We're not going to say that. We are not going to own that. That's something other ministries can deal with, but we're not going to say it. We're going to say that we're going to have the most blessed summer we've ever had.

And you're going to have the most blessed summer also, because faith, God doesn't hand out blessings, you know, He doesn't skip seasons and say, well, I'm not going to bless you during the summer. No, he's gonna bless you in the summer if you're generous in the summer. He's a 12 month a year blesser. And you need to be a 12 month a year giver. And watch that flow. Just continue month after month after month where all your needs are met and you actually have leftover that's where that's where I desire to see you financially all your bills are paid and you got left over amen all right that's the abundance now you've got something to work with to do

more for the kingdom of God, to help other people, to share, to do good things. That's where I desire to see you. All right, we are in the second chapter of the book of Proverbs. Yesterday we studied. We're in the first, aren't we? Oh, oh, Doc, thank you for telling me.

I was about to go to... Give me a moment here, folks. I've got to switch. I pulled up my notes for chapter 2. Where did we stop yesterday, Doc? We stopped at verse 19, so we should be picking up on verse 20. Today is Proverbs chapter 1 verse 20 through 25. We could have done some time traveling there doc. We could have been ahead in the chapter 2. Alright so Proverbs chapter one verses 20 through 25. I'll pray and

Doc's going to read the word. Oh gracious Father, Father we love you and we adore you, we praise you, we magnify you. Father, we are hungry for knowledge, for wisdom, for understanding. That's what the book of Proverbs is promising. Wisdom and understanding. And so, Father, that's the reason we're here. We're pursuing you. We are chasing wisdom and understanding, and we are treating wisdom and understanding as gold and silver, better than gold and silver.

And so Father, you promised in your word that you would give us wisdom and understanding. Father, by the time that this study of Proverbs is over, I pray that every single person in this class is wiser and has more understanding about the affairs of life. In the name of Jesus, amen. Amen. And we're privileged that you're here with us today because it's by faith that you're here. You came online here, if you're with us live today. You came online expecting God to

speak to you today and I'm encouraged by that. We have people checking in Rick from Brazil, from Japan, from the Philippines, from Germany this morning. I think I mentioned Brazil. And our good friend Sebastian in Switzerland, Rick. He had surgery today, but he's online with us today and we prayed for him before morning manna yesterday. I'm glad to hear he's at home resting today and so, but Sebastian we were praying for you buddy and so if you've got your Bibles, let's turn to Proverbs chapter one and we're going to read verses 20 through 25 here this morning. So if you'll follow along with me. And beautiful passage here how Solomon expresses the beauty of wisdom here. Wisdom cryeth without. She uttereth her voice in the streets. She cryeth in the chief

place of concourse in the openings of the gates in the city she utter her word saying how long you simple ones will you love simplicity and the scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge turn you at my reproof behold I will pour out my spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you, because I have called you and ye refused. I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded, but ye have said it not, all my counsel and would none of my reproof." God bless the reading of his word today. Amen. Verse 20, wisdom cryeth without she uttereth her voice in the streets. So you

know the method, the style of teaching that we use in morning manna. We take each verse and we divide it into its segments. We study each segment, then we put it together. Then we have a holistic understanding of that verse. So let's start with verse 20. It has three parts. Part one, segment number one, wisdom cryeth without. So this first segment is emphasizing the urgency of wisdom's call.

It's telling us, listen, listen attentively to divine guidance that is freely offered in the midst of a noisy, confused distracted world. If it was noisy and distracted in the days of Solomon, What is it today with all of the social media and all the media stimulation that we have? It's amazing that any of us can think. With all the noise, yes. So this phrase, wisdom cryeth without, without meaning outside. Wisdom is outside. It's proclaiming in a bold public manner that wisdom is available to anybody who hears and responds.

And what this teaches us is wisdom is actively searching for people who will say, yes, I'll take it. If you're shouting outside, you're trying to be heard. You desire the whole public to hear your voice. I mean, we think of a town crier in the old days. Yes, announcing the news. So they get the news out. They didn't have the internet. They didn't have social media, the town crop crier said, hear he hear he the governor has decreed whatever. He He was crying out in public. So that's what's happening here. Wisdom is in the city square, shouting. Come and receive all the wisdom and understanding you can contain.

Which means it is available to anybody, it's available to everybody, and it's available anywhere at any time. It's universal. God is pleading with humanity. Ask for my wisdom. So the word without meaning, you know, in public. Wisdom is accessible. It is not, you don't have to go into a secret lodge.

