Proverbs 3: Wisdom from the Beginning

Intro

“Have you ever noticed that the loudest voices in our culture are always the most confident ones?”

Two people.

Opposite opinions.

Same certainty.

One says: “This is what’s right.”

The other says: “No, this is what’s right.”

Both can quote statistics.

Both can tell compelling stories.

Both claim the moral high ground.

And here’s the reality

Confidence is not evidence of wisdom….It is Merely evidence of confidence

In fact, Scripture tells us this shouldn’t surprise us at all.

Because from the very beginning, humanity has lived between two trees:

Genesis calls this the tree of Life: That is the tree of relationship with God and choosing his ways over our own

And the other tree is the knowledge of good and evil…. And one that says: “Decide for yourself.”

And every generation — including ours — has to choose which tree it will eat from.

We are on the third week of a mini series of the book of Proverbs and believe it or not these trees come up

But I just want to re-cap for one second in case you were not here

Wisdom and knowledge belongs to the Lord and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge

Last week we looked at the idea of the pursuit of wisdom, searching for it we talked about God’s wisdom being more valuable than Gold

And then that all impotrant verse

Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Lean not on your own understanding

In other words…Stop assuming your right all the time…Like you know better

None of us do this though so were good! haha

Surrender to God in every area of life and he will straighten you out

Last week we looked at Jesus as the truth. He says that he is the way the truth the life. So the truth is not something that is a concept but instead it is a person

So in just two weeks we have covered some ground in the proverbs

Let’s pick up where we left off last week

Proverbs 3:13–18 NIV

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.

Ok In many ways this is the same thing we looked at last week.

Wisdom is very valuable. And nothing can compare with it

But then lets zero in on this last verse

Proverbs 3:18 NIV

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.

Holding fast to God’s wisdom is the path back to the tree of life

Wisdom is a tree of life! Those who hold fast will be blessed

So we have this picture of embracing wisdom or holding fast to is is a massive blessing

When you decide that you will live by God’s standards and not your own…then guess what

So we have to ask the question…What is a tree of life?

So THE tree of life was what was in Eden, the tree that Adam and Eve had full access to before their sin and fall in the garden.

Symbolically the tree of life transforms the person who eats from it…In other words…It is a meal that leads to eternal life

But on the way to the tree of life there is another tree called the tree of “Knowledge of good and evil.”

And this tree is beautiful too…It looks great but it is really a false tree of life…Because eating from that tree brings death

The humans take from it and all of the sudden they see their own nakedness

And they are banished from ever eating from the tree of life again

Let’s just look at that text for a second

Genesis 3:22–24 NIV

And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

So Not only did God banish humanity from the garden but he guards it and says…You can never eat from this again

Eating from the tree of life in the Garden was eternal life

It was relationship with God

Here is the interesting thing…

In the Old testament the phrase tree of life is only mentioned in two places

It is mentioned in the garden of Eden and in Proverbs

It is notable that it is only mentioned here, in the Proverbs in the old testament…Why? Because it occurs nowhere else…

That means it is significant.

Now the impotrant thing to see is that the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil are actually all over the bible they are just not called that

See in Eden these trees are on a hill

And starting in Exodus we see a burning bush on a mountain and we see the angel of the Lord in it…Its a tree on a hill that God is in! It’s an illusion to the tree of life…

There are more instances of this though out the bible but one that is notable is that there is this vision of a restored Israel in Ezekiel 47….And in the restored israel there is a river of life flowing from the temple and these trees bear fruit in season and out…In one of the last visions of the book of Revelation it uses this imagery from Ezekiel 47 and talks about how the trees are for the healing of the nations

The point is…That in a sort of undercover way…You find these remnents of the tree of life from the beginning of the bible to the end…

But there are symbolically trees of the knowledge of good and evil too

In the old testament when people followed other gods they would put these poles up called Asherah poles

Asherah in the Canaanite pantheon was the mother goddess of like 70 gods including Ba’al. Which was the God that the Canniness followed

Following Asherah in those days is literally the picture of deciding good and evil on your own

All though the Bible you see Israel failing to follow God and setting up these alters to other gods…

It is a picture of Israel always running to the false tree of life…The tree of knowing good and evil…

In the very most basic form

The tree of life is God defines morality…What is good and evil

The tree of knowledge of good and evil…You choose what is good and evil in your own eye

I think the question can be asked…Which tree are we choosing today

I really think in many ways we are all eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil…

Even in the church and I will tell you why

It used to be that our biblical theology informed what we believed in our politic

but increasingly Politics are masquerading as morality….And we take what is politically expedient and we try to smash our biblical ethic into that mold…

It happens on both sides, Im not just picking on one I am an equal opportunity offended….Everyone does it

But Let’s get back to this proverb.

