Proverbs 9:13

Proverbs 9:13 "A foolish woman is clamorous."
Baptist Church Buffalo NY Proverbs 9:13
In this summarizing chapter of the contrast between the evil woman and Wisdom, Solomon adds an attribute to expound on what we already learned in chapter 7.  In the eleventh verse of chapter seven, Solomon describes the evil woman as “loud.”  Here in the thirteenth verse of chapter nine, he elaborates on her verbal tendencies by calling this woman “clamorous.”  To be clamorous is indeed to be loud but there is more to it than just volume.  Someone who is CLAMOROUS is turbulent and vehement; demanding by voice.  But even more important, someone who is clamorous is repetitive in their turbulent demands.  Perhaps the greatest picture of clamor is found in the protests our nation has seen over the past year where people vehemently demand something by repeating a line over and over.

Clamor is only mentioned one other time in Scripture and it was Paul who mentioned it in his letter to the Ephesian believers.  When encouraging them to let no corrupt communication proceed out their mouths and when instructing them to only speak that which is good for the good of the hearer, he mentioned clamor in Ephesians 4:31.  He wrote, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and CLAMOUR, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.”  A clamorous person tries to get something they want by verbal intimidation and force.  A clamorous person tries to drown out reasonable debate or discussion by the intense repetition of words. A clamorous person tries to stop contemplation and deliberation.  A clamorous person keeps repeating their demand until they get it, knowing that people will eventually give in just to silence them.  Toddlers are best known for being clamorous at times.  A little boy will scream over and over, “I want my mommy” when being put in the nursery.  A little girl will angrily demand over and over, “I want my juice” when told to wait.  In these cases, the toddlers will tolerate no reasonable argument and they will protest until they get what they want.  Clamorous toddlers will use their vocal cadence to wear down their parent and remove any resistance.  Sadly, it often works as parents give them what they want just for the sake of getting some peace and quiet.    

The evil woman that Solomon is warning Rehoboam of is more than loud – she is persistent and relentless in her loud demands for him.  By her tone and repetition, she will make it clear to him that rejection is not an option.  By loudly and constantly speaking in his ear, she will ultimately be seeking to stop him from thinking his decision through.  As long as she has his ear, she will have his head.  As long as she has his head, she’ll have his heart.  This is the nature of a clamorous woman.  She knows that if she were to give him time and space to make a sound decision about his romantic life, he would probably wouldn’t choose her.  She knows that if she were to give him some quiet time to seek counsel and pray about it, he would probably wouldn’t accept her invitation.
 
This is the nature of evil and foolishness.  When someone knows that they are flawed or that their product is flawed, they speak loudly and constantly to RESTRICT REASON.  Salesmen who want to make money off a bad product keep talking to keep you from thinking. Salesmen who want to make a sale off a flawed product keep telling you that if you leave, it could be gone or that the deal will go away.  Salesmen want you to make impulsive decisions because they fear time will allow the potential buyer to compare their product with another product and wisely choose the other product because it is better.  Satan is the greatest salesmen this world has ever seen and he is the King of Clamor.  He puts evil before us loudly and constantly so as to eliminate quiet and reason.  Through various forms of media, he keeps talking in order to keep us from thinking.  He tempts us by bombarding us with images and sounds of sin with the goal of getting us to make impulsive decisions.  He knows that if we have enough space and enough silence, there’s a good chance that we’ll hear from God and rethink an impulsive purchase of sinful pleasure.  He wants to fill our eyes and ears with aggressive temptation so as to get us to silence the sales pitch with submission.  We foolishly tell ourselves that if we give in to temptation, it will go away.  We mistakenly convince ourselves that if we give in to temptation, it will get quiet again.  Just as the toddler quiets for a moment when they get their sippy cup, the flesh quiets for a moment when we get our pleasure.  The problem for the parent is that the toddler only gets more emboldened to be more clamorous next time because they found out that their repetitive demands worked.  This is the same problem for the Christian when it comes to temptation.  Satan knows that if he’s loud enough long enough with us, it works and we’ll succumb to temptation.