You don't have to know the password, the handshake to get the secret knowledge. This isn't secret knowledge, it's public knowledge. God doesn't have mysteries. Yes, I was just going to say, God's not hiding His desire to see man redeemed. It's not a mystery, it's not a puzzle, an enigma or a riddle. It's not any of those things. God is making His intention plain. I have wisdom. I have it. Come to me. Is there anybody that

wants wisdom? That's right. So you don't have to join God's secret lodge. And you don't have to go through initiations to receive the secret knowledge. You don't have to have a secret handshake or take an oath. You don't have to talk to a Kabbalist wizard to get the mysteries of the universe explained. You don't know. You don't need to know numerology. You don't have to wear a funny hat or a funny apron. No, God, the wisdom is in the public square shouting to everybody. It's free, come and get it. It's available. So whose fault is it if you don't receive it? It I hate putting it on in the terms of

Money and material wealth, but if somebody was standing in the street shouting free money free money come and get it. If you walk past that person and didn't ask for it, whose fault is it? You know why people don't receive it? They don't put any value on it. You got it. That's the reason. You shout money, hey free gold coins, free gold coins, come and get them, free gold. Oh, there'll be a stampede. Because there's a value. Free hundred dollar bills. They're going to be a stampede. People have a value on it.

Free automobiles. You better stand back. The crowds coming. Free wisdom. Where did the crowd go? Where did the crowd go? Oh, they don't see any value in it. That's the reason God is shouting in the streets, come and get it and amazed that few people receive it.

Now again, I wanna commend the morning man audience because hey, you're here. And believe me, the Holy Spirit is observing your attendance and happy and smiling and saying, look at this, look at all the people who have gathered to receive wisdom and understanding. Yes, come in, have a seat, I will give you my wisdom. That's right. So wisdom has a passionate desire to share with humans, to freely give, to impart. Now the second part of this verse is, she uttereth her voice. So this segment of this verse in Proverbs 1 is underscoring the clarity

of wisdom's message. She utters her voice. She speaks. She speaks clearly. She speaks. She speaks clearly. She speaks loudly. There are no secrets, no mysteries, no whispers. She speaks. And students, humans must incline their ear. Remember what we learned yesterday, incline your ear. Yes. Lean in, listen.

She utters her voice. That's when you incline your ear and say, say it. I need to hear every word that you've got. But I need to hear every word that you've got. Now this verse personifies wisdom as a feminine figure, describes wisdom as a female, a woman. Why is that? I don't know, Doc. I see it. Go ahead.

Go ahead. Then I'll tell you what I think. Well, in Hebrew, slash Aramaic, any qualities, for instance, intelligence, wisdom, understanding, any human high qualities, I guess the best way to put it, in the Hebrew slash Aramaic show up in the feminine form. It's hard for us to understand in English because we don't have male and female words. A lot of languages, Greek being one of them, Hebrew another one, French, Latin, a lot of the romantic languages,

they have both feminine and male qualities to specific words. In this case, human qualities take on a feminine case, a feminine. It doesn't mean that wisdom itself is feminine. It just means that for the purpose of discussion, the word itself has a feminine case. But doing that here in Proverbs, you have the concept of what we call lady wisdom. And you're going to see this repeated all

throughout Proverbs. Now some guys, some theologians, some cemeterians try to say, well, if wisdom is the Holy Spirit, is the Holy Spirit feminine? Yeah, does the Holy Spirit take on a feminine case? No, that's not necessarily the case at all. In fact, you get right down into this word wisdom. Actually, the word is plural. But we don't use the word wisdoms. That's not a word that we use. We think of wisdom to say whole big thing.

But really in the Hebrew Aramaic, it's plural. So there's other things here that's involved. But the thing is, it just shows that there's many ways to apply the principles of wisdom. And in the case of Proverbs, it takes on a character and personification as lady wisdom. So I have no issue with it at all. And to me, it's just another way for the Holy Spirit

to explain these things. Here's lady wisdom crying in the street, crying out for someone to listen. So that's my take on it. No, that's very good, Doc, because the only thing I could add to this, what you just said, I'm gonna add fits absolutely with what you just said.

It concurs with your description, is that wisdom is portrayed as a loving mother. Right. Nurturing, holding, encouraging, loving, affirming. Right. This is a mother figure, okay? It's telling you that wisdom wants to love on you like a mother.

