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In Praise of Wisdom

Proverbs 8.1, 22-31

Good News Translation (GNT)

  1  Listen! Wisdom is calling out. Reason is
   making herself heard.
22  "The Lord created me first of all, the first of his
   works, long ago.
23  I was made in the very beginning, at the first,
   before the world began.
24  I was born before the oceans, when there
   were no springs of water.
25  I was born before the mountains, before the
   hills were set in place,
26  before God made the earth and its fields or
   even the first handful of soil.
27  I was there when he set the sky in place,
   when he stretched the horizon ;across the
   ocean, 28  when he placed the clouds in the sky,
   when he opened the springs of the ocean
29  and ordered the waters of the sea to rise no
   further than he said. I was there when he laid
   the earth's foundations.
30  I was beside him like ;an architect, (a)
   I was his daily source of joy, always happy in
   his presence -
31  happy with the world and pleased with the
   human race.

   Footnotes
   Proverbs 8:30 an architect;
   or
   a little child.

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Taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by the
Scripture Union and from
BRF - New Daylight

Embodying wisdom

    Proverbs 8.1, 22-31

It is important to note that the quality of wisdom can, of itself, achieve nothing. It needs to be embodied in a person.

The amazing person in question does not just sit there being wise. She calls out; she takes a stand.

More than anyone, Wisdom reminds us, then, of Jesus himself, except that in Proverbs 8 she's a woman.

Our passage speaks of the primacy of Wisdom, who was 'formed... at the very beginning'.

Wisdom takes precedence over knowledge. Success in searching for knowledge through science and other endeavours does not guarantee discerning the way of wisdom: knowledge can, and often is, used unwisely.

How, then, is humanity to learn to discern Wisdom's way?

The Hebrew behind the phrase 'I was constantly at his side' is obscure. Some scholars suggest the translation 'I was a little child'.

Moreover, 'rejoicing' (happy v30) translates a word that carries the connotation of playfulness.

So Wisdom, the little child at the creator's side, laughs playfully as the panorama of creation unfolds in front of her.

The woman called Wisdom continues her speech. She explains how God made the world. In the beginning, before ancient times, wisdom was there.

Wisdom is like God's word. God's word existed in the beginning, and God's word created the world.

The 'word' is another name for Jesus. The poem described how God made the world. The poem talks about the 'birth' of wisdom. This is poetry.

The poet is not saying that one day, wisdom was born. He does not think that before this, there was no wisdom. God was wise, even before ancient times. God was wise, even before he made the world. God has always been wise. God worked with Wisdom.

Together, God and Wisdom were glad to see the world. Together, they were happy about God's work. Especially, they were glad to see the people.

This means that people should behave like him.

These verses are also sad. They describe what God wanted. God's plan was that he would live with us. But the people refused God's love. They refused wisdom.

Jesus died to bring us back. We should greatly desire God's wisdom.

Other versions are available here

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