◄ Proverbs 15:21 ►
Folly is joy to one who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding walks a straight path.
Study Bible
Folly is joy
The Hebrew word for "folly" is "אִוֶּלֶת" (ivvelet), which conveys a sense of foolishness or senselessness. In the ancient Near Eastern context, folly was not merely a lack of intelligence but a moral failing, a deviation from the wisdom that aligns with God's order. The phrase suggests that those who find joy in folly are delighting in what is ultimately destructive. This joy is superficial and fleeting, contrasting with the deeper, lasting joy found in wisdom and righteousness.

to one who lacks judgment
The phrase "lacks judgment" is derived from the Hebrew "חֲסַר־לֵב" (chasar-lev), literally meaning "lacking heart." In Hebrew thought, the heart is the seat of understanding and decision-making. Thus, lacking judgment implies a deficiency in moral and spiritual discernment. This lack leads individuals to pursue folly, mistaking it for true joy. The Bible consistently warns against this deficiency, urging believers to seek wisdom and understanding from God.

but a man of understanding
The term "understanding" comes from the Hebrew "תְּבוּנָה" (tevunah), which implies insight, intelligence, and the ability to discern. A man of understanding is one who perceives the world through the lens of divine wisdom. This understanding is not merely intellectual but deeply spiritual, rooted in a relationship with God. It reflects a life committed to learning and applying God's truths, leading to righteous living.

walks a straight path
The imagery of walking a "straight path" is significant in biblical literature, symbolizing a life of integrity and righteousness. The Hebrew word "יָשָׁר" (yashar) means straight, right, or upright. This path is not only morally correct but also aligned with God's will and purpose. Walking a straight path implies consistency, direction, and purpose, contrasting with the aimless wandering of those who pursue folly. It reflects a life guided by God's wisdom, leading to peace and fulfillment.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Fool
In the context of Proverbs, the fool is someone who lacks wisdom and discernment, often making choices that lead to negative consequences.

2. The Wise Man
This person is characterized by understanding and discernment, choosing a path that aligns with God's wisdom.

3. The Path
Symbolically represents the journey of life and the choices one makes, either towards folly or wisdom.
Teaching Points
Understanding the Nature of Folly
Folly is not just ignorance but a willful rejection of wisdom. It is crucial to recognize the joy that fools find in their folly as a warning sign of spiritual immaturity.

The Value of Discernment
A man of understanding is marked by his ability to discern right from wrong. This discernment is cultivated through a relationship with God and a commitment to His Word.

Walking the Straight Path
The straight path symbolizes a life aligned with God's will. It requires intentionality and a commitment to living according to biblical principles.

The Consequences of Choices
Every choice leads us closer to wisdom or folly. Understanding the long-term impact of our decisions is essential for spiritual growth.

Seeking Wisdom from God
True wisdom comes from God. Believers are encouraged to seek His guidance in all aspects of life, trusting that He will lead them on the right path.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the joy found in folly differ from the joy found in walking a straight path according to biblical wisdom?

2. In what ways can we cultivate discernment in our daily lives to avoid the pitfalls of folly?

3. How does the concept of the "straight path" in Proverbs 15:21 relate to Jesus' teaching on the narrow and wide gates in Matthew 7:13-14?

4. What practical steps can we take to ensure that our choices align with God's wisdom rather than our own understanding?

5. How can James 1:5 encourage us when we feel lacking in wisdom and understanding in our decision-making processes?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 1:7
This verse highlights the fear of the Lord as the beginning of knowledge, contrasting the fool who despises wisdom and instruction.

Matthew 7:13-14
Jesus speaks of the narrow and wide gates, paralleling the concept of choosing a path of wisdom versus folly.

James 1:5
Encourages believers to seek wisdom from God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.
Sermons
Facets of Moral TruthE. Johnson Proverbs 15:18-23
The Young Warned Against FollyH. Belfrage.Proverbs 15:21-22
People
Abaddon, Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Aright, Behaviour, Course, Delights, Destitute, Directeth, Discernment, Folly, Foolish, Heart, Intelligence, Joy, Judgment, Keeps, Lacketh, Lacking, Lacks, Makes, Maketh, Regulateth, Sense, Straight, Straightforwards, Understanding, Unwise, Uprightly, Void, Walk, Walketh, Walks, Wisdom
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 15:21

     8227   discernment, nature of
     8355   understanding
     8367   wisdom, importance of