Right. And just because it's used, you know, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit is used in this feminine form doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit is feminine. Just like in Genesis, chapter one, where it talks about the Spirit of God brooded upon the waters. That word brooding has to do with birds and chickens and stuff. That doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit's full of feathers. It just means for the purpose of explaining these things,

God chose to use this form here in order to understand how wisdom operates in the world around. Someone in the chat here live said, sort of like Lady Liberty. When we think of here in the United States, we think of Lady Liberty. Liberty isn't a lady, but when we think of Lady Liberty, there's a personification of liberty. So that's an example in the English language where we take a kind of a principle or a concept and personify it

with either a male or female characteristic. It doesn't mean it's male or female. It just, for the purpose of explanation, it works out in a good way. Yes, and also mother's voice has authority. That's mom speaking, it's mother speaking. Listen, she loves you, she desires your best interests. She's watching out for you. Like a comforter. Jesus describes the Holy Spirit in the New Testament as a comforter. So these are just, there's so many characteristics about the Holy Spirit that you need pictures to explain it. Yes. Okay, so if wisdom was a lady, this is what she would be doing.

And then the third segment of this verse is In the Streets. of this verse is in the streets. This speaks about the universality of wisdom's call. She's out in the public streets. Yes. Again, she's not down at the lodge. She's not at the, you know, at the Women's Flower Club meeting. She's not down at the Farm Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce. She's outside in the streets.

Yes. For everybody. It's available to everybody. It indicates wisdom's presence in everyday public spaces. There is no excuse to not be wise. There is no excuse. There is abundant wisdom. Just like there is abundant grace. There's no excuse not to have grace.

There's abundant grace. You have to seek it. You have to go get it. There's no charge. It's like, I don't know. Think of, well, I'll tell you, I'm thinking of, I've never been there, but a friend of mine who lives in California told me about an abundant natural spring. And the state of California has actually, you know, where the spring is at, is actually kind of like a small state park.

And there's a parking lot and there are faucets. And it is there for anybody. Come and fill up all the containers you have. There's no end to this water. This is clean spring water. It's available to everybody in the state of Florida. Come and get it. It's a public resource.

It's not sold. It's not restricted. It's available to everybody, rich and poor. Amen. Black and white, it doesn't matter. Come, come and get it. That's what I see here with wisdom. It's out in the streets.

Bring your containers and fill it up. And when you use it, come back tomorrow and get some more. That's right. Just like grace. So it also says, what else is going on in the streets? When you talk about the public square, the streets, that's a metaphor for everyday life. Right. There's commerce. There everyday life. Right.

There's commerce. There's buying and selling. There's transportation. There's social, social communication. There's eating. There's arguing. You know, there's positive and negative. What's going on in the city square

You put a bunch of humans together all kinds of stuffs happening, right? It's real life. It's not hidden away somewhere Like you were mentioning earlier Rick, it's not secret knowledge. It's open knowledge It's it's in the marketplace. It's at the vegetable stand. It's at the pottery stand. It's dealing with the competing voices out in the marketplace too that will try to lead people in a different direction. But it's out there. It's not hidden away.

It's not silent. It's not hiding out. But true Holy Spirit wisdom goes to where the people are. Doc, what's in my mind right now? I love this. I love this scene, this experience is Petra in Jordan. Yes. Because you walk for a long way through this gorge, tall rocks on both sides, narrow pathway, you're

walking for a long distance. And you think this is, will this ever end? Where are we going? It's like, are we walking through the Grand Canyon? And then all of a sudden, all of a sudden, there's Petra. There it is. And when you get there, I just start laughing every time I get there. It amuses me. When I say laugh, I don't mean I'm not mocking. I'm laughing as like, this is crazy, this is wild.

There's a couple thousand people from all over the world, multiple languages. There are- Yeah, you're rubbing shoulders together. You're right next to a camel or a burro. Oh, there's camels everywhere and you hear the camels and there are donkeys and there are horses and there are carts being drawn by donkeys and horses and you know there's buying and selling and trading and and and

bartering you know a lot of bartering going on and people taking photographs and posing. It's like, oh, this is, this is crazy. I could just stand there for hours and hours and hours and watch the human activity with the animals. Cause like, this is what Petra was like thousands of years ago. Right. This is what it was like. What we're seeing right now. That's what I see right now.

So with all that stuff going on, thousands of years ago. Right. This is what it was like, what we're seeing right now. That's what I see right now. So with all that stuff going on in Petra, imagine wisdom is climbing up on a pedestal saying, free wisdom, free wisdom. It's all this commotion and activity and noise. There are camels and donkeys and horses making their sounds. There are people talking, there's arguing, there's laughing, there's crying, there's

children playing, there's all this is going on. It's human life. That's what I'm trying to say. It's human life. That's what I'm trying to say. It's human life. You know, you can see that scene and many countries that you go into, you go into the marketplace. Oh, it's just, it's so, so fun. I love it. But the image that I'm trying to get to you is wisdom is standing up on a pedestal, trying to get people's attention. Hey, come over here.

