A Clamorous Woman

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A foolish woman is clamorous;

She is simple, and knows nothing.

For she sits at the door of her house. . .

To call to those who pass by. . .

"Whoever is simple, let him turn it here";

And as for him who lacks understanding,

She says to him, "Stolen water is sweet,

And bread eaten in secret is pleasant."

But he does not know that the dead are there,

That her guests are in the depths of hell.

-Proverbs 9:13-18 (NKJV)

A foolish woman is clamorous. To be clamorous is to murmur, growl, roar, rage, to be troubled, in an uproar, in a stir, a commotion, boisterous, turbulent, raging.

Here is a big clue for us. Every one of these definitions describes anything but a meek and quiet spirit. Usually if we women make an uproar on the outside, it's because there's an uproar on the inside.

A clamorous woman lures other people into her whirlpool - or maybe a better word is cesspool. I know that the first level of application of this proverb is the lure of sexual sin, but actually in the broader application, it can be the cesspool of just plain junk.

A woman who is all stirred up inside is usually just dying to pull others into whatever commotion is going on in her. Since misery loves company, she riles up others a church, at work, in friendships, and in families. She indeed is a foolish, clamorous woman.

Make it Personal. . . Live it Out!
One thing you could never say about the Proverbs is that they are subtle. Remembering that God used King Solomon to write them gives a clue to the tone of this proverb. Solomon had way too many wives, and a few too many of them must have been clamorous. But any husband or family or workplace that has a clamorous woman has one too many. When you are tempted to murmur or growl or rage or roar, will you take a moment before you vent? Ask the Lord to calm the storm inside you before you stir up a storm around you.

-From The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional by Debbi Bryson; February 16