Words to Wed
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ME: Intro -
ME: Intro -
So, far in Proverbs the mouthpiece for wisdom has primarily been a teacher,
Speaking on behalf of wisdom.
In chapter 8, we come to a poem where wisdom now speaks for herself.
Wisdom is personified as Lady Wisdom.
She is the supreme teacher who teaches on her own authority.
This authority is vividly expressed through this personification.
Wisdom is then literally personified as God in the NT.
Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God,
And He is the absolute authority.
Our passage this morning presents Words to Wed.
Our outline is:
Wisdom’s Words (vs. 1-11)
Wisdom’s Love (vs. 12-21)
Wisdom’s Origin (vs. 22-31)
Wisdom’s Blessing (vs. 32-36)
Behind human wisdom is the original wisdom of God.
He established all created things and their proper relationship to God and one another by wisdom.
This makes human wisdom valid only when it occurs within the context of God’s Word.
WE: Wisdom’s Words (vs. 1-11)
WE: Wisdom’s Words (vs. 1-11)
Proverbs 8:1-11;
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.
(vs. 1-3)
Last chapter we were warned about a forbidden woman with honey lips.
This chapter pictures her opposite, Lady Wisdom.
She is standing up high overlooking a road.
This road she overlooks is a crossroad.
Like the forbidden woman,
She extends an invitation to the inexperienced.
But unlike the forbidden woman.
Her invitation is not done in the dark.
She publicly makes her appeal in broad daylight.
And she makes a spiritual invitation,
Not a sexual invitation.
She promises life, not death.
We should be wed to this woman.
(vs. 4)
Wisdom calls out to us.
She is our instructor.
She does not separate some intellectually elite as the only recipients of wisdom.
She calls out to all people.
To all the children of Adam, the first person.
She appeals to the reality of our limited mortality.
(vs. 5)
Wisdom tells us to learn common sense.
This is the idea of an understanding heart,
Of a mind that functions as it should.
(vs. 6)
Wisdom is telling us to listen because her words are valuable.
She speaks what is right.
She teaches us to have a sense of morality.
(vs. 7)
Wisdom speaks reliable truths.
The opposite of truth is wickedness.
Something that is such an abomination it won’t even touch her lips.
This is not the only place Proverbs relates wisdom to truth.
This comparison happens several places.
This comparison suggests the divine origin of wisdom,
Something that is confirmed later in this chapter.
(vs. 8)
(vs. 9)
Wisdom is a self-consistent reality.
What I mean by this is that one must be attuned to wisdom in order to learn wisdom.
This again supports the idea that all truth is God’s truth.
Therefore, without the knowledge of God, we cannot know absolute truth.
Wisdom is right to those who understand wisdom.
It is right in front of us,
It is the straight path,
Not the twisted and crooked path that requires us to veer off to the side.
A perceptive person is insightful and intelligent,
But most of all they are discerning.
So, those who seek wisdom discovers it.
This is the idea Jesus teaches in Matt 13:10-13;
Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
(vs. 10-11)
Wealth is one of the most desired things in this world.
Silver, gold, and jewels represent this human desire.
So, Wisdom compares herself against these highly desired items.
Doing so emphasizes the value of wisdom.
There is an implicit warning against materialism as well.
But the primary focus is that wisdom is more valuable,
More worthy of our desire,
Than the most desirable things of this world.
Therefore, wisdom’s advice is to desire wisdom over the things of this world.
The truth is we will either pursue godly wisdom or riches.
And the irony is that those who choose wisdom are often materially rewarded.
GOD: Wisdom’s Love (vs. 12-21)
GOD: Wisdom’s Love (vs. 12-21)
Proverbs 8:12-21;
“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.
(vs. 12)
If you find wisdom, you will find she has some other virtuous roommates;
Prudence, knowledge, and discretion.
(vs. 13)
Again we see the phrase, “the fear of the Lord” in Proverbs.
Wisdom is reminding us that we cannot develop a Christian ethic based solely on human experience.
Education and experience are great,
But neither are foundational.
Both are built upon the foundation of God’s faithful covenantal promises,
And the hope His promises provide.
There can be no true ethics without God’s absolute standard of right, goodness, and truth.
And God has given us His absolute standard of right, goodness, and truth in His Word.
So, to fear the Lord is to have the mind of Christ,
Which means we will view evil the same way,
With hatred.
But not just hatred of evil.
Hatred of pride, arrogance, and perverted speech.
These are characteristics of those who refuse to acknowledge God’s rule.
Of those who do not rightly fear Him.
So, wisdom hates the things God hates.
Other Scriptures support that God does in fact hate these things.
For example, Psalm 5:5 and Isaiah 61:8 say;
The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.
For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
(vs. 14)
Wisdom offers counsel, insight, and strength.
But this counsel, insight, and strength is not just coming from anywhere,
Wisdom offers these things from God.
It is God’s counsel, God’s insight, and God’s strength that wisdom offers.
Like the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 28:29;
This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
Wisdom has direct access to this counsel,
And offers to reveal it to us.
This implies that wisdom’s counsel brings success.
Today, through Jesus Christ and the present of the Holy Spirit living in us,
We are given access to these qualities that belong to God.
(vs. 15-16)
Wisdom revealed in God’s Word defines the order of God’s creation.
This function plays out in human rulers.
Wise rulership begins with fear of the Lord.
Kings, rulers, princes, and nobles all rule by the authority of God’s wisdom.
They are all but a shadow of the Messiah’s rule.
When Jesus returns and establishes the kingdom of heaven,
He will rule with perfect wisdom.
So, until then, we rebel against authority because they are imperfect, right?
Of course not.
Romans 13 addresses the relationship between Christians and Civil Government.
To summarize it as simply as possible,
Christians should be generally good citizens.
Romans 13:1-2 says;
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
Civil government is ordained by God as a means to maintain order in communities.
It is one example of this.
Employers, bosses, managers, and supervisors are an example in work communities.
Parents and grandparents are an example within the family community.
Elders and deacons are an example within the spiritual community.
Each of these examples are given a limited sphere of authority under Christ,
Who Scripture says, presently rules and sustains creation.
Living in a fallen world requires God-ordained authorities.
These institutions stand as a fortress against anarchy and the destruction of ordered society.
The Westminster Confession gives a great explanation of civil government:
“God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates, to be, under Him, over the people, for His own glory, and the public good; and, to this end, hath armed them with the power of the sword, for the defence and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evil doers…Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven (23.1, 3).”
This means civil government exists for the welfare of society.
God gives civil government power,
The lawful use of force, to administer just laws.
Romans 13:4 affirms this;
for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Christians must acknowledge civil government as part of God’s order.
This includes collecting taxes, respect, and honor.
Again Romans 13:6-7 says;
For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
The only time we do not submit to the authority of civil government,
Is when it either forbids what God requires,
Or requires what God forbids.
But when we do,
We are to expect inescapable punishment.
The only relationship the church has with the government is in the sphere of morality.
What do I mean by this?
I believe Christians have a responsibility to comment on the morality of government and policies on the basis of God’s Word.
But the church does not appropriate itself the power to set such policies.
The assessment given by Christians may foster political action to act in the capacity of a citizen,
Rather than a representative of the church.
Why do we operate this way?
Because this is the way the gospel works.
It works through moral persuasion and the working of God’s grace.
Believers should urge the government to fulfill their role.
We must pray for, obey, and remember God has ordained them to rule, protect, and keep order.
(vs. 17)
Wisdom is hidden from the foolish.
But those who love wisdom are loved by wisdom.
Wisdom cares for her own.
Whoever seeks after wisdom with diligence will find wisdom.
This suggests a relationship between wisdom and the grace of God that causes Him to draw near to us.
Jesus, Wisdom incarnate, alludes to this in Matthew 7:7.
It speaks of this emotional passion for one another.
(vs. 18)
A material and social benefit come with a relationship with Wisdom.
This benefit is described as riches and honor.
It is wealth that is granted by wisdom without any social stigma.
Ironically, those who pursue riches may acquire them,
But they get dishonor for their accumulation of wealth.
The author of Proverbs, Solomon, was an example of one who received riches and honor from wisdom in his early reign.
But the greatest benefit that comes with wisdom is righteousness.
This means that obedience to God’s law,
Results in a cultivation of the relationship between God, people, and creation.
This is the idea behind the command to live peaceably with all in Romans 12:18.
This is a lasting wealth,
It does not evaporate in this life,
And it includes treasures in heaven as well.
(vs. 19)
(vs. 20-21)
Wisdom walks where she can be found,
And where she will lead those who follower.
The result will be a reward for those who follow her.
The reward of her ways is contrasted against the disastrous ways of the wicked.
YOU: Wisdom’s Origin (vs. 22-31)
YOU: Wisdom’s Origin (vs. 22-31)
Proverbs 8:22-31;
“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 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, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.
(vs. 22)
Wisdom begins this section by referring to the Lord’s possession of her from the beginning of creation.
The account of creation is in Gen 1-2.
God created the universe and everything in it out of nothing.
In the middle of His creation was a Garden where He placed the first man and woman,
Adam and Eve.
And He would fellowship with them in the Garden.
The act of creation distinguishes God as the One true God.
It is the manifestation of His glory and wisdom.
And creation is a revelation of Him to all people.
This momentous event is both beautifully majestic and infinitely complex.
And with the Lord, was wisdom,
Witnessing all of God’s creative activity.
The name used to speak of the Lord here is the Hebrew name, Yahweh.
This is God’s proper name.
It entails His work as the Redeemer and Author of the covenant with His people.
It is used back in Exodus 3:15 when He speaks to Moses out of the burning bush.
In our culture today, your name does not necessarily reveal anything about you.
That is not the case with biblical names.
Traditionally, your name would give significant information about you.
The OT regularly celebrates God making His name known.
The Psalms generally direct their praise to God’s name.
So, God’s name, Yahweh reveals Himself.
The name Yahweh is derived from the Hebrew verb, “to be.”
When Moses asks God who he should say sent him,
God responds by saying “I AM,” Yahweh.
This name proclaims His eternal, self-sustaining, self-determining, sovereign character.
This was also signified by the bush that burned steadily without burning up.
It illustrated God’s inexhaustible life.
In designating Yahweh as His name,
God was indicating that you should always think of Him as the living, reigning, and powerful King.
This is the Lord that possessed wisdom at the beginning of creation.
This also underscores God’s redemptive covenant with His people,
And His commitment to creation.
This was culminated in Jesus Christ,
The promised seed of Abraham,
As Gal. 3:16 explains;
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
And the Son of David,
As Luke 1:32 revealed when speaking of Christ;
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
It is through Christ that the broken and fallen creation is redeemed.
Rev. 21:1 promises a future final redemption;
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
When it says the Lord possessed wisdom,
It is not saying Wisdom is a fourth member of the Godhead.
Rather, wisdom is an attribute of God that is expressed both in creation and redemption.
Since God is eternal, His attributes, like wisdom, are eternal as well.
Wisdom was possessed by God from the beginning of His work.
Wisdom is this eternal decree that establishes all thing and determines the course of history.
The first of his acts of old implies that wisdom existed prior to God’s revelation of Himself,
As well as His covenant with His people and His saving acts.
(vs. 23)
Wisdom was also prior to creation.
As vs. 23 says,
Wisdom was set up before the beginning of the earth.
(vs. 24)
Creation wisdom belongs to God alone.
But God has give you, as His image-bearer,
The task of understanding creation and exercising dominion over it.
This is the basis for wisdom’s interest in knowing creation.
It is pursued in the framework of God’s Word and fear of the Lord.
God’s wise plan for creation preceded the act of creation.
The fact that wisdom was brought forth suggests that wisdom is like a child of God.
Again, this is not suggesting that wisdom is a member of the Godhead,
But the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was the embodiment of Wisdom.
(vs. 25-26)
(vs. 27)
Not only did wisdom exist prior to creation,
But wisdom was a participant of it.
In fact, creation is the first great demonstration of God’s wisdom.
Wisdom drew a circle on the face of the deep.
This is speaking of the horizon.
It was seen as a visual circle above which God sits enthroned.
And the word for draw literally means carve.
It is same word used back in vs. 15 to refer to rulers who decree what is just.
They carve what is just on a stone tablet.
It is also used in vs. 29,
Where it says God carved out the foundations of the earth.
It shows how God’s law, God’s creation, and God’s order of creation all are related by God’s wisdom.
Wisdom’s retelling of creation is a figurative way to explain that God is the source of wisdom.
True wisdom only comes from Him.
Wisdom existed before creation and was involved in creation.
The Bible says the same is true about Christ.
This is one of the most explicit examples that Christ is Wisdom.
But Christ is not only Wisdom.
(vs. 28)
The fountains of the deep in vs. 28 likely refer to the flood.
Prior to the flood, God warns Noah in Genesis 7:11 about the fountains of the deep.
Then after the flood, in Gen. 8:2,
God promises never to open the fountains of the deep again.
This implies that the flood,
Despite the tragic nature,
Was a wise supernatural act of God.
(vs. 29)
(vs. 30)
Wisdom’s activity in creation is described as a master workman.
Wisdom does skilled craftsmanship,
This is a very practical nature of wisdom.
Wisdom is skillful.
It also puts wisdom is a unique position to explain creation to we who are creatures.
(vs. 31)
Not only are we told the actions of wisdom in creation,
But we are also given the emotions of wisdom.
Wisdom rejoiced and delighted in God’s creation.
Wisdom takes satisfaction in God’s very good creation,
Specifically, the creation of His image-bearers.
WE: Wisdom’s Blessing (vs. 32-36)
WE: Wisdom’s Blessing (vs. 32-36)
Proverbs 8:32-36;
“And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”
(vs. 32-34)
Wisdom begins to conclude what she has been saying in ch. 8 here.
Because of everything we have learned about wisdom in this chapter,
Specifically her ancient existence,
Her presence with God in creation,
And her delight in God’s creation of people,
She can teach people how to be happy.
So, she says, we who keep wisdom’s ways are blessed.
The key is to listen.
To not ignore wisdom’s instruction,
And to desire wisdom so much that we hang around her gates in order to make sure we do not miss any of her words.
Watching daily at the gates of wisdom implies a sense of eagerness to listen to wisdom and learn from wisdom.
Just anticipating when wisdom will come and impart a lesson upon us.
This is how a covenantal relationship with God works,
We are blessed when we obey God’s ways,
It is that simple.
(vs. 35)
The ultimate blessing of wisdom is the blessing of life.
The blessing of wisdom is life itself.
This is talking about true life,
About a right relationship with God, people, and creation.
We obtain favor from the Lord.
We obtain His acceptance.
We become someone in whom the Lord delights!
This is not talking about an alternative way for us to earn God’s approval.
This is talking about the acceptance provided within the covenantal relationship with God.
This relationship is obtained through trust in Christ.
And the favor obtained through this trust-based relationship with Christ,
Includes rich fellowship with the Lord,
As He molds us by true wisdom.
(vs. 36)
But, ch. 8 ends with a warning,
The word for sin is literally to miss the mark or fall short.
What an appropriate contrast against finding wisdom.
Whoever fails to find wisdom fails because they despise wisdom.
And if we despise wisdom then we despise life.
And if we despise life than we love death.
And if we love death, we get death.
Rejecting wisdom is suicidal.