Look the remarkable thing about this proverb is that it is proclaiming that there is a way back to the tree of life

There is a way out of choosing what is right in your own eyes

Embracing God’s wisdom is the way back to the tree of life (Prov 3:18)

So wait a second…

We view wisdom as something that is in-material

Not tangible

Merely thoughts

I see how you can metaphorically “embrace wisdom”

maybe like. Okay I agree with these concepts. But how do we actually embrace wisdom?

So part of this we have already seen in the negative

How do we embrace wisdom?

Did you notice that in Proverbs 3:18 the text says “She” is a tree of life…

All of the sudden wisdom is being personified…

Both as lady wisdom, who is a tree of life and she is the contrast to the “Adulterous woman” of proverbs…The woman that is all about choosing good and evil on your own

So even in proverbs we see these two trees…albeit one of the trees is a bit hidden

The point is that proverbs sees wisdom as a “she”

Wisdom is not just some concept it is a person

Last week we talked about in the masculine the book of proverbs calls it

“The ways of wicked men”

and in the feminine it calls it

“The ways of the adulterous woman

It basically says…Don’t embrace Evil. Don’t choose good and evil in your own eyes…This is the way to death!

But what what Proverbs is laying out is that embracing wisdom is more than a cognitive exercise

Embracing wisdom means to have relationship with God.

Let’s just look one more time

Proverbs 3:18 NIV

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.

All who hold fast to her will be blessed

So God’s wisdom is a tree of life

Have relationship

Hold fast

Embrace this wisdom

Cherish it…

It’s the relationship that leads to eternal life

Proverbs Will take a whole section to talk about the beginnings of wisdom and I just want to walk us through that right now:

Now as we enter this section, Solomon writes this as it is lady wisdom speaking:

Proverbs 8:22–36 NIV

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. “Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”

So now the book of proverbs is building up this idea that God’s wisdom is not only a person, but present in the creation of the world

A guy I ride bikes with said to me this Friday…Hey I just put together that my orange tree give oranges in the part of the year that it is coldest and there is not much sun…Right around the time when our body needs more vitamin C. Do you think God did this on purpose…And my answer was OF COURSE! God designed it all…He loves humanity, everything he made supports life…He was just putting that together and his little reflection on Orange trees was to see God’s wisdom at play…

In the ancient world the Babylonian Creation narrative wisdom was its own god that didn’t live in harmony with the creator god but lived in conflict

And what Solomon is trying to tell us is that wisdom actually is divine but it works in harmony with Yahweh because Yahweh in fact created it…

Wisdom was the first of God’s works and was with God in the beginning

We almost get this idea that this wisdom can somehow claim equality with God

Those who find me find life

All who hate me love death

But its proverbs so it is not totally clear yet…

Some of the ancient sages talk about why wisdom is personified as a woman. And I love it because when I read this I just laughed and thought, some things never change

It has been theorized by the ancient sages of Jewish wisdom literature that Wisdom is personified as a women because the only sense that young men have is that they want to impress women….

So if wisdom is personified as a women then maybe the young men would go after Godly wisdom…

But nevertheless there is this idea that God’s wisdom was present at creation with God

And some of you might have already figured this out, this is absolutely what Jesus’s best buddy John had in his mind when he wrote this

John 1:1–2 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Now we will go over this much more in depth next week as we begin the book of John

But it is important to note that before Jesus ever came on the scene there was an idea that the wisdom of God was with God in the beginning

Its also interesting to note that Greek word for Word (Logos) and the greek word for wisdom (sophia) is interchangeable

Why? because you speak wisdom sophia through the word logos…In greek thought the two can be interchangeable here

Here is the point: John 1 is literally connecting with Proverbs 8

John, Jesus’s friend is taking his time to say look…Jesus is just like the wisdom of God. Jesus was there at the beginning…But there are key differences: Both Wisdom and Jesus are described as present in the world, communicating God’s will to humans.

Both are the source of life.

Both empower humans with wisdom .

Nevertheless, there are key differences between Wisdom and Jesus. Wisdom was begotten by God as the first of his works (Prov 8:22), but Jesus is eternal.

Wisdom is a personification of an attribute of God, while Jesus is the full revelation of God.

