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PART ONE (C)
CHAPTER EIGHT
1-36
Wisdom is here proclaimed generally as:
1.
The guide to every person without
distinction (1-5)
2.
The partner or compliment to
morality (6-13)
3.
The key to all success (14-21)
4.
The basic and permeating
principle in all creation (22-31)
5.
The one necessity of life
(32-36).
1-5
The guide to every person without distinction (1-5)
Wisdom is a guide offered to everyone. It begins at street-level, in the
shopping centres, on the roadside, in the squares,
streets and at the gates. No person can say they are exempt from needing God’s
Word. As always, it is God who is seeking us, and not us seeking Him –
Rom.3:11-18. This is why all Christians are expected to take the Gospel to the
lost wherever the lost may be – in the workplace, home, school or university –
Mark 16:15,20, Acts 17:17.
6-13
The partner or compliment to morality (6-13)
God wants us to be both wise, and godly. Our values in practical,
material things, and our values in behaviour, can
both be measured by God’s Word. Relativity doesn’t apply here. The Bible is our
moral compass, or lodestone.
Verse 6 "excellent" (things) = literally, "a prince"
or "representative". Things = words, or truth. Hence this verse can
read "representative truths".
Verse 8,9. Either Solomon is boasting
extravagantly, or this IS the perfect Word of God – Psalm 138:2, Ps.12:6, 19:8,
119:140 and Prov. 30:5,6)
The word "plain" in verse 9 means "straight". What the
verse means is that those who follow the moral code of the Bible, and
experience its results, can appreciate that "all the words of my mouth ARE
in righteousness" (v8) and see John 7:17.
Verse 10,11
Try to imagine everything you could possibly desire and then read 10,11 again. "Things" can be misused, but when the
owner of them has the ability to keep material possessions in the right
perspective, they can be made good use of, developed, expanded, and utilised properly. (1Tim.6;6)
Verse 12 witty = to know intuitively. To be sagacious,
but not with any great effort. In other words, its
easy. Prudence is shrewdness and discretion. Jesus sets the example of the
perfect combination of a wise man who was also godly.
An "invention" is something a person devises, or thinks up. It
can be the good desires of the heart, or the sinful desires – Ps.99:5, 106:29,39, Ecc.7:29, Rom.1:30 – "inventore
of evil things . . ."
Verse 13 "The fear of the Lord". This is seen in our behaviour, because reverence for Him results in a certain
kind of action. "To hate evil" means a personal policy to avoid what
God defines as evil or wrong. The fallen human nature actually loves evil – as
we see on TV every night where entertainment often consists of violent or cruel
‘action scenes’.
Mankind is evil by nature – Jer.19:9, Mat.7:17,18, 15:19, John 3;19,
Rom.3:10-18, 7:8, 8:7,8, 1Cor.2:14, gal.5;17, Eph.2:2,3 . . .12, 4:17-22,
Col.1:21, Tit.3:3, 1John 5:19.
"froward" =
perverse.
"mouth" is put for the whole person.
14-21
The key to all success (14-21)
Notice the personal pronouns "I", "me" and
"mine", which all stress the point that it is Wisdom which is the
central fact here, and not the people who benefit from her. In these verses God
shows us how he puts things in the right order –
especially verse 19, which matches verse 11.
Wisdom comes before possessions; Man puts material possessions first,
but here Wisdom is said to excel gold, rubies, and every thing we could
desire. But the benefits of putting Wisdom first are both material and
immaterial, its just that any earthly benefit gained
is only a small part of the much greater whole (verse 35)
Verse 15 Wisdom is profitable for both Christians and non-Christians –
gal.6:7 and James 1:5-8.
"By me kings reign . . ." Ps.75:6,7,
Dan.2:21,47, Rom.13:1-7. ANYONE can prosper if they take hold of the eternal
principles of Wisdom, which God has built into the universe. This is one of the
great things about Wisdom. An evil person can prosper just as much as a good
person because Wisdom is accessible to both. In a similar way an evil and a
good person can both learn to read music, and both can
play the instrument well. God is so good to us that He allows even Hitlers and other evil people to dip into His Wisdom if
they so choose.
22-31
The basic and permeating principle in all creation
(22-31)
This passage starts with "the Lord" – a very special start.
The spring from which all Wisdom flows is God, or Jehovah, who is the Creator.
Wisdom used wrongly causes chaos, even though it can still be traced back to
Him – Mat.2:4,16, Eph.6:12, Ps.109:29, James 3:16.
If we take it that Wisdom here is not an abstraction personified, we get
into a mess in 9:1-6 where Wisdom is called a "great lady", or in
13-18, her rival. God uses a form of speech or idiom here, for poetic
vividness, to impress a deeper truth on our mind. Wisdom is first personified, then secondly transformed into a Person, in Jesus. Jesus
Himself is the source of all of God’s Wisdom and power – Col.1:15-17, 2:3,
Rev.3;14, John 1:1-14, 1Cor.1;24,30, Heb.1:1-4.
