Reflections on Proverbs 8

 

Proverbs 08 (Contemporary English Version)


1. With great understanding, Wisdom is calling out
   
2. as she stands at the crossroads and on every hill.
   
3. She stands by the city gate where everyone enters the city, and she shouts:
   
4. "I am calling out to each one of you!
   
5. Good sense and sound judgment can be yours.
   
6. Listen, because what I say is worthwhile and right.
   
7. I always speak the truth and refuse to tell a lie.
   
8. Every word I speak is honest, not one is misleading or deceptive.
   
9. "If you have understanding, you will see that my words are just what you need.
   
10. Let instruction and knowledge mean more to you than silver or the finest gold.
    
11. Wisdom is worth much more than precious jewels or anything else you desire."
    
12. If you respect the LORD, you will hate evil. I hate pride and conceit and deceitful lies.
    
13. By my power kings govern, and rulers make laws that are fair.
    
14. Every honest leader rules with help from me.
    
15. What you receive from me is more valuable than even the finest gold or the purest silver.
    
16. I always do what is right,
    
17. and I give great riches to everyone who loves me.
    
18. From the beginning, I was with the LORD. I was there before he began
    
19. to create the earth. At the very first, the LORD gave life to me.
    
20. When I was born, there were no oceans or springs of water.
    
21. My birth was before mountains were formed or hills were put in place.
    
22. It happened long before God had made the earth or any of its fields or even the dust.
    
23. I was there when the LORD put the heavens in place and stretched the sky over the surface of the sea.
    
24. I was with him when he placed the clouds in the sky and created the springs that fill the ocean.
    
25. I was there when he set boundaries for the sea to make it obey him, and when he laid foundations to support the earth.
    
26. I was right beside the LORD, helping him plan and build. I made him happy each day, and I was happy at his side.
    
27. I was pleased with his world and pleased with its people.
    
28. Pay attention, my children! Follow my advice, and you will be happy.
    
29. Listen carefully to my instructions, and you will be wise.
    
30. Come to my home each day and listen to me. You will find happiness.
    
31. By finding me, you find life, and the LORD will be pleased with you.
    
32. But if you don't find me, you hurt only yourself, and if you hate me, you are in love with death.
    

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In chapter 7 it was the adulteress who called out to the young man. It is wisdom that calls out the young man in this chapter. Wisdom is personified in these verses, crying out from everywhere to be heard. How is wisdom characterized? From verses 5-11 we learn that it is shrewd, it is comprised of common sense and of truth, and it includes no deception. To those who are perceptive and who discover knowledge, wisdom is recognized as being right. For such people, wisdom will be recognized as more valuable than silver, gold, or precious stones. There is nothing more desirable than wisdom.

Solomon has already told us in earlier chapters that the beginning of knowledge and wisdom is respect for God. Now he tells us that to respect God is to hate evil, and pride and perverse speech. There is no compatibility between respecting God and also respecting evil and the characteristics that go with it. They cannot coexist. We may feel we can dabble in certain activities that God might not approve of while not losing our respect for God. But this last statement says it all. We cannot go against what God approves without disrespecting Him. It is like disobeying our parents. We cannot do what they have told us not to do without showing more respect for the thing we want to do than for our parents. Furthermore, to show respect for evil activities and perverse speech is to expose our own ignorance. Wisdom contains good advice, competence, understanding, and strength. To reject it is to show our own inability to recognize good advice and our own lack of competence and understanding. To depend upon wisdom for our judgments is to join kings and rulers in our dependence on wisdom for making sound judgments.

Verses 22-31 can be somewhat confusing. Does Solomon continue to speak of wisdom or has he suddenly switched to another subject? Some believe these verses refer to Christ as the one who was made at the beginning of creation, as verse 22 says. That is not my understanding of these verses, though. I don't think Solomon has made a subtle switch here as to his subject, nor do I believe Christ was made at the beginning of creation. My understanding of scripture is that Christ and the Father are one, and that Christ coexisted with the Father before creation and was involved in creation, not a created being Himself. No, I think Solomon is still referring to wisdom at this point, telling us that wisdom isn't something new, but goes back to the beginning of creation. Because of her existence before creation and association with the Lord in creation, wisdom is credible and something we do well to acquire. This ancient existence of wisdom precludes man's involvement in the existence of wisdom. Man is not the source of wisdom. His can only acquire wisdom and pass it along. True wisdom comes from God. That is why the beginning point for wisdom is respect for God. James 1:5 tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God, "who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him." God is our source of wisdom. Leave Him out of the equation and wisdom is not within our grasp regardless of our intelligence level. One who has high intelligence but lacks wisdom is sad to behold.

What is the benefit of acquiring wisdom? The one who finds wisdom finds life. In contrast, the one who rejects wisdom harms himself. We hear statements that this or that or something else is "really living." But Solomon tells us that "really living" requires the acquisition of wisdom.