The ninth chapter of Proverbs is a vivid symbolic parable, describing two women: Wisdom and Foolishness. Neville Goddard taught that the Bible is not secular history, but a psychological drama in which characters and actions symbolise internal states. This chapter, then, is a call to examine the consciousness we are currently entertaining—are we dwelling in wisdom (creative awareness), or in folly (reaction and surface thought)?
Wisdom Builds Her House (Verses 1–6)
“Wisdom has made her house, she has put up her seven pillars.” (v.1)
This is the house of disciplined imagination. Seven is the number of spiritual completion. To say Wisdom has built her house is to say that imagination, when stabilised and purified, becomes a solid foundation from which all manifestations arise. It is the state of consciousness that knows the creative law and abides by it.
“She has put her beasts to death; her wine is mixed, her table is ready.” (v.2)
“She has sent out her women-servants; her voice goes out to the highest places of the town, saying,” (v.3)
“‘Whoever is simple, let him come in here’: to him who has no sense, she says,” (v.4)
“‘Come, take of my bread, and of my wine which is mixed. Put away your foolish behaviour, and be living, and go in the way of knowledge.’” (v.5–6)
This is the inner banquet of consciousness. The “bread and wine” are the symbols of imaginative nourishment: thoughts and assumptions aligned with the wish fulfilled. The beasts are the base emotions and reactions that have been sacrificed. You cannot dwell in wisdom while still feeding your fears.
This is the call to move from mere knowledge of the Law to the inner experience of it—to leave behind outer striving and begin dwelling in the state that implies your desire is already real. “Come in here” is the inward journey, and “be living” is the awakening to the power of I AM.
The Fear of the Lord (Verse 10)
“The fear of the Lord is the start of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One gives a wise mind.” (v.10)
Neville frequently said that “the Lord” is your I AM—your awareness of being. To fear the Lord, then, is not terror but reverence for the creative nature of your inner speech and assumption. Wisdom begins when you treat your own inner states as sacred creative acts. “As within, so without.”
The Way of the Foolish Woman (Verses 13–18)
“The foolish woman is full of noise; she has no sense, and has no knowledge of anything.” (v.13)
Foolishness is noisy, reactive thought. It shouts in the mind, drawing attention to what’s wrong, what’s missing, what’s unjust. It is the mental state that denies imagination as the cause of reality and instead points fingers outward.
“Seated at the door of her house, in the high places of the town,” (v.14)
“She is crying out to those who go by, going straight on their way,” (v.15)
“‘Whoever is simple, let him come in here’: and to him who has no sense, she says,” (v.16)
“‘Stolen waters are sweet, and bread secretly eaten is pleasing.’” (v.17)
This is the temptation to return to reactive living—to indulge in the emotional highs and lows of the world of appearances. “Stolen waters” and “secret bread” symbolise quick, shallow fixes: imagining briefly, then looking to the world for proof. Bread eaten in secret is belief without conviction. It is surface-level positivity, not deep assumption.
“But he does not know that the dead are there; her guests are in the deep places of the underworld.” (v.18)
This is not a place of literal death but of spiritual sleep. To dwell in foolishness is to live unaware of one’s creative power. It is the state where manifestation seems random, life feels external, and identity is shaped by reaction rather than creation.
Final Reflection: Choose Where You Feast
Proverbs 9 lays out the two banquets of consciousness. One is deliberate, inner, and creative—the feast of Wisdom, where your assumptions align with your desires. The other is loud, surface-driven, and unaware—the bread of Folly, eaten in secret and filled with doubt.
Neville would say: “Dare to assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.” This is how we accept the invitation of Wisdom. Every thought, every inner word is a step toward one table or the other. Which house are you feasting in today?
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