I got, I got something to give you wisdom. So she cries in the streets. She lifts her voice and she cries in the streets. And so it says that what is what this means the streets represent the everyday hustle and bustle of human activity. It's different from country to country city to city and from age to age. city to city and from age to age.

You know, New York city today is not what it was like a hundred years ago. Or a hundred years before that. But you know what? It was filled with people. Buying, selling, trading, marketing. I love to watch the old black and white videos of life at the turn of the 20th century, you know, 1900, 1905, to see the activity in a major city, how the people were dressed, how you see the stores, you can see the activity, you can see the horses and so forth. You know, I love watching that stuff

But you know what it says to me At the end of the day, nothing's changed Instead of carriages we have cars You know someday There won't be drivers in our cars. So they'll just be driver. I mean nothing it just continues Things change and yet they remain the same. And that's what this is saying. Wisdom is in your streets.

She's been in the streets since man was made. She'll be in the streets shouting until Christ comes back. But in the streets is also where folly, foolishness competes for attention. That's right. Folly is in the streets also saying, come be an idiot, come over here. I've got foolishness for you. Now foolishness can get a crowd.

What is it? What is it about human nature? You can have wisdom on one pedestal and foolishness on another. The crowd will go to foolishness. That's our nature. It's just the way we are. Verse 21, she cryeth in the chief place of concourse. This is the first part. She cryeth in the chief place of concourse cry not weeping but shouting shouting she cries out okay what does this represent urgency you only cry out you only shout if something is urgent for people to hear. It, it, it, this, this segment, it portrays wisdom as boldly proclaiming her message in the busiest places of the city.

Trying to be heard over the noise and the distraction of human activity. Turn off the video games, turn off the television, turn off the internet. Listen to me. Pay attention to me. Turn off all that distraction. It's what wisdom is saying today. There's nothing different. You know, 150 years ago, wisdom would have been saying, put down that newspaper, get off that horse. Come out of that bank. Put down that anvil, listen to me.

You're all busy, but listen to me. I'll make the hours of your day more profitable. You'll get more done with me than you will without me. Who wouldn't accept that offer? A lot of people. A lot of people, yes. Well, we're drawn away by our own lust. And so our own desires.

Someone shouting, get rich quick. How many times have we heard that voice in our lifetime? That's right. We do this one thing, if you sign up for this, put your money in this, here's some magic beans. And so, Well, magic beans, they work, they get a crowd all the time. But wisdom requires effort, requires you having to go out of your way, having to do things,

whereas foolishness, you don't have to do anything to be a fool. It's your natural state. Just act naturally, like the song, all right? Just act naturally. Buck Owens would sing, just act naturally. Act naturally. Right?

In recent months, I have withdrawn from posting things on social media about world events. I've been very quiet. I just came to realize, I mean, I knew it before, but I just didn't want to admit it to myself, that there was very little, very little that I could do in the social media public square that was gonna change anybody. You know, I look at my posts

and they get a couple thousand views. I mean, at maximum I get a hundred thousand. Okay. But I'll look at, I'll look at somebody that isn't representing Jesus Christ at all and they'll get five million. Right. I'm like, the people gravitate to fools That's just the truth and the bigger fool yard the bigger crowd you get yes Facebook and X and

Instagram and all these social These are modern-day Marketplaces right? That's all they are modern-day marketplaces. Right. That's all they are. Modern day marketplaces. And if wisdom was on social media, she wouldn't get very many likes. And yet that's where wisdom goes to cry out. Yes. That's the irony of it. Yes. That's where wisdom goes. It goes right into the marketplace, right into the King James word here is the concourse, like the heart of the city, the cardio of the city, like we would visit the cities in Jordan and everything. And see that, when I think of this, Rick,

I think of that marketplace that we visited, that they had uncovered, the big round marketplace. And they explained that back in the first and second century, that entire area was circled around with vendors and with sellers and whatever, you have fabric and vegetables and everything else right in the heart of the city. And that's where wisdom goes. It goes right into the heart of the city, right where the people are. And that tells us that wisdom desires to see

to see fools made wise. Yes. When you visit the Middle East and I guess also would be in parts of Europe, you see the ruins of the old Roman cities and what Doc is talking about is that you get to the center and they use the word for heart, cardio. Right. And that's what the Romans called it. That's why we talk about, we say get to the heart of the matter. The center of the city of Roman cities was called the heart.

And then there were like spokes from a wheel that went out. Those were the main streets. Those were the arteries. Where traffic, where the blood would flow from the heart. But the center is where all the activity was at. And so that's what the concourse is. And so that's what the concourse is. It's the heart of human activity. So Doc is absolutely right. Wisdom makes a beeline for the busiest places. Why? That's where the people are at.

