Proverbs 8:22-31

Wisdom continues her proclamations, declaring that she was the first of [the LORD’s] acts of old (v. 22), that she was set up at the first, before the beginning of the earth. (v. 23) She goes on from there, expanding on what we read in Pr. 3:19-20 and describing her presence at Creation.

One thing I think we need to recognize here is that the personification of wisdom is a literary device, and although we need to understand the point that is being made (i.e., that wisdom is utterly foundational) we should not quite treat these words as, well, literal. That is, wisdom is not really a woman (or even a goddess of some kind) who was created before all else. I am no theologian, but I think it is safe to say that God’s wisdom is not a created “thing” at all but is really an attribute of God Himself. God is wise, always has been, and always will be. He has always “possessed” wisdom as part of His essence. Hence, as an attribute of God, wisdom is eternal, and God used His wisdom in creating all things.

Yet most of our language and our own personal experience and observations would suggest that wisdom exists within creation too, separate from God Himself. (Note, however, that nothing at all exists without God’s sustaining power.) So what is the relationship between God’s own wisdom and the wisdom available to us? Perhaps that is something to ponder today…

Proverbs 8:12-21

Wisdom continues calling, declaring her attributes, her deeds, and her virtue. She says, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” (v. 17) Do we love her? Do we seek her? Even more importantly, do we love and seek the One Who is the Source of all wisdom?

I daresay that we’ll never truly find her without first finding Him. That is not to say that Christians always act wisely or that non-Christians always act foolishly. (I think we could all fairly readily think of counterexamples for both.) But as we’ve seen before, true wisdom starts with the fear of the LORD, so it is hard to imagine a truly diligent search for wisdom that maintains hostility toward God. So there’s the question: In our search for wisdom, are we looking toward or away from God?

Proverbs 8:1-11

Today’s reading again personifies Wisdom as a woman calling to the children of man to learn from her, much as in Proverbs 1:20-33. Here are a few descriptors of what she offers:

• Prudence (v. 5)
• Sense (v. 5)
• Noble things (v. 6)
• What is right (v. 6)
• Truth (v. 7)
• Righteous words (v. 8)
• Nothing twisted or crooked (v. 8)

All of that sounds pretty good to me. Yet contrary voices abound. That is, Wisdom says sexual immorality is deadly, but many in our culture say anything goes — and you are horribly bigoted if you say otherwise. Wisdom says that life is precious, but there are those who declare that abortion is a fundamental right — and those who think otherwise are extremists. (Advocating for life is now extreme?) Wisdom says to avoid borrowing, yet we as a nation owe more than $30,000,000,000,000! (And I guarantee that although you can do the math, you cannot actually imagine a trillion of anything.) Real racists (those who judge people on the basis of skin color) are hailed as heroes, while those who say “all lives matter” are called racists. Legitimate news stories are squashed, declared to be “disinformation”, yet real disinformation is peddled for years as real news. That’s what you get in the mainstream media. Constantly. And I don’t just mean what the reporters report on. I mean the reporters and commentators themselves. [Wisdom’s words] are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. (v. 9) So pay attention, and if your sources of news and information seem to present wisdom and righteousness as twisted and crooked (and the twisted and crooked as legit), then maybe you need better sources…

Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

Proverbs 8:10-11

Yes. Seek wisdom — real, godly wisdom.

Proverbs 7:24-27

Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death. (v. 27) In case you missed the point the first few times, adultery (and sin in general) does not end well.

Proverbs 7:6-23

Today we get a vivid portrayal of the progression of temptation, specifically toward adultery, but metaphorically toward sin in general. We see a young man foolishly passing along the street … at the time of night and darkness. (vv. 8-9) We see that the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. (v. 10) She flirts with him and describes a pleasant scenario, assuring him they won’t get caught. (Pr. 7:13-20) And finally:

With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast
till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Proverbs 7:21-23

What a sad and tragic end, yet it is all predictable. I am struck by the phrase “all at once” in verse 22. Up until that point there is at least some chance of the man’s escaping the actual sin. But it is only a small chance. The reality is that his battle is lost much earlier when he is “just” passing along the street near her corner. Although he would not want to admit it, and although he is likely to point his finger at the woman and her seductions, with claims of naïveté and “surprise”, he knows deep down what he is about at the onset. He is indeed lacking sense.

What about us? We, of course, live in the same world (which hasn’t really changed), so the description here is not at all hard to imagine. If there is any difference at all, it is just that today the young man (or woman) need not leave his own house and head to the wrong side of town for the liaison. Internet pornography is freely available with just a few clicks. Or there is cable TV. HBO’s highly acclaimed and wildly popular Game of Thrones, is filled with sex and nudity. And that is just one quick example; there are plenty more. True, porn may not be quite on the level of an all out affair, but it is adultery just the same. (See Mt. 5:27-28.) If we do not keep guard, it is dreadfully easy to fall into its grip. I know, for I have all too often been that man lacking sense.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith. (I Peter 5:8-9a)

---

Yesterday I asked what practical steps you are taking to implement the admonitions to treasure wisdom. I’d very much like to hear your answers.

Proverbs 7:1-5

Today’s reading sounds very much like Pr. 6:20-24, which we read just two days ago. Are we listening yet?

