Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8

The Blessings of Wisdom

1 Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; 3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: 4 “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. 5 O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. 6 Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, 7 for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. 9 They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. 10 Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, 11 for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. 14 I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. 15 By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; 16 by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. 17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, 21 granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26 before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30  then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

32 “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. 34 Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. 35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, 36 but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Devotional

Introduction

You know there is something wrong, when something good and right has to make an appeal. You know there is something wicked about the world, when morality comes to a standstill, when just and biblical things must themselves be justified, when righteousness itself is persecuted.

Wisdom has to make an appeal. If that doesn't frighten you, then I don't know what will. But, in a wicked world, full of folly and evil, wisdom is rarely sought out. She must raise her voice in the most public place - we saw that in 1:20-21 and we see it again in verse 1-3 of our passage today.

The very same "children of man" (vs.4) whom she calls to - whom she also calls "simple ones" and "fools" (vs.5) - were the same "children of man" (vs.31) in whom she was initially "delighting" in (vs.31). And now she must appeal to them, she must make her case for why they should choose to accept her. I don't want to live in a place where something righteous has to justify itself, but I already live there. It's called the world.

Study

So wisdom has to make her case. She has to prove herself to be worth having. What points does she make?

1) Wisdom contains every good thing (vs.6-9;12-16;20)

Once again, you might like to circle some of the words or phrases that show the virtuosity of wisdom. I would like to explain some of them.

• (vs.6-9;13) She says, essentially, that what she speaks is good. She speaks "noble things" (vs.6), "what is right" (vs.6,9), "truth" (vs.7), what is "righteous" (vs.8), "nothing twisted or crooked" (vs.8), and what is "straight" (vs.9). Everything is correct, everything is truthful. She is not a deceiver, unlike the adulteress from chapter 7 who promises good things but ultimately leads to death. Much like God, wisdom (an attribute of God) cannot lie, especially as "wickedness is an abomination to [her] lips" (vs.7). She really hates evil (vs.13)

• (vs.12-14) She is knowledgeable, discrete, prudent (vs.12). She offers "counsel", "sound wisdom", "insight" and "strength" (vs.14). Much like she is truthful, she is also wise because she is knowledgeable. She is helpful because she offers help to those with little experience. She guides us in her wisdom.

• (vs.15-16;20) For all those social justice warriors out there, she is just. Because of her, leaders can reign justly - you might consider Solomon who was aided by his wisdom to a great extent. For example you might consider the story of the two mothers with the baby. In wisdom, he said the right words that would reveal who the true mother was and carry out justice.

I think wisdom quickly proves herself to be incredibly valuable simply because she carries with her these amazing traits. But she also expresses his value in other words.

2) Wisdom is precious and valuable (vs.10-11, 17-21)

Many people might wonder why Solomon asked for wisdom. I think its fair to say he was already quite wise enough and feared the Lord, so he desired increasing wisdom. But I think the Holy Spirit showed him the true value of wisdom. That it was beyond all physical wealth that we could ever have. Verse 18. even says that there comes "enduring wealth and righteousness". Eternal wealth is found in the kingdom of Heaven, it is not something we can find here on Earth.

There is an imperative in verse 10 to 11 which is almost exactly alike to that of 3:14-15. They present that wisdom's guidance is much more precious than any gemstone, or ore. This is even shown in verse 19. She command us to take this guidance and value it. If we do that, if we "love her" she will also love us (vs.17). She will pour out benefits on those who do so. She will "grant..an inheritance to those who love [her]" (vs.21). Remember, not a physical inheritance, but something of greater value - eternal riches.

I want to clarify that these are not physical because its very easy to believe that if we fear God, we will have a good life. Indeed, fearing God and loving him can erupt in us great joy, however, God's rewards are in Heaven. Life on earth for those who fear God can be very hard, just as they could be for anyone else. Our lives might not look rich to the outsider, but our eternal lives are of much more value that what's here on earth. To live in the wisdom of God, rather than the folly of the earth, is to find true riches. I suppose we don't know what these are, but in following God, we can trust they are good.

3) Wisdom was there before, during and after creation - a characteristic forever loved by God (vs.22-31)

In 3:19-20, we know that "the Lord by wisdom founded the earth". But Wisdom explains that not only was she used in all of creation, she was present in creation and before creation and after creation. She has been there right from the start.

1. (vs.22-26) She was there before creation: "before the beginning of the earth" (vs.23). She even says that the "Lord possessed [her]" (vs.22), meaning that wisdom was an attribute of God. Earth had not even been created, and she was there.

2. (vs.27-30) She was there during creation: "When he established the heavens, I was there" (vs.27).She explains that in all of creation she was present. Mankind had not even inhabited the earth, and she was there.

3. (vs.31) She was there after creation: she was found "rejoicing in his inhabited world" (vs.31). When mankind was finally present, she was there.

Whilst we cannot call a personified wisdom a portrayal of Christ, we can see some parallels. In John 17:5 Jesus says this:

"And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." (John 17:5)

Clearly, Jesus was with God from the beginning. He was present before, during and after creation, mainly because he himself was another person of the Triune God. Jesus himself is called the "Wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). But I think it could be dangerous to say that wisdom here is exactly Christ. It, instead, has many parallels to Christ.

Indeed, her value is seen in having existed eternally. She is not aged, senile, archaic or obsolete. She is everlasting with the father. After creation she was found "delighting in the children of man" (vs.31)

Conclusion

But notice the switch wisdom makes between verses 31-32. Notice the lack of explanation for why she was delighting in the children of man, and is now calling for them to take her back. If wisdom has been present before, during and after creation, why appeal for them to receive her?

Why are the people called "fools" and "simple ones" when wisdom has been there this entire time?

The fall of Genesis three. Mankind's rebellion against God. Therefore, mankind's rebellion against wisdom.

In a world, fallen to sin, wisdom has to appeal to the people to receive her. And not all do. Not all will take her back. But some will, and for them there is hope.

In verses 32-36, she blesses those who take her. "Blessed are those who keep my ways" (vs.32) and "Blessed is the one who listens to me" (vs.34). This blessing is "life" (vs.35). We are given an inheritance, as it says in verse 21, of eternal life. If only we turn to wisdom and accept her.

If only we would repent, turn to the cross, look to Christ's death and resurrection for our forgiveness of sin, and continue walking in the fear of the Lord. Then, we would grow in wisdom.

I pray this for you today and see you tomorrow on #31daysinproverbs!