Right. And yet wisdom knows very few people will incline their ear and listen. And yet she continues to do it day after day after day. Amen. And has been doing it for thousands of years. In every city of the world today, wisdom cried out. In Beijing, in Moscow, in Washington, in every major

city, in every small city. Size of the city doesn't matter. Wisdom is there crying out today. It's free, come and get it. She cries out in the concourse. She cries out in the chief place of concourse in the city at the gates. It also represented leadership. If you said somebody sat at the gates, it basically meant he's a member of the city council. Right. Sits at the gates.

What's that mean? He's in the governing board that decides who has access to the city. That's right. Doesn't mean has a chair at the gate. It means he sits on a seat that decides who can come into the city, who can start a business, who can trade, who can live here. He sits at the gates.

He's a gatekeeper. We have people today in the media who are gatekeepers they decide who can be seen and heard on media. I just read a story last night doc about the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation bragging that they they use their clout in the Canadian government to shut down an online news site. Proud of it, I bet too. They said, they said, you can't come in this. You can't come in here. We're closing the gates on you. But wisdom is in the opening of the gates. Yes. It means she is at the city's entry points. When you enter the city there's wisdom. You know you always have a sign welcome to Philadelphia, welcome to Denver and wisdom's there saying hey I'm here. You cross in the city line I'm here. Come on in. I'm here every day. I'm at the gates.

The opening of the gates, so gates close and they open. The opening of the gates represents transition and opportunity. transition and opportunity. Hey, the city gates are open. That means that they're open for business. Right. I can transition from being outside the city to being inside the city. The gates are open.

I can make this transition. There's opportunity to engage in business in the city. She's at the gates, in the opening of the gates. She's there to open the gates of the city. We are open for business. And my business is wisdom and understanding. Wisdom is also at the gates to protect. Yes. You station guards at the gates to protect. Yes.

You station guards at the gates. And who is wisdom guarding against? Beware of that idiot. Stay away from that fool. Don't go near that deceiver. Yes. So it's a strategic positioning in the affairs of life. Wisdom deliberately positions herself for strategic influence.

And not hiding. Standing right in the gate of the city. There's wisdom. She's not wandering around like a homeless person. Oh, here comes old lady wisdom, pushing her cart. No. She's on the move. And she's decked out. She's well dressed. She's got gold. She's on the move. And she's decked out. She's well dressed.

She's got gold. She's got pearls. She's well dressed. She's not a homeless woman pushing a shopping cart with bags in it. She's well dressed and she deliberately puts herself at the opening of the gates. Not only am I going to be at the gates, I'm gonna be there when they open. Amen. It's a strategic positioning of wisdom. It also tells us we are the gatekeepers of our hearts.

We need to have wisdom positioned as the gatekeeper of our hearts. The third segment is, in the city, she uttered her words saying. So now we see active verbal communication. In the city, she's there at the opening of the gate. She's now in the city and she's speaking her words. She's not just standing there like a statue. She's got something to say. And for us it means she desires you and me to actively engage with her in the study of God's Word. It's okay to say to wisdom, I don't understand that scripture.

It is, I've got a block in my mind. Could you open up my mind to understand the scripture? It's okay to say to wisdom, I know there's more in that verse. Would you take me on a deep dive? Show me what's in that verse. She's engaging. She desires that conversation. It's okay to say to wisdom, I got a problem. I don't know how to solve. It's over my head. It's okay. Wisdom desires to have that conversation. She's in the city and she utters her words. A person that speaks desires conversation. There's this, it also speaks of a pervasive presence in everyday life. Yes.

God's truth permeates all aspects of society. Can't get away from it. That's right. And so you have to make a choice to avoid it. That makes you a fool. Yes Yes, and that's what we studied yesterday The fool deliberately Refuse the fool rejects knowledge

The fool rejects knowledge So uttering words So she didn't just speak one time. It's a continuous speaking, which means wisdom's call to men and women is ongoing every day, every hour. She's speaking. Which also means we're without excuse. That wisdom is available to us all the time. And so for us not for us not to tap into it. There's no excuse for that at all. All day long, wisdom is crying out in the marketplace and the gates looking for, you know, hey, you fools, I've got wisdom. Don't be a fool anymore. And yet people choose to remain foolish.

Yes, a persistent, ever-present teacher seeking students. Wisdom is a teacher searching for students. And that's what we are today. Pat yourself on the back. We're here, we gather. We said, wisdom, we heard your voice. We're gonna spend an hour. We've already spent 48 minutes seeking to understand wisdom and understanding

Verse 22 How long ye simple ones Will ye love simplicity She utters her voice. What does she say with her voice? How long? You simple one. How long will you love your simplicity?