Library
God, the All-Seeing One
A sermon (No. 177) delivered on Sabbath morning, February 14, 1858 At The Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens by C. H. Spurgeon. "Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?" -- Proverbs 15:11. You have often smiled at the ignorance of heathens who bow themselves before gods of wood and stone. You have quoted the words of Scripture and you have said, "Eyes have they, but they see not; ears have they, but they hear not." You have therefore argued that …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Hedge of Thorns and the Plain Way
A sermon (No. 1948) delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain."--Proverbs 15:19. You must have noticed how frequently godly people almost wear out their Bibles in certain places. The Psalms, the Gospel of John, and parts of the Epistles are favourite portions, and are thumbed in many an old believer's Bible till the fact is very noticeable. There are certain sheep-tracks …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

God, the All-Seeing One
We have in our text, first of all, a great fact declared,--"Hell and destruction are before the Lord ;" we have, secondly, a great fact inferred,--"How much more then the hearts of the children of men?" I. We will begin with THE GREAT FACT WHICH IS DECLARED--a fact which furnishes us with premises from which we deduce the practical conclusion of the second sentence--"How much more then the hearts of the children of men?" The best interpretation that you can give of those two words, "hell" and "destruction," …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

How the Humble and the Haughty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 18.) Differently to be admonished are the humble and the haughty. To the former it is to be insinuated how true is that excellence which they hold in hoping for it; to the latter it is to be intimated how that temporal glory is as nothing which even when embracing it they hold not. Let the humble hear how eternal are the things that they long for, how transitory the things which they despise; let the haughty hear how transitory are the things they court, how eternal the things they …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

And He had Also this Favour Granted Him. ...
66. And he had also this favour granted him. For as he was sitting alone on the mountain, if ever he was in perplexity in his meditations, this was revealed to him by Providence in prayer. And the happy man, as it is written, was taught of God [1112] . After this, when he once had a discussion with certain men who had come to him concerning the state of the soul and of what nature its place will be after this life, the following night one from above called him, saying, Antony, rise, go out and look.' …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Epistle cxxii. To Rechared, King of the visigoths .
To Rechared, King of the Visigoths [82] . Gregory to Rechared, &c. I cannot express in words, most excellent son, how much I am delighted with thy work and thy life. For on hearing of the power of a new miracle in our days, to wit that the whole nation of the Goths has through thy Excellency been brought over from the error of Arian heresy to the firmness of a right faith, one is disposed to exclaim with the prophet, This is the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High (Ps. lxxvi. 11 [83] …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Contention Over the Man Born Blind.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John IX. 1-41. [Some look upon the events in this and the next section as occurring at the Feast of Tabernacles in October, others think they occurred at the Feast of Dedication in December, deriving their point of time from John x. 22.] ^d 1 And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. [The man probably sought to waken compassion by repeatedly stating this fact to passers-by.] 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

"And the Life. " How Christ is the Life.
This, as the former, being spoken indefinitely, may be universally taken, as relating both to such as are yet in the state of nature, and to such as are in the state of grace, and so may be considered in reference to both, and ground three points of truth, both in reference to the one, and in reference to the other; to wit, 1. That our case is such as we stand in need of his help, as being the Life. 2. That no other way but by him, can we get that supply of life, which we stand in need of, for he …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

"Now the End of the Commandment," &C.
1 Tim. i. 5.--"Now the end of the commandment," &c. We come now, as was proposed, to observe, Thirdly,(474) That faith unfeigned is the only thing which gives the answer of a good conscience towards God. Conscience, in general, is nothing else but a practical knowledge of the rule a man should walk by, and of himself in reference to that rule. It is the laying down a man's state, and condition, and actions beside the rule of God's word, or the principles of nature's light. It is the chief piece …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Thou Shall Keep Him in Perfect Peace, Whose Mind is Stayed on Thee, Because He Trusteth in Thee. "
Isaiah xxvi. 3.--"Thou shall keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." All men love to have privileges above others. Every one is upon the design and search after some well-being, since Adam lost that which was true happiness. We all agree upon the general notion of it, but presently men divide in the following of particulars. Here all men are united in seeking after some good; something to satisfy their souls, and satiate their desires. Nay, but they …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Authority and Utility of the Scriptures
2 Tim. iii. 16.--"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." We told you that there was nothing more necessary to know than what our end is, and what the way is that leads to that end. We see the most part of men walking at random,--running an uncertain race,--because they do not propose unto themselves a certain scope to aim at, and whither to direct their whole course. According to men's particular …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

An Exposition on the First Ten Chapters of Genesis, and Part of the Eleventh
An unfinished commentary on the Bible, found among the author's papers after his death, in his own handwriting; and published in 1691, by Charles Doe, in a folio volume of the works of John Bunyan. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR Being in company with an enlightened society of Protestant dissenters of the Baptist denomination, I observed to a doctor of divinity, who was advancing towards his seventieth year, that my time had been delightfully engaged with John Bunyan's commentary on Genesis. "What," …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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