The opening chapters of Proverbs provide several contrasts, none more prominent that the contrast between wisdom and folly. Beginning in Proverbs 1:22, the concept of wisdom takes on the characteristics of a person. Wisdom is personified. Wisdom calls. Wisdom reproves. Wisdom cries out. And to whom? To those who are unwise (the "simple ones"). That's the "who" of your question. Wisdom cries out to those who are unwise.

But who then are the unwise? The answer provided by the book of Proverbs is instructive. Folly in the Bible is not the exact same thing as folly as we use the term today. We may speak about a foolish husband who forgets his wife's birthday. But there is usually a more specific focus on the term "fool" in the Bible. "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God.'" (Psalm 53:1). In the Bible, the fool is one who actively spurns the ways and overtures of God. The fool says there is no God and lives his life as if there were no God in spite of overwhelming evidence that says there is a God. And the fool is one who hears God's call but refuses to listen.

In Proverbs 1:22-33, Wisdom cries out, but the fool (or the "simple ones") will not listen. From this we learn at least two things. First, it is God's desire that the fool repent of his ways. Wisdom, acting as God's emissary, cries out to the fool to turn from his folly. He wants the ignorant to have knowledge, the unrighteous to turn to righteousness. But the fool persists in his foolishness. The simple ones refuse to listen to wisdom and prefer to stay foolish. And so we see God visit them with judgment. Second, though God is ready to receive the penitent, he stands utterly opposed to those who remain defiant. He sees the fool and cries out to him in order to receive him. But when the fool persists in his folly, he by his actions mocks God, and God is not one to be mocked.

Derek Thomas is the editor of reformation21 online magazine and is minister of teaching at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS.

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