The Voice of Wisdom UPDATED

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Proverbs 8:1–21 ESV

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. 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. “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

Introduction and Context

This morning we have a woman called Wisdom standing at a Crossroads, crying out to us

It is appropriate because we have arrived at a bit of a Crossroads in our study of Proverbs

Proverbs = 7 Collections

Proverbs 1-9 = Collection 1 (Prologue of Proverbs)

Made up of:

an Instructional Manual on how to use the book (1:1-7)

10 heart-to-hearts between Solomon and his son (1:8-7:27)

As you get to chapters 8-9, you are faced with a decision.

That decision will determine how useful the other 6 collections of Proverbs are going to be for you

Chapters 8-9 will present two women to us:

Lady Wisdom

Lady Folly

If we stand hear at this Crossroads and make the choice for wisdom, the hope is great that we will see Wisdom’s character cultivated in us and flow from our lives in virtuous living.

If we ignore her and choose Folly, we are headed for destruction with rotten living along the way.

Big Idea

Listening to wisdom’s VOICE will produce wisdom’s VIRTUE.

Outline

1. Hear wisdom’s voice (v. 1-5)

2. Desire wisdom’s virtue (v. 6-21)

1. Hear wisdom’s voice (v. 1-5).

Proverbs 8-9 Structure

Prov. 8-9 is one unit—could be one sermon

Gives you Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly as choice between counselors

Today we are just focused on HEARING the voice of Lady Wisdom and what she can produce in us

Does Wisdom Not Call? (Exposition)

She Does Call (v. 1-3)

Chapter 8 begins with 2 questions:

Does wisdom not call?

Does understanding not raise her voice?

Verses 2-5 answer the questions—she does call.

Vivid Picture:

She is positioned at a major crossroads besides the gates everyone comes in and out of in the front of the town (v. 2-3)

She is sitting up on “the heights” or on a hill (v. 2)

She cries aloud from this position (v. 3)

Different from Lady Wisdom in Ch. 7

Wisdom is out in the open—crying out with integrity and straightforwardness

Who is Lady Wisdom?

But who IS Lady Wisdom?

Is she a literal person?

Is she a poetic device?

Is she something more?

Well—we can start by saying she is not a literal person.

Lady Wisdom represents Wisdom and Understanding

In the same way that the Forbidden Woman represented adultery and sexual immorality in Proverbs 6 and 7.

Secondly, she IS a poetic device.

A character to personify wisdom

Wisdom = dignified woman...

...crying out to the people of the city to LEARN SENSE and FORGET FOOLISHNESS!

But is this all we need to say about Lady Wisdom in this passage?

We should also see Lady Wisdom on TWO other levels:

Level 1) The voice of Lady Wisdom is the voice of the Lord.

Through Wisdom’s voice, God is speaking and calling us to walk in His ways.

That is really the point of the literary device.

Wisdom is not this thing that exists apart from God.

Wisdom springs from the all-wise God and rains down upon those who have ears to hear.

Through Lady Wisdom, God is calling us to turn our ears to His voice—not simply the voice of the character in ch. 8.

Level 2) The voice of Lady Wisdom is representative of Jesus Christ.

Here we say that not only is GOD speaking—but that Lady Wisdom represents the Son of GOD to us.

We know from Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and the Colossians that Christ is the Wisdom of God.

He is the Wisdom of God in the sense that all the treasures of wisdom are hidden in Him.

He is the Wisdom of God in the sense that He is God’s wise plan for saving foolish humans.

In this passage we should have no problem making a strong association between Lady Wisdom and Christ.

We will especially see this in the 2nd half of Proverbs 8

So as Lady Wisdom speaks, we understand:

The voice of the Lord speaks through her

Her voice should be strongly associated with the Son of God

What is Lady Wisdom Saying?

But what is she saying? What is the Lord saying through her

Well—it is a call to LISTEN and LEARN

To hear what is right and then to choose to walk in the way of what is right.

The call is universal to all the children of man (v. 4)

She raises her voice so that:

The simple (the young/naive) will learn prudence (sound judgment) (v. 5)

The foolish (who lack fear in God) will learn some common sense—some basic understanding (v. 5)

True Listening Requires Application

So now—the question is—are you truly listening to her?

You might say, “Yes,” because you hear her words in the passage.

But is HEARING all that TRUE LISTENING requires?

Not according to James 1:22-25

James 1:22–25 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

The Law of Liberty are the commandments of Christ that we find in the New Testament.