Wisdom was present observing God create (8:30–31). However, all things were created in or by Jesus.

Paul writes, in Colossians 1:15-17

Colossians 1:15–17 NIV

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Here is the point:

Jesus is both the embodiment of the wisdom of God and God himself (1 Cor 1:24;30)

Look at what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:24 NIV

but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Guys, The new treatment world surrounding Jesus was so clued into this.

Look what Paul says:

Jesus is the wisdom of God….

And through Jesus we can experience righteousness, holiness and redemption

If this is all true that jesus is the wisdom and power of God

Then why are we going to places to find life that really bring death?

I think the truth of the matter is that we tend to accept Jesus as our savior….

But we continue to seek out more convent sources for our wisdom

Sources of wisdom that better align with all of our pre conceived notions

I think the core question is what I have

Have I accepted Jesus as my teacher in life and the source of all wisdom?

Because the reality is that we will confess Jesus as savior but we will continue to find our wisdom in anything but Jesus

We will confess Jesus as the author of life but spend 4 hours a day on social media and repeat talking points from talking heads

We will confess that we are sinners and need to be resuced from sin but forsake the knowledge of the smartest man who has ever lived, Jesus Christ….

I mean lets just take what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:30

1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

The context of the 1 Corinthian church is that they were making all these dumb moves because they were relying on their own wisdom and John says

Jesus is your source for wisdom

Jesus brings righteousness…In other words..>Right relationship with God

Jesus brings us into holiness…Because of his wisdom and

And he redeems us. He buys us back from death

Jesus is both the wisdom of God and the creator of the world

The only one who is capable of doing all of this for us!

Here’s the deal…We don’t need any more content in this message..There is so much packed in here its crazy

Closing

So here’s where Proverbs has taken us.

From Eden to Proverbs…

From the tree of life to Lady Wisdom…

From wisdom personified to wisdom fulfilled…

The Bible has been telling one story the whole time.

There were always two trees.

Two ways to live.

Two sources of wisdom.

One says: “I decide what’s good and evil.”

The other says: “I trust the One who made me.”

And Proverbs dares to say something shocking:

There is a way back to the tree of life.

Not through intelligence.

Not through moral effort.

Not through being right all the time.

But through embracing wisdom.

And then the New Testament pulls back the curtain and says:

Wisdom has a name.

And His name is Jesus!

Jesus isn’t just someone who teaches wisdom.

He doesn’t just point to the tree of life.

He is the tree of life.

The guarded tree in Eden?

The flaming sword?

The exile?

All of that finds its answer at another tree —

where Jesus stretches out His arms

and absorbs the death that came from the first tree

so He can offer life again.

A meal that doesn’t lead to shame…

A meal that doesn’t lead to death…

But a meal that leads to life, restoration, and peace.

So when Proverbs says:

“She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,”

Paul stands up centuries later and says:

Christ has become for us wisdom from God.

Which means this isn’t just poetic.

It’s personal.

There is a question that won’t let us off the hook

So here’s the real question — not for culture, not for politics, not even for the church in general.

For you.

Where do you go for wisdom when it actually matters?

When you’re hurt.

When you’re angry.

When you’re afraid.

When you’re making decisions that will shape your family, your integrity, your future.

Do you go to Jesus…

or do you keep eating from the tree of your own understanding?

Because here’s the quiet danger of our moment:

We accept Jesus as Savior, but we keep ourselves as teacher.

We trust Him with eternity, but not with Monday.

ONE MATTERS — AND IT STARTS WITH YOU

And this is where One Matters stops being a tagline and becomes a truth that confronts us.

Because wisdom never moves through crowds — it always addresses the one.

Adam. Eve. Solomon’s son. The disciple. You.

One decision. One allegiance. One teacher.

Jesus doesn’t offer mass-produced wisdom. He offers relationship.

He says:

“Walk with me.” “Learn from me.” “Hold fast to me.”

Because when you embrace Jesus, you are embracing wisdom itself.

And when one person chooses the tree of life —

a family changes.

A church changes.

A city changes.

Because one matters.

So church, don’t just admire wisdom.

Don’t just agree with wisdom.

Take hold of Him. Hold fast to Him.

Because Jesus is not only the wisdom of God — He is the life of the world.

And He is inviting you…

back to the tree.

You can do this through putting your faith in Jesus today and admitting that he is Lord!

You can do this today by accepting Jesus not just as savior but as teacher…The one who truly knows what it means to live