This clamorous nature of foolishness is the reason why Wisdom tells us to “forsake the foolish and live” in verse 6.  Staying around the foolish will wear you down.  Staying around the foolish, who are clamorous, will eventually lead to submission to the foolish.  We need to forsake the foolish if we’re going to find virtue.  We need to turn off the world’s media if we’re going to hear Heaven’s message.  A Christian will not be wise if they are addicted to YouTube or TikTok or other social media platforms.  Why not? Because the clamorous nature of foolishness will keep you from opening the Bible and receiving its wisdom.  People can spend countless hours staring at a screen clicking button after button and yet struggle to spend a few minutes in God’s Book of Wisdom.  All of the fancies of our world are designed to keep us from Wisdom.  All of the temptations of our world are designed to keep us from finding quiet time with God.  Our Adversary, the King of Clamor, speaks loudly and repetitively through screens, speakers, billboards and magazines to get us to make impulsive and foolish decisions.  We need to recognize the nature of evil and foolishness.  We need to “forsake the foolish and live.”  We need to get away from all of the noise of our world and find some quiet time with God.  If we do not, eventually we’ll give in to foolishness of life and forfeit the wisdom that God offers us.    
 
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with noise or with being “loud,” as was the strange woman in chapter 7.  Wisdom herself in both chapters 8 and 9 “crieth out” for the sons of man.  The problem with the foolish woman is that she is repetitively loud in order to keep you from hearing Wisdom.  Foolishness is repetitively loud in our world in order to drown out Wisdom’s invitation.  Foolishness can be seen everywhere and it can be heard everywhere.  Foolishness in our society is loud and intentionally intimidating.  Walk away from foolishness and walk in the way of wisdom. Learn to take a daily and steady break from the obnoxious noise of life so you can hear the still small voice of God.

In the vestibule of our church, we have a sign that has one of my favorite quotes painted on it – a quote attributed to Ralph Emerson, “Let us be silent, that we can hear the whisper of God.”  Foolishness and evil are intentionally clamorous in order to keep us from hearing the whisper of God.  Forsake them.