James is saying that those who truly HEAR God’s Word are those who DO God’s Word by obeying Christ’s commands!

This helps us understand how we must relate to Wisdom’s voice

Explain Regeneration — New Heart — Ears to Hear —Wisdom of the Word Received by Faith —- Obedience.

True listening always mean receiving the truth and obeying the truth.

If you hear the Law of Liberty and change nothing, did you TRULY listen?

It works the same way with God’s Wise Word in Proverbs 8

So are you truly listening to Wisdom?

Your life will give you the correct answer if you are honest enough to evaluate it.

Do you obey Jesus or not?

Those who have TRULY listened obey.

They demonstrate love for God through adherence to His commandments.

If you ARE truly listening, your life should be the proof.

It should contain virtue since you have HEARD wisdom’s voice, TURNED from sin and TRUSTED in the Lord.

2. Desire wisdom’s virtue (v. 6-21).

Defining Virtue

Now what do we mean by the word virtue?

The world says it is pretty much just positive character traits that you display by willing yourself to good behavior.

But biblically, virtue is defined by God’s commands.

What God says is good and right is virtuous.

Worshipping God alone and fleeing from idols is virtuous

Telling the truth and not lying is virtuous

Keeping the marriage bed pure and undefiled and not committing adultery is virtuous

As Christians, we understand that virtuous living is something God produces in us.

Explain: Spirit makes us new—we receive the Word—the Spirit empower us to obey the Word and virtuous fruit appears.

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us about this virtuous fruit of God’s Spirit that He will produce from our born again hearts:

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

So then, what is the means that God uses to bring this virtue out of us?

It is wisdom itself.

Through the hearing of the Wise Word we hear, we believe, we obey and we grow.

This idea is also expressed by Paul in Colossians 1.

Colossians 1:9–10 ESV

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Spiritual Wisdom fills us up—>Shows us how to be obedient (walk worthy of the Lord) —> Pleasing God with obedience—> BEARING FRUIT IN EVERY GOOD WORK

Do you see how when a life has God’s wisdom planted in it, it becomes the soil from which the fruit of the Spirit springs?

Let’s look at Wisdom’s virtues with these things in mind.

The Virtues of Verses 6-9—Excellent, Correct, Godly Speech

Looking at the words in v. 6-9...

Wisdom speaks noble things—excellent things (v. 6)

Wisdom speaks right things—morally correct things (v. 6)

Wisdom speaks true things—things that line up with God’s Word (v. 7)

Lady Wisdom has right and good speech.

Anything else = Unthinkable

Because Lady Wisdom hates lies

Instead, wisdom speaks righteous words that are in accordance with God’s law (v. 8)

There is no deviating—nothing crooked; nothing twisted (v. 8)

But Wisdom speaks plain and straight words (v. 9).

For those who have ears to hear—who have understanding and knowledge—they are clear and understandable.

We should desire to see these virtues of wisdom cultivated in our own lives.

If we are truly HEARING Lady Wisdom, the Wise Word of God should be changing us from the inside out.

One of the things that changes in our tongue.

It should go from cursing to blessing.

It should go from sounding like foolishness to sounding like a mouth that fears God.

Have you listened to Lady Wisdom?

What does your speech say?

The Virtue of Verses 12-17, 20

Moving to verses 12-17, we can continue to hear Wisdom’s virtue extolled.

Wisdom is virtuous because of who she keeps as friends and who she counts as enemies (v. 12-13).

Wisdom DWELLS with prudence—or good judgment (12)

She knows the way to the house of knowledge and discernment (12)

If you want to find them, she can tell you how to get there

You can see how these virtues are the friends of wisdom.

You get her, you get them!

But wisdom is defined by who she hates as much as by who she loves (13)

Wisdom begins with fearing the Lord, therefore she hates the foolishness of evil beliefs and evil living

She hates pride and arrogance, which are not attitudes of reverence toward God—-they are attitudes of rebellion.

She hates corruption—which is the way of evil.

She hates perverted speech—devious speech that is not in line with the truth

The sort of speech that is immoral and misleading and foul and crude

If we are truly hearing her, we should have her friends and her enemies.

This will line us up with what the all-wise God loves and hates.

Wisdom is virtuous because she rules the rulers (v. 14-16).

This is one of my favorite parts of this passage.

Counsel and sound wisdom belong to Lady Wisdom (14) .

She is the possessor of insight and strength (14).

And then look what she says in verses 15-16—

If there is a King reigning—it is because of wisdom.

If there is a ruler decreeing just things—it is because of wisdom.