In other words, how long you gonna love your foolishness? Um, I would say I'll I'll correct what I just said In the sense that simple ones here. I don't think necessarily Are full-grown fools. They're candidates for fools. They're candidates for foolhood. They haven't graduated into senior foolhood. They haven't fully bloomed in foolishness. Yes. So simple ones represent

naive, easily swayed people. They're up for grabs. The fools want them, a full grown, hardcore, wise people. And in the middle are the simple ones. And both sides are competing for them. The fools are saying, come on, come on over here with us. The wise are saying don't go that way, join us. These are the people that are in the middle. They're naive, they're easily swayed. One day they're going this way, the next day they're going that way. They're up for grabs. So this, how long ye simple ones is an urgent plea from wisdom saying that God's truth is challenging all those who linger.

Just hang around, linger in the presence of fools. Hang around in the presence of ignorance. Kind of testing, well, maybe I want to be a fool. I don't know, maybe I'll be wise. They're in the middle. And wisdom is saying here, how long are you gonna continue doing this? What's worked out for you? Where is this profit at you?

Don't go with the fools. It says, will ye love simplicity? In other words How long are you going to embrace your ignorance again? It's not so much that they have become fools, but they are ignorant and Wisdom is saying how long are you going to love your ignorance? When you have the opportunity to learn righteous living. But that cry, how long?

This is a passionate cry from God, right? That has an urgency. When you say to somebody, how long are you going to do this? You're expressing your your exasperation, your frustration with somebody. Like, I don't get it. I just don't get it. How long are you going to continue to do this? I mean, I've got some people in my life, that's what I want to say to them. How long? How long are you going to do this? How long?

This is working out for you. How long are you going to do it? I think we all have people like that in our lives, in our families, our friendships and the scorners delight in their scorning. How long you simple ones will you love simplicity and the scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge. How long? Three types of people there. Simple ones, scorners and fools. Yes.

You got it, Doc. So now we move to the scorners. Scorners speaks of the arrogance of those people who mock wisdom. Right. They make fun of it. You want to meet some scorners? Post something wise on X or any social media platform and watch the scorners come after you. They'll show up. They'll mock what you said. Just post something wise.

And watch how many people show up to mock you. These are people that take pleasure in their cynicism. They enjoy belittling God's truth. They get pleasure out of it. And let me tell you, there's a contagious nature of mocking. It sure is. You don't want to hang around with mockers. Mockers and scoffers. There are two groups of people you do not want to be in their presence. And social media is full of them.

Yes. Because what social media does allows you to wear a mask. And you can be somebody else. You can pretend to be somebody else. There was a particular leading evangelical here lately that got called out because what he was doing is he was posting regular stuff on his main account, but he had three other secret accounts and was using those accounts to criticize other preachers and other leaders and everything. And he got found out here about a week and a half, two weeks ago.

And he's had to make a public apology, a public confession about doing it. But on these other accounts, he was mocking and making fun of other people. But on his main account, he was this nice, beautiful, nice guy, posting wise, pithy saying on his account. His mean side is his evil side was coming out in the fake accounts. Yes. If you run, if you manage an organization,

if you have a business, if you are the leader of an organization, you absolutely cannot tolerate mockers and scoffers inside your group. You got to, you got to push them out. You're not going to change them. I just say that right now. You are not going to change them. Nope.

Yes. Get rid of them and move on. Get them out as fast as you can. You don't have the ability to transform a mocker or a scorner, only God can. And basically, and God can't change them. Yeah, in most cases, God can't even do it. But if you have somebody in your organization, your business who is a critic, a mocker, a scoffer, a scorner, you've got to get that person out because their cancer will spread

throughout your organization. Absolutely. They will pollute your entire organization. You got to get them out quickly or you will lose good people Over time they will poison the minds of good people Take my word for it You've got to you've got to eliminate them you got to get them out Scorning and mocking and criticism

Criticizing is it's contagious Scorning and mocking and criticizing is contagious and self-destructive. And fools hate knowledge. So this identifies fools as people who actively reject knowledge, reject understanding, reject wisdom. It's a willful ignorance. It's a decision. And not only is it a decision, it comes with intensity. They hate. They didn't just reject, they hate. They hate God's wisdom. And that comes from a spirit of rebellion. from a spirit of rebellion.