Recent

Archive

Categories

Tags

Rehoboam Solomon fear of God health pride self-sufficiency wisdom 1 Corinthians 1 John 2020 5th Commandment Aaron Abel Abigail Abortion Abraham Absalom Accident Accomplishment Achan Acts 17 Acts Adam & Eve Adam Adolescence Adolf Hitler Adulterer Adulteress Aesop's Fable Aesop\'s Fable Aesop\\\'s Fable Affair Age Ahijah Ahithophel Albany Alcoholism Alive Ally Alone Amazon Ambition American America Amnon Andrew Finch Animal Abuse Animals Answered Prayer Antichrist Applause Apple of Eye Approval Arrogance Arthritis Asaph Ashamed Athletes Athletics Backbone Back Balaam Balance Bank Accounts Bathsheba Beauty Bedroom Beecher Behavior Benefit Benjamin BestBuy Bethlehem Betting Bezaleel Bible reading Bible teacher Bible-reading Bible Biblical instruction Big Mouths Big Picture Bin Laden Birth Blog Boasting Bonar Bondage Books Boomerang Boyfriend Brutal Brutish Budget Buffalo Bills Builder Building Business CA Rt 1 Cable News Calamity Call of Duty Calming Calvin Canaan Cancer Candidates Careers Cares of Life Casey Viner Character Cheesecake Factory Christian upbringing Christ Churches Circumspect Clamor Clinton Clothes Clothing Coaches Coach College Commands Commend Communication Companionship Company Compliance Conceit Conception Condemnation of God Confession Confidentiality Conflict Conservation Contentions Contrast Conversation Conviction Cooperation Corinthians Corrupt Cosigner Cosigning Cosign Counseling Countenance Courting Coworkers Creation Creator Creatures Crime Criminals Crooked Cruel Curiosity Currency Danger Daniel Data Dating Daughters David Days Death Deceit Deceptive Delilah Delivery Democracy Democratic Desires Desire Deuteronomy Devil Diligent Diploma Discovery Diseases Disease Dishonesty Dishonor Dislikes Divorce Domestic Violence Doorhanger Dreams Dress Drink Drug lords Drunk Driver Drunk Early Adulthood Ears Eastern Culture Ecclesiastes Economic Stability Eden Elderly Elihu Elijah Eliphaz Emai Emerson Emmies Employers Encouragement Engagement Enoch Ephesians Ephraimites Esau Esther Eternity Evening Eve Evolution Excellence Excel Exodus Expectations Expectation Experience FaceBook Face Faithful False Fame Families Famine Farming Fashion Favor of God Fear of the Lord Fearing God Feast of Purim Financial Advisor Financial Security Fingers Food Foolish Football Free-will Freedom Friendships Friendship Friend Froward Fruit Fumble GPS Gadarenes Galatians 6:7 Galatians Gamble Gang Garden of Eden Garden of Gethsemane Garden Gender Differences Genesis Gideon Gileadites Girlfriend Girls Giving Glad Goals God's Kingdom God\'s Kingdom Godhead Goliath Goodness Gossip Graciousness Grammies Grandchildren Gratitude Grave Grief Guess Guide Guilt Culture Gun Control Gun Violence Guns Gutters Hagar Haman Hamlet Hannah Hard Work Hard-Working Harlot Hate Evil Hatred Head Healthcare Healthy Hearing Heaven Heaviness Heavy Heart Hebrews Helicopters Hell Herod Highway History Hollywood Holy Spirit Home Depot Homeowner Homes Homicide Homosexuality Honesty House Human Nature Humble Humility Hunting Hypocrisy Hypocrites IRS Ian Brady Illness Immorality Inconsiderate Independence Industrious Inheritance Inherit Insecurity Insight Instagram Instructing Integrity Internet Interview Intoxication Inventions Isaac Israel Jacob Jairus James Jealousy Jeffrey Dahmer Jeremiah Jeroboam Jerusalem Jesus Christ Jesus Jewish Law Jewish Jimmy Soul Jobs Job John the Apostle John Jonah Joseph Joshua Josiah Joy Judah Judaism Judas Iscariot Judges Judging Judgmental Jury Justice System Kindness King David King Hezekiah Kings King Know-it-all Language Law Enforcement Laws Law Leaders Learn Legislation Liars Liar Liberty Library Lies Life Lesson Life-Insurance Likes Lion Loan Longevity Look Looting Lori Loughlin Loss of Health Loss of LIfe Loss Lottery Love Triangle Lowliness Luke 7 Luke Luther Luxury Lying MLB Magazines Majority Maker Makeup Maniac Manna Mansion Maple Trees Mark Martyrs Martyr Marvel Mary Matthew Media Memories Mentors Men Merciful Merriness Messages Mike Tyson Mindset Ministers Mob Mocker Mocking Monarchy Monarch Monopoly Month Moody Morality Mordecai Morning Moses Mouths Murder Musician NBA NFL NHL Natural Disaster Naughtiness Nebuchadnezzar Negative Nehemiah New Tricks News Anchors Noah Nobles Numbers Nutrition O.J. Simpson Obama Observation Obtain Old Dogs Olive Garden Order Others Paint Parenting Passion Pastors Pastor Paul the Apostle Paul Perspective Perverse Perversion Peter Pharisees Pharoah Philippians Phone Call Physical Appearance Plant Player Pleasure Policies Political Parties Politicians Politics Polygamy Poor Popularity Portrait Positive Possessions Potiphar's Wife Potiphar\'s Wife Potiphar\\\'s Wife Potiphar\\\\\\\'s Wife Praise Prate Prating Preacher Pregnancy Pregnant Preparation Princes Prince Principal Thing Principal Procrastinate Procrastinator Profit Proof Prophecy Prophet Prosperity Gospel Prostitute Protests Proud Proverbs Proverb Psalm 21 Psalm 35 Psalm 37 Psalms 37 Psalms Psalm Punishment Pure Purity Purpose QVC Questions Rachel Rage Ransom Rebate Rebekkah Rebel Red Lobster Reels Regulations Regulation Rehoboam Rehoboma Relationship Difficulties Relationship Religion Remember Repentance Reporter Reprove Republican Reputation Research Resistance Responsibilities Resume