If there is a prince or noble that is using the sword of their authority for good—it is because of wisdom.

Wisdom is pervasive. Even people who don’t realize it are gleaning from wisdom.

Humanity gets a lot wrong with government and political power.

But in those places where we get it right—even unbelieving rulers—it is because God has allowed wisdom to come to that ruler in His common mercy and grace.

He mercifully gives bits of wisdom out—even to pagan princes and kings.

If this were not the case, no government on this earth would even be able to stand for a second.

It would just collapse under the folly of humanity.

One of the signs that we are TRULY LISTENING to wisdom is that we long to see rulers and leaders govern with WISDOM.

We pray for it.

We grieve when we see leaders being foolish.

Because we have heard AND believe that WISDOM Is the governor’s only hope.

Wisdom is virtuous because she reciprocates love (v. 17).

Is there anything more sad than watching someone try to truly love another, only to be rejected time and time again?

Well Wisdom won’t do that.

If you love wisdom, she is going to love you back.

If you seek wisdom, she will make herself available.

And then once you find her and you see her impact on your frail life, you go—I think I will seek her again.

And if you do that in faith and sincerity, you will find her again.

A hallmark of a life that TRULY LISTENS to wisdom is that they keep seeking it because they are eager to see wisdom produce her fruit in their lives again and again.

Wisdom is virtuous because of where she walks (v. 20).

She walks in righteousness and justice.

She doesn’t just talk about what is right and good—she practices it.

If you walk with wisdom, you will find yourself practicing righteousness and justice as well.

Is that how you live?

Are you right and fair in how you deal with others?

Your answers will say something about whether or not you are TRULY LISTENING and TRULY DESIRING Wisdom’s virtue.

A Reminder About Virtue

But be careful. Don’t drift into self-propelled performance mode or you will crash and burn.

Lady Wisdom is not a set of principles to master — She is principle to receive from God’s Wise Word.

And when you receive her, she brings her friends with her: prudence, discernment, righteousness, and justice.

And as she is implanted in our hearts, we grow to be prudent, discerning, righteous and just.

The very principles that would cause a ruler to wisely govern a nation are the principles that will lead us to wisely govern our own lives under the authority of Christ and by the power of His Spirit.

And as this takes place, the fruit of virtue will be on display for the glory of God.

Virtue is Value (v. 10-11)

Ultimately, wisdom’s ability to produce this fruit in us is what makes it so valuable.

Wisdom claims herself as being more valuable than all the riches of the world—and she is right!

Her instruction is superior to silver (10)

Her knowledge is better than the best gold (10)

Her wisdom is better than jewels—like diamonds and emeralds and rubies (11)

In fact, Lady Wisdom is so confident in her worth, that she says, “Pretty much anything you can possibly desire cannot compare with her.” (11)

This is not a new claim from the book of Proverbs:

Proverbs 3:13–15 ESV

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Virtue is Value (v. 18-21)

You also see the same idea repeated in 8:18-21—

True riches and honor are with wisdom—not the world (18)

Enduring wealth—that lasts beyond this age—come by the way of this Lady crying out at the Crossroads (18)

Verse 19 repeats the same idea as v. 10.

Wisdom is better than 99.9% 24 karat gold

Wisdom is better than 92.5% pure Sterling Silver

Verse 21 says that if you really want your treasuries filled, Lady Wisdom is the one you must pursue.

Divine bounty comes through her

In her we find that God is blessedly wise and we are cursed fools

And by TRULY listening to Wisdom and VALUING her, we find that God’s blessing and favor comes to us by grace

So then...Wisdom’s value is in her virtue.

The virtues of v. 6-9

The virtues of v. 12-17

The virtues that drench the text of the book of Proverbs at every turn of the page

This is one of those things in the Bible we can’t just read.

We have to believe it if wisdom is really going to have a transforming effect on our lives.

Do you really believe wisdom is more valuable than the stuff of the world? Well which one do you chase more?

Do you wake up and think, “I have to get ahead in the rat race. Today I have to WORK more, EARN more, PRODUCE more—so that I can get my hands on a piece of this world and claim it as my own!” OR...

Do you wake up and think, “My God—I need YOUR wisdom today more than anything else and I am going to chase it!”

Our answer to this question is huge because it will dictate our relationship to Proverbs 10-31.

Proverbs has 6 more collections to study

As we go through them, will you grow in virtue?

Will you grow in godliness by the way of wisdom?

Will you be changed by the instruction and knowledge of wisdom?

