²⁴ Because I have called and you refused,
[Because] I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
²⁵ Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,
²⁷ When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.

Provers 1:24-27

As we mentioned previously, from the Bible, wisdom can be defined as God’s perfect plan, principle, and perception for every situation. In the book of Proverbs, “wisdom” is often poetically personified as a woman. However, the personified wisdom is a proxy for God. Therefore, when wisdom calls, counsels, corrects or does anything, it is really God in action. God confronting us with truth and challenging us to choose His way, His solution, His prescription for life.

The first two verses in our text (above) contain four instructive pairings that describe God’s outreach to man and the negative ways that many (not all!) respond to God’s drawing (John 6:44).

1. Wisdom (God) called, many refused to come;
2. Wisdom (God) reached out, many ignored the offer;
3. Wisdom (God) counselled, many rejected/repudiated The Truth;
4. Wisdom (God) corrected/rebuked, many wouldn’t accept/heed the warning.

We can see, therefore, that God reaches out to us in (at least) four ways:

• He calls us to come to Him and come away from the call of sin
• He reaches out His hand to draw us to Himself and to guide us
• He counsels, advises, us through His Word
• He corrects us, showing us our errors and pointing us to the right way

The point is that God is not passively watching people ruin their lives by making the wrong choices: by living as they see fit. On the contrary, God actively encourages every man, every woman, to turn their lives over to Him: to yield themselves to His perfect plan, to accept His wisdom.

God reaches out to every person, God demonstrates His love for us: His desire to rescue and reconcile with us. The problem is not with God. The problem is man’s response to God.

Irrational rationale for rejection

As outlined above, we reject God because we would rather not come to Him: we want to choose our own path, go our own way. After all, our way is so much more fun, so much more appealing.

We reject God because we don’t want Him to guide us, we don’t want to hold His hand. Our desire is to be treated as “grown ups”, on the same level as God. We don’t want to be treated as “children” who have to give in to His guidance and accept His protection and provision.

Because we have life all figured out already, we reject God’s counsel. We don’t want His advice. We don’t want His truth, we have our own truth that we like for ourselves.

Finally, we reject God because, we know so much more than He does. What He says is right, we say is wrong. And what He says is wrong, we say is right. How can God say its wrong, when “it feels so right”?

Consequences

Our text concludes, vs. 26-27, with a description of the consequences of rejecting Gods Truth (i.e., wisdom). In it we can see three important principles. The first is that God’s pursuit of man doesn’t last indefinitely. That is, there comes a point at which God leaves us to bear the consequences of our decision to reject Him. There comes a time when it is too late to answer God’s call.

Secondly, our text shows us that despite our depravity and state of sinfulness, God’s judgment is based solely on our response to His call for reconciliation. Everything, hangs on our response to God. Whether you are a murderer or a mutterer, the only relevant concern is your response to God’s call. When confronted by the Truth, by Wisdom, by the Word of God, did you repent or did you reject?

The third principle is the inexorability of the consequences. There will be a price to be paid for rejecting God. As “night follows day”, God’s judgment is inevitable for those who reject His offer of restoration.