Proverbs 8
I would offer that the word love is not a verb, it is a noun. It is not a thing you do. It is the light that you are made of and what you were created to be.
Wisdom Calls for a Hearing
insights
1 Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice! 2 On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads. 3 By the gates at the entrance to the town, on the road leading in, she cries aloud,
4 “I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people. 5 You simple people, use good judgment. You foolish people, show some understanding. 6 Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you. Everything I say is right, 7 for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception. 8 My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it.
9 My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge. 10 Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. 11 For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.
12 “I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. 13 All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech. 14 Common sense and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine. 15 Because of me, kings reign, and rulers make just decrees. 16 Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments.
17 “I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me. 18 I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice. 19 My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! 20 I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. 21 Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries.
22 “The Lord formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else. 23 I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began. 24 I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters. 25 Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born 26 before He had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil.
27 I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans. 28 I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth. 29 I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundations, 30 I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence. 31 And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family!
32 “And so, my children, listen to me, for all who follow my ways are joyful. 33 Listen to my instruction and be wise. Don’t ignore it.
34 Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! 35 For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. 36 But those who miss me injure themselves. All who hate me love death.” (NLT)
Wisdom calls out to all of us. Some will hear her, most will not.
The bible teaches us that wisdom and intelligence are one and the same. They can both be defined as “accurate knowledge that leads to correct decisions.” This is what we will gain when we trust in God. It will not simply come upon us in an instant, wisdom must be learned by observation and experience. We will never know all there is to know, we must continue to seek a deeper understanding and a closer walk with God.
Just like the seductress in chapter 7, wisdom also roams about trying to get our attention. But wisdom calls out and then waits to advise us and to help us choose the path that is God’s perfect will for us. Many will never listen, but wisdom will continue to call