It's the rebellious spirit in people that hates wisdom. That's one way to identify a spirit that's operating in somebody. When you notice them rejecting wisdom, then you know they have a rebellious spirit. then you know they have a rebellious spirit. We had an employee years ago, he became so sour, so bitter. His life, it was his whole life, everything, everything in his life, wasn't just sausage, everything. When he would come into the Bible study, he just brought a tension, a bad feeling, all right? He would just sit at the far end of the table and just glare,

okay? He was so full of bitterness and anger in his life. And again, it wasn't just, he's just bitter, angry, had bad attitude, but he would bring it into the Bible study. And it was like, you just feel the tension. So you, I don't want this guy here. I don't desire this guy to be here. He's changing the atmosphere of this meeting. That's what he was. And wasn't it proverbs that we were studying

I think it was I think it was and and so wisdom was he he has his rebellious spirit was coming out I am not going to accept this. I am a rebel They hate knowledge. They see wisdom as an absurdity. Verse 23, turn you at my reproof. This calls for repentance, humility, broken heart, broken contrite spirit, okay? Change direction, turn you at my reproof. This is verse 23.

So verse 23 says, turn you at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you, and I will make known my words unto you. Turn you at my reproof. Again, this is speaking about repentance, to accept reproof as loving correction. When our heavenly father needs to correct us, he does it with love. Yes. He's never gonna knock you across the room. That's not the way he corrects. Unless you are a defiant rebel, he might have to deal sternly with you. But as long as you have a humble heart towards him, even when you need reproof, he does it gently, lovingly as a kind father.

You should never fear his reproof if you have a humble spirit. Know that your father loves you and he's doing what is necessary for your betterment. It tells us to take personal responsibility. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you." This reveals wisdom's generous offer of divine insight, that repentance unlocks a flood of God's blessing. Right. Repentance unlocks a flood.

You would think, wait a minute, I did something wrong. I'm in great trouble. He's going to cut me off. He's going to put me in a, he's going to lock me up in solitary confinement for three or four years i'm gonna pay for this guy says no when you repent i'm gonna unlock blessings on you that doesn't make sense does it that's his nature it's it's to our personal benefit to repent. I mean, this should just spark a wave of repentance

when this class is over. Are you telling me if I repent, you're gonna bless me? Yes. Yes, he's going to bless you. Yes. Now, what's interesting about this particular verse is that if you tie this verse in with Joel 2 28, and Acts 2 38, you're going to see in Joel 2 28, where it talks about, I'm going to pour out my spirit upon you in the last days. And your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. And Acts 2 38 says, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." The reason why I bring those verses out is that this verse here, verse 23, and those other two verses signify the personhood of the Holy Spirit as wisdom. Okay, this is important theologically to understand that the Holy Spirit is personified as distinct characteristics. I will pour out my Spirit, verse 23 says. Joel 2.28, I will pour out my Spirit. Acts 2.30, you will receive the Holy Spirit, referring back to Joel 2.28 saying, this is

that. And not only is it this is that from Joel, it's this is that from Proverbs 1.23. This is a deep theological concept that it's amazing that Solomon wrote about this when he did. So, Doc, the Holy Spirit indwelling in us is the promise that God made to Abraham. Yes. The Holy Spirit is the promise. Yes. And I'll challenge any Christian Zionist that argues that the Holy Spirit is not the promise.

The Holy Spirit is the promise that God made to Abraham. It wasn't about land. He did give him land, but that is not the promise. The Holy Spirit is the promise that God made to Abraham. It wasn't about land. He did give him land, but that wasn't the promise. The promise is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift you can receive. And when do you receive the Holy Spirit? After you repent. The greatest gift God has to give you comes at the time of repentance. Wrap your mind around that thought.

Galatians 3, 14, Rick says, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. There it is, the promise. Revelation 3, 14. The Holy Spirit, and but you receive the promise. The greatest gift God has to give you, you receive it when you repent of your sins. And then you are born again and the Holy Spirit comes and dwells inside of you. So I just said a few minutes ago, when we repent, God responds to our repentance with blessing. As humans, we think, oh, I'm going to be in the doghouse. You know, I better go cut my wrists.

And God says, no, I've got blessings. I've been holding off for you. Now that you repent, I'm going to give you these blessings. He's always the opposite of what we think. I will make known my words unto you. I will make it clear. You won't have to figure out. There are no secrets.

I will make it clear. I will make known to you my words. I'll help you. I'll illuminate your understanding. I'll turn the light on inside your mind. You'll get it. You'll understand it. If you diligently seek wisdom, I'll turn the lights on and you'll get it.

You'll understand. I'm a patient teacher and I desire you to understand. I'm a patient teacher and I desire you to understand. I will not walk away until you understand everything about my words. In verse 24, it says, because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded. I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded Because I have called Wisdom's persistent invitation Because I have called I've called numerous times

This is wisdom saying to somebody I have called numerous times. This is wisdom saying to somebody, I have called numerous times and you refused. Wisdom is saying to a scoffer, a mocker, a critic, hey, let's set the record straight. I've been calling. I've been calling and every time I've called you have deliberately refused. You weren't Deaf you heard me And you walked away

And you made fun of me you mocked me you rejected me So god relentlessly seeks out humans to give them wisdom and understanding Throughout their lives mentally seeks out humans to give them wisdom and understanding throughout their lives. It never stops until they're declared reprobates, but there's this tragedy of refusal and that refusal is an active choice. And it leads to a spiritual peril and missed blessings. The missed blessings are the least of it. So have called.

This is wisdom saying there has been a prolonged effort to get your attention. This one was not a one-time effort. I've been doing this every day. I've stretched out my hand to you. Wisdom say, please take my hand. I'll lead you on a path of goodness. God has already made the first move, Rick.

Always, he always makes the first move. His hand is outstretched. His hand is outstretched. Take my hand. I'm gonna do something good in your life. Praise God. It's divine compassion. I'm here to do something good. Well, we're talking right now about fools who reject God. But praise the Lord. His hand is outstretched to the righteous who do good. Your His hand is outstretched to the righteous who do good.

His hand is outstretched to you today. Take His hand today. Where do you need to go? What do you need to get out of? What situation are you in? What is it that you need from the Lord? Take His hand, He is gonna lead you to the place of blessing. He's your loving Father.

He's good, He's kind. There's nothing else in His mind and His heart other than to bless you. Yes. I've stretched out my hand. I'm showing you my compassion for you. I'm accessible. My hands are not in my pocket. My hands are not behind my back. My arms aren't folded. I've got my hand reached out to you. Why aren't you taking my hand? And no man regarded. Again, the universal indifference of humans to the appeal of God or to bless them,

to give them wisdom and understanding. It's universal. Verse 25, I've passed my time. But ye have set at naught. Verse 25 I'm past my time but Ye have said at naught Verse 25, but ye have said it not all my counsel and would none of my reproof Ye have said it not It's a deliberate rejection. You made a decision.

You've treated wisdom as worthless. It's a decision that you've made. You should have treated wisdom as a priceless treasure, but you scoffed at it. This is what God is saying to the fools. And you scoffed at all of my counsel. I offered you comprehensive guidance through life and you, you just brushed it off as though it was weeds, dust, junk,

and would none of my reproof. You've refused my loving correction. My loving correction says God is an act of grace because everything I seek to do for you is to bless you to help you to increase you Even when I correct you it's with love To make you a better person to bring you into alignment with my will and you would have nothing to do with my reproof You've been rebellious you've been proud, rebellious. That's what God is saying to the fools. Praise God. Aren't you glad you're not a fool? I don't want to be a fool.

I don't want to be a fool. All right, Doc, that's it. We're over time. All right. Well, we appreciate you being here with us today from Morning Manna. We'll continue, pick back up on verse 26, probably finish up the chapter tomorrow, tomorrow being Thursday, and then of course Friday is Faith Friday. And so we'll be finishing up chapter one this week and starting chapter two next week.

And so we thank you for being here with us, encourage you to continue to dive deep into the word. And don't forget, as Rick mentioned, that we're currently airing Morning Manna on True News and on the True News social media accounts, but that's coming to an end sometime in the very near future. We do have a number of outlets that you're

able to share Morning Manna with your friends and neighbors that are on social media. And I've been posting that in the chat and on the Morning Man of Chat channel. And so I encourage you to take advantage of that and share this content. Right now you can share true news and of course, faith and values,

but you can also share various social media platforms. All right, Rick, any final words before we let everyone go for today? Yeah, I just want to encourage Debbie. Debbie, you said you're standing up to adversity alone. I understand. I know what you mean in terms of human relationship, but you know you're not alone. God's hand is outstretched to you. His hand is outstretched. That's what I desire you to do the moment this class is over is just say to the Holy Spirit, I'll take your hand. Lead me through this adversity. I know that I'm not alone.

You're with me. I may be alone with no other humans, but I'm not alone. You're with me. I'll take your hand. Amen. And when you get through this adversity, you will be closer to God than you are today. Praise God. All right. Well, on that note, we're gonna dismiss our class today and encourage you to share this content as often as you can.

And be sure to join us again Thursday morning, 8 a.m. for the live edition of Morning Manna right here on Faith and Values. God bless you, we love you, and we'll see you Thursday.