Verse 22 – "possessed" = acquired, implying a definite act. "His way" not His works. Since God
is everlasting, there has never been a time when He has not existed, so Wisdom
is what He counts as primary and indispensable.
Wisdom is fundamental to all creation. "set
up" = founded. "from everlasting" =
from the outset of the ages, see Heb.11:3.
Verse 26 "highest part" = beginning, or the first atoms, or
sub-atomic particles.
"world" = tebel
= the habitable world. (Is.45:18) Not eretz, which
means the Earth.
Verse 27 "compass" = circle, or vault, implying the spherical
shape of the Earth.
Verse 28 "clouds" = skies, or finer skies. Alternative
translation: "when he made strong the atmosphere" so it would not
collapse. This points us to God’s design of air pressure – Is.40:12, Job 28:25)
Verse 29 "appointed’ = fixed by statute, or, marked out.
Before the Fall, everything in creation was in
perfect harmony, and balance. Even now, when the whole of creation is marred,
and every law and balance is slightly imperfect (sickness, extinction,
pollution, death, carnivorous animals, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes,
tsunamis. rebellion, etc) some semblance of the original beauty and perfection
is still visible – Rom.1:18-21, 8:18-25)
Verse 30 "one brought up with him" (i.e. Him, God) = Hebrew.
"amon" = a master
workman. Wisdom is the functional. Practical aspect of God.
He is the Designer of the insect’s leg, the laws of physics, the forces of
gravity and so on, the arrangement and movement of the planets, the fuel supply
of our sun, the song of birds, the trail of a snail . . .the list is endless.
"and I was daily His delight". The word
"His" is not in the original Hebrew, so the verse can read "I
was daily delight", or as a paraphrase: "I was happiness
itself." (Ps.16:11,36:8)
"rejoicing" = sporting. Wisdom is
pictured as a vigorous, energetic youth, full of vitality and imagination. Christians
also ought to reflect these things in their own lives – no time for boredom or
dullness.
Verse 31. The
condescension of God towards fallen, sinful Mankind. He doesn’t shun us
because we are pathetic, but rather he devotes His time and effort to us
because we are pathetic, and because He loves us.
32-36
The one necessity of life (32-36).
Verse 35 "finds life" i.e. the resurrection life, eternal
life. When Jesus came he kept appealing to Wisdom as a guide to true life –
Mat.12:42, Luke 11:48-52, and also see 1Cor.1:20,24,30,
2:5-7
God deliberately uses wisdom which the worldly-wise miss out on –
Mat.11:25
Verse 36. This is the
clinching of the subject – life or death. (Luke 13:3)
"sins against me" = misses.
Many people miss the Wisdom of God, even though they come very near –
1ohn5:12 – "He that has the Son of God has life . . ." (Also John
3:36,6:29, 8:24 and so on) Many people will happily acknowledge that certain
things are true - James 2:19 - , but, like an arrow fired at a target, many
people just miss that essential aim and hit the target, Jesus Christ, to whom
all wisdom points.
On the other hand, many people have come to Jesus, who is the highest, and most perfect expression of Wisdom ever revealed
to Man simply by first recognising the built in
wisdom in Nature. Creation is full of Wisdom.
"hate me" = the one who refuses to
listen sins against his own soul, for he seals his own destruction.
CHAPTER NINE
This chapter describes two feasts, and they are rival feasts. 1-6
is Wisdom’s feast and 13-18 is Folly’s feast. The centrepiece,
7-12, gives us a character sketch, showing us the Scoffer, with his closed
mind, and this is contrasted against one who is open and wants to make
progress.
1-6
Wisdom’s Feast.
It was an Eastern custom to invite guests in a certain way. Here it is
the maidens who go out. In the NT it is the young men – Mat.22:3, Luke 14:17.
"she cries" or, each one cries for
her. Wisdom builds big, lasting things; it also takes the initiative and goes
out. God seeks the foolish, but the foolish seek Folly who sits at her door in
verse 14. Wisdom invites all kids along, especially if they are unqualified or
unworthy of the invitation. God sends His ‘Open Air Campaigners’ out into the
world. 1Cor. Speaks of the "foolishness of preaching". What a
tremendous effort god has gone to, over thousands of years, in order to invite
people to His feast. What a wonderful eagerness He displays as He keeps trying,
even though the guests continue to refuse His calls. But some hear, and come,
and God can make wise the simple –Ps.19:7 (also Ps.119:130)
Verse 5. Here we have symbols
of Jesus: bread – John 6:5, 48, 1Cor.11:23 and wine – Luke 22:20.
The Lord is always inviting, with an imperative, urgent voice, ALL to
come to Him – is.55:1,2, Mat.11:28. The cost of coming
is always death to self – John 6:51-55.