Do you keep [these] words? Do you treasure up [these] commandments? Do you bind them on your fingers? Do you write them on the tablet of your heart? Do you say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend?

If not, why not? But if you do, then how? What practical steps do you take to implement these admonitions?

Proverbs 6:27-35

He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. (v. 32) I think that pretty much sums it up. As we have said before, adultery is called out here as particularly dangerous. I suspect that is because Solomon is addressing his son as a young man whose raging hormones could make him more vulnerable to sexual temptation. But that is only a guess. Regardless of the original context of its writing, Proverbs stands as Holy Scripture, so I certainly don’t want to suggest anything along the lines of saying, “Well, that’s good advice for a supercharged young man, but I’m past that, so I don’t need to pay attention…” We all need to pay attention, especially as our culture increasing normalizes sexual immorality.

That said, some of you may not face any particular temptation toward adultery, so these admonitions may seem somewhat disconnected from you. In that case, we should also remember that adultery can serve as a metaphor for any sin. Substitute “sin” for “adultery” in verse 32, and it still makes perfect sense. (But the particular earthly consequences — like a highly jealous and vengeful neighbor [Pr. 6:34] — might differ…)

Proverbs 6:20-26

Once again we are admonished to heed instruction, and once again the focus of that instruction is to avoid the deadly pitfall of adultery. But I’m not going to talk about adultery today. (We’ll be stuck on that for the next few days!) Instead, I want to look at just the last half of verse 23: the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never particularly cared for reproof or discipline. They are, well, unpleasant, so I would not say that the first thing that I associate with them is life. Yet what does Proverbs tell us here? The reproofs of discipline are the way of life. Although my flesh is inclined to resist the notion, I am forced to admit that truth, because without reproofs of discipline, my natural inclinations toward evil would not be corrected (see Ecclesiastes 8:11), resulting in death. But in His love God desires life for us, and so He reproves and disciplines. If all of that sounds a bit familiar, we heard it before in Pr. 3:11-12 (quoted in Heb. 12:5-6): the LORD reproves him whom He loves. (See also Deut. 8:5, Job 5:17, and I Cor. 11:32.)

So… Note to self: Be grateful for the reproofs of discipline, for as tokens of God’s love they are the way of life.

Proverbs 6:12-19

Wormtongue. Now that is a (fictional) person that fits the caricature given in Pr. 6:12-15. In case you don’t know (or by way of reminder) “Wormtongue” is an apt nickname for a character otherwise named Gríma in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. He is an advisor to King Théoden of Rohan, and he is a nasty piece of work. I am sure I have never directly met anyone quite like Wormtongue in real life, but I am equally sure that I have known a few people who share a somewhat similar poisonous character (but with less significant influence). My guess is that you have known a few as well. (Actually, if you think you haven’t, you are kidding yourself.) Most such people never get much beyond petty workplace politics, but some cause world wars. (Hitler and his cronies come to mind…) But the real question isn’t whether I have ever known such a person. The real issue is whether I have been that person, or — worse — whether I am now that person in any way. Hmmm.

Proverbs 6:1-11

Today we turn our attention to a couple of practical bits of wisdom. In Pr. 6:1-5 we are warned not to put up security for someone else, particularly a stranger, and in Pr. 6:6-11 we are advised to work hard and not be lazy.

Have you ever co-signed a loan for someone, perhaps a car loan or even a mortgage? If so, I’m guessing that the “someone” you co-signed for was well-known to you, most likely your son or daughter. You probably would not enter into such an arrangement with a stranger or with a scoundrel. Why not? Because doing so could threaten your own financial security, putting you at the mercy of the (un)reliability of the person in question. That is the kind of thing that Pr. 6:1-5 is talking about, and I think we can all see the wisdom in the advice. But let’s be clear: this is advice, not a commandment. There is nothing inherently wrong with giving your pledge for a stranger. Such may be a tremendous act of generosity and care, but it’s not wise for your own well-being, so don’t be surprised if it all goes south. (And if you pledge funds that you cannot afford to lose, well…)

As for hard work vs. laziness, it’s rather easy to see the truth in Pr. 6:6-11, too. My guess is that we can all think of examples of people who could serve to illustrate this truth. Yet if we look around at our culture, one would think that the connection between work/laziness and success/failure is all a big mystery. For example, many schools are adopting policies that forbid issuing “D” or “F” grades (or even any grades). What, do you think, will be the natural result of that?

---

Primary elections were held in a few states around the country yesterday, including right here in Kentucky, so political issues are a bit on my mind. I have no intention of using this forum to tell anyone how to vote. But I would strongly encourage everyone to set aside one’s own “natural” political bias and consider how Proverbs speaks to current issues. Let Proverbs disrupt your normal leanings. For example, think through the implications of today’s readings for local, state, and national policies. What does the warning about being security for someone else say about the proposal to cancel student loans (i.e., to push the responsibility for those loans to the taxpayers)? How about foreign policy and treaties (e.g., the expansion of NATO)? How about work ethic? Which policies promote — and which punish — hard work? Do some policies reward laziness, even inadvertently? My point here is simply that we would do well to let the wisdom of Proverbs inform all of our thinking, including our political thinking.