It depends on how much you value it.

According to the Lord, who speaks through the Lady, you cannot OVERVALUE wisdom.

You can overvalue this fleeting world and be left empty as the STUFF of this age fails to fill the vacuum in your heart that is made for worship.

But you cannot overvalue the wisdom of God!

It will make you more godly.

It will draw you closer to God.

It will prepare your heart to be a fertile field for the fruit of righteousness to grow from.

These are not fleeting results! These are lasting!

The Foil of Lady Folly

Now here is what can’t be missed in all of this—Lady Wisdom isn’t the only Lady looking to speak in these two chapters.

There is another woman named Lady Folly.

She isn’t the Forbidden Woman, but they are best friends. Matching tattoos. The whole bit.

And like the Forbidden Woman, Lady Folly has no virtue!

We will study her more in the coming weeks, but Lady Folly is not like Lady Wisdom at all.

She is not righteous in her words, she is deceptive.

Proverbs 9:13 ESV

The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing.

She will not produce virtue in the one who listens to her. She will introduce them to VICE that takes you straight to the grave:

Proverbs 9:17–18 ESV

“Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

But Wisdom won’t do this—she will not take you to the foot of the grave...

...She will take you to the foot of the Cross.

There we find Christ—the Wisdom of God—crucified for us as God’s wise plan of salvation.

And as we receive Him, we receive His Spirit of Wisdom who will produce this sort of virtuous fruit in your life.

Wisdom will make your heart into a field from which God brings about the fruit of His Wise Spirit.

Consider everything we just saw in Lady Wisdom.

She speaks truth and hates deception.

She produces sound judgment in those who subscribe to her.

She walks in righteousness and justice.

She loves those who love her.

THIS is what she will produce in you by the power of God’s Spirit.

See—Wisdom is not just here to make you more likable or successful or intelligent...

Wisdom is here to change you.

Wisdom is here to see her virtues flowing from your life for the glory of God.

Wisdom is here to make you more like Christ!

Hear His Voice

This is where is important for us to take a moment and remember the strong association with Christ for Lady Wisdom

In our next time together in Proverbs 8, we will see that Wisdom orders the cosmos.

The parallels between Christ and Wisdom are undeniable in those verses (v. 22-36)

While the parallels might not jump off the page here, we know that Christ still speaks to us from these words.

And if you belong to Him, you should hear His voice.

John 10:3–4 ESV

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Friend, if you hear the voice of the Man of Galilee calling out to you from the Crossroads this morning—FOLLOW HIM!

Trust that Christ our Wisdom will USE Wisdom to MAKE YOU wise and virtuous for the glory of His name and the sake of His Kingdom.

Understand the Choice

Other wise, you are choosing to listen to Folly.

For it is a foolishness thing to lack fear before God and spurn the voice of His Son.

We have to decide who we will ultimately give our ears to.

We can listen to Wisdom, which is virtuous and produces Spirit-wrought virtues in us.

Or we can listen to Folly, which deceives and produces death.

Conclusion

So what choice will you make?

Is the voice of the Wisdom going in the ear and to the heart?

As you received Wisdom’s principles from God’s Wise Word, are you seeing change and spiritual growth in your life?

Are you seeing your folly put to death that Spirit-produced virtue may abound?

But this will only happen if there is true listening.

If we hear Wisdom’s voice and we are unchanged, then we haven’t truly listened—we have heard words with the best of intentions. That is it.

The best of intentions won’t produce real wisdom and fruit in your life.

You can have the best of intentions, but lack a fear of God and live like a fool.

I’ll try and illustrate it like this:

Think of a farmer whose whole livelihood depends on the harvest.

He knows better than anyone that there is a window for planting.

Miss it and the season is gone.

You can’t negotiate with the weather and the soil!

So when that rooster crows before dawn — he gets up.

Not because he feels like it. Not because it's convenient.

Because he knows that the farmer who hears the rooster and rolls back over with good intentions still has an empty field in the fall.

The rooster is crowing this morning.

Lady Wisdom is crying out from the heights. The question isn't whether you can hear her. The question is whether you will get up and work the field.

Because intentions don't produce harvests. Farmers do.

Do you see how our listening cannot stop with an intention for action?

If we are truly hearing Lady Wisdom above the noise of the world, we will apply instruction and be DOERS of the Word.

If we are hearing Wisdom’s voice from the heights, we will wisely do the Lord’s will on the ground.

Are you TRULY listening to wisdom?

Then your life will have the fruit that follows—not merely intentions.