Resurrection Retirement Revealing Revelation Reward Rich & Famous Rich Man Rich Ridicule Righteouness Right Riot Road Romania Romans 8:28 Romans Rulers Ruler Rules Rule Sabbath Sadness Samson Samuel Sarah Satan Satisfaction Satisfy Saul Saving Scale Scam School Science Scientist Scoffer Scripture Sea of Galilee Seasons Seatbelts Secrets Seduce Seed Seek Self-Confidence Selfies Selfishness Sermons Servitude Sexual Chaos Sexual Confusion Shakespeare Shame Culture Shame Shane Gaskill Shenandoah Valley Shoe Laces Siblings Sickness Silence Simon Peter Simon Slothful Social Media Social Society Solomon Song of Solomon Sons Sorrow Source Speaking Speak Speculation Speech Speeding Spies Spiritual Security Sporting Sports Sport Spouses Stanley Cup Steal Stephen Stimulus Stock Market Strange Woman Strangers Stratego Strength Stress Struggles Student Super Bowl Rings Surely Surety Swatting Sweat Talebearer Talkative Talking Tamar Taylor Teachers Teaching Teenagers Teenager Teens Tendency Tension Texas Roadhouse Text Theft Theocracy Tik Tok Timothy Tithes To be or not to be Toddlers Toddler Tolerance Tomb Tongue Tour Guide Trainer Transgressor Travel Treasure Treatment Tribute Trickery Trinity Trips Trouble True Love True Wisdom True Turner Tyler Barriss Uber Eats Understanding Unemployment Unforgiveness Unhealthy Universities Unjust Unrighteous Uprightness Upright Vain Value Vanity Vehicle Vengeance Videos Virtuous Vision Votes Voting Walk Walmart Washington Watsom Way of Life Way Wealthy Weight Western Culture Winking Wink Wise Men Witnessing Womb Women Work Ethic Worth Wrong X Yankees YouTube Zechariah addiction adultery advertisements advertiser advertising advice advisor affection affirmation aggression alcohol amos angels anointing ant anxiety appetite argument assumption as attractions authority background backyard bankrupt battle beginning birds bitterness blessed brain bright broken nose buckler campfire cardinal sins career carelessness car cause certainty charity chastening childhood childrearing children child choices church attendance church command confidence confident consequences considerate contention contentment conversaion correction counselor counsel covetousness criticism cruelty cynicism dads dad darkness dark daughter debt deception decisions defend defense demands destruction determination diamonds diligence direction disappointment discernment discipleship disciples disciple discipline discontentment discord discretion distractions distress doctrine dogs drinking drugs dying ear education effort emotions employee employer employment enemies enticement enticing envy equity evil communications evil men evil women evil example eyelids eyes ezekiel facts failure fairness faith family fathers father favor fear of God fear of man fear feelings feminine fighting fight filthy finances fire flattery focus following foolishness foolishnes fools fool forgiveness fornication friends future gambling gangs gender gold good men good government grace greed guard guilt happiness happy harm hate headlights health heart hear hold your peace holiness home honor hope hunger husbands husband ignorance illustration income inequality infidelity influence iniquity insomnia instincts instruction intimacy investigation investing isaiah issued issue jabs jewelry judgment justice just kidnapper kidney kids knowledge labor law of sowing and reaping laziness lazy leadership learning legacy length of days lessons let life light lips listening listen little liver living loans loneliness long life longterm love lucifer lust man marketing marriage math memorization memory mercy messenger millions mind ministry mischief misery loves company misery mistakes mom money mothers mother motive mouth movies nature necklace neck neighbor obscenity observant oil oppression oppressor organs ornaments parable paranoia parenthood parents parent pastoring path peace peculiarity peer pressure peers peer permission personification pleasant politician ponder pornography pottymouth poverty power prayer preservation pride priests private procrastination prodigal profanity prosperity prostitution protection protect prudence public restroom purchases reading reaping reason rebellion rebuke regret rejection relate relationships relevant remedy remembrance remorse repetition replacement reproof respect responsibility responsible retain retention riches righteousness righteous risk robber romance rubies safety sailor salvation schools scorner secret security seduction seeing see self-sufficiency self-sufficient serpent seven deadly sins seven sexist sexual sin sex short-term silver simple simplicity sinners sin skepticism slander sleeplessness sleep slothfulness sluggard smoke to the eyes smoke son soul sowing spleen spouse stability stranger strange strife striving successful success suicide surgeon sword talents talk taxes teacher television temptation tendencies thief thieves thinking think thoughtfulness thoughts thought threats time tithe tree of life trust truth tv vehicles vice video games vinegar to the teeth vinegar violence violent virtue virtuous woman visual voice of God voice vulgar walking war wealth well wickedness wicked wife will wine wisdom wise sayings wise wives woman word of God words workplace work worry young man young people young youth