"mingled" = mixed. Is.5:22 – here,
the wicked add things, like spices, to make the drink more potent. In Proverbs
9:5 it is the "blending’ of different GOOD wines that is meant. In a spiritual
sense it means that the simple and the more difficult teaching is blended into one message. In the same way, the love of
Christ for us helps us to face the trials. God blends, or mixes Wisdom for us
in the same way as a wise person may mix a well-balanced drink. (i.e. a cocktail)
Verse 6 the "foolish", or foolish ones, or more plainly, the
fools. We are urged to leave the old company of the world, and the lifestyle it
leads – 1Pet.4:3-5. Unfortunately peer group pressure keeps many people and of
course many Christians from making a clean break with the ‘old’ and unfruitful
ways of the spiritually dead. The feast of Wisdom means more than just a new
outlook, it means a changed pattern of behaviour, and
habits, and company, interests, goals, motivation and so on.
7-12
The Centrepiece. The following are ‘character studies’ or word sketches, of what to
expect from certain types of people.
Verse 7 "shame" = abuse, ridicule, mockery. The wicked person
is likely to react the same way. The Septuagint says: "He that reproves
evil (men) shall get dishonour to himself, and he
that rebukes an ungodly man shall disgrace himself. It is therefore not wise to
try to counsel or instruct people who are openly hostile to God’s Wisdom.
The more shallow and empty a person is, the less willing they are to
listen to godly counsel. The less they know, the more they think they know.
Reproof with them is a waste of time, and Christians who try to instruct them
are frequently held up to ridicule by them.
Wisdom uses CRITICISM as a method of teaching, but who likes to be criticised? Heb.4:12,13, John
3:19-21. Man is not God’s critic, but God is Man’s critic.
Verse 8 Advice again. It is not wise to reprove a scorner because 1. The
reproof will usually go unheeded, 2. The scorner will usually become hostile to
the one who delivered the reproof. God’s way to change a scorner is to convict
him, so that he ends up either condemning, or reproving himself. This and many
other proverbs are about much the same thing – wisdom and how we should handle
it. We must be wise, and careful, and speak when we feel sure our words will be
heeded.
Notice that: Joseph didn’t reprove his brothers – Gen.37:2
The prophet stopped reproving king Ahaziah
2Chron 25
The Jews didn’t answer Rabshakeh – Is.36:21
John was murdered because he reproved Herod – Mat.14:1-10
On the other hand, the expected response from a wise man is "love
mixed with truth. See Nathan – 2Sam.12, 1Chron.3:5, 1Kings 1:32-34, the two
disciples – Luke 24:25,29, Peter – John 21:17, Peter –
Gal.2:11-14, 2Pet.3:15.
Verse 9. Always there is room
for improvement. We must always try to be teachable, and want to learn new
truth. Some Christians are "saved" but after that they make very
little progress. They stay in spiritual nappies for years, never growing or
adding depth to their initial learning of truth.
Verse 10. Wisdom is the fear,
or reverence, for God which we ought to have. When we submit to Him, as a real,
living, personal Creator, and perceive His Hand in all our
world, our new heavenly perspective makes sense of everything. From God we
receive moral absolutes, a past, present and a future, and a stationary point
in the universe.
Verse 11-12. The richness of life increases as we gain Wisdom.
Verse 12. Individualism is
here stresses mightily. Ez.18 and Gal.6:4,5 and
Prov.10:1 all show how we each affect each other by our different characters,
or personalities. The big lesson in verse 12 is that the individual is the
gainer or loser depending on what they do with what God offers. (Job 35:13,14)
13-18
Folly’s feast.
The foolish woman attracts foolish (simple, or
silly) people. Some of the cults believe things which are so wrong, if they
were presented by a stand-up comedian, everyone would laugh. Many intelligent
people spend a lot of time contemplating very seriously some of the silliest
things, for example the ‘sound of one hand clapping’, or whether a tree makes a
sound if it falls over in a forest where you are not standing.
"nothing" = nothing whatever.
Verse 14 sits at the door = slovenly. Wisdom works hard to reach
everybody, but folly is lazy and unconcerned. Folly doesn’t care about other
people, but only wants a certain type – those who will come down to her level,
and be like her, and not disagree with her. By contrast, truth fights.
Verse 15 "passengers" = passers by. They go "right
on" in their ways. Christians must try to keep going straight, and not let
distractions divert them from their way, or divert their energy into
unprofitable things.
Verse 17 The forbidden is attractive. Eve
"saw" the forbidden fruit – Gen.3:6. See also Prov.20:17 "bread
of deceit" and Is.5;20. There are many things,
which God has openly declared as wrong, which are presented to Christians as
‘quite good really’, but which actually amount to nothing more than a big waste
of time.
Verse 18 The "simple" get themselves
entangled in sinful ways, but the wise can see the end of the path. (Rom.6:23
and James 1:12-16)