Ray M. Geigley
In her book, Footprints of Fire, Noel Moules states, “In a world obsessed with facts, figures, data and information there is a disturbing absence of wisdom, almost an indifference to it. It is rarely spoken of on the streets, in the popular media or even in church.” Would you agree?
King Solomon exclaims in Proverbs 16:16, “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” And in Proverbs 9:10, he gives us a clue regarding how to get this wisdom, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
The Hebrew word frequently translated “fear” in our Bibles, leans more toward the feelings of awe, love, and reverence; much like the feeling a lover has towards their beloved, and not wanting anything to spoil the relationship.
The core message of Proverbs declares that true, life-giving wisdom is based on a living relationship with God, who is the true source of all wisdom, as expressed in verse 7 of the opening chapter, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
This verse speaks of both knowledge and wisdom. Both are recurring themes in the Bible and are related but are not synonymous. A dictionary would define Wisdom as: “the possession of experience and knowledge together with the power of applying them critically or practically.” A biblical definition is similar: “the skill and discipline of applying truth to the experiences of life.”
Knowledge, on the other hand, is defined as, “information gained through experience, reasoning, or acquaintance.”
The Southern Baptist preacher, Vance Havner, said, “If you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees! Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge.”
Knowledge can exist without wisdom, but wisdom cannot exist without knowledge. One can be knowledgeable without being wise, and many in our world are like that. More importantly and most sadly, many who claim to be Christian and regularly attend church, know a lot about God, but very little of His wisdom, choosing rather to follow the foolishness of earthly wisdom.
In Proverbs 8, King Solomon, gives wisdom a voice by personifying wisdom as a woman. By doing so, he is personifying a quality that is a part of God’s trinity personhood. As such, Lady Wisdom is not to be understood as a separate god or goddess, but rather a literary tool that Solomon uses to depict and describe the working of God’s Spirit.
King Solomon wants us to understand that wisdom is not a set of rules to live by, but rather a spiritual reality who speaks, and with whom we can have a relationship. Christians understand this Lady Wisdom person to be the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
In these verses, Lady Wisdom is portrayed as an awesome, dynamic presence, eager to be heard (vv.15-16). Her voice is heard as the queen of the universe, and it is to the whole of humanity that she speaks. (v.4).
With glowing terms Lady Wisdom speaks of how worthy and profitable her instructions are for those who choose to love her. She is generous and promises wonderful gifts to anyone who will embrace her — gifts of intelligence, truth, instruction, knowledge, justice, righteousness and wealth (vv. 5-21).
Lady Wisdom calls out for us to pause and ask ourselves, How much sweat, blood, and tears am I expending for the infinitely “much better” gifts of wisdom and understanding? How much of my personal time is spent in relationship with Jesus, through studying the scriptures and praying, both alone and doing so together with other followers of Jesus?
Truly, God loves us and delights in us and eagerly desires that we be growing in our knowledge and relationship with Him and “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man,” even as Jesus did (Luke 2:52).
Not everyone can become famous or wealthy or powerful, but everyone can gain wisdom regarding how to live and walk wisely with God and with other people. Every one of us can grow in our relationship with God, and build relationships with others that are deep, lasting and purposeful. It is in these relationships that we develop understanding and wisdom.
“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” Do you agree?
“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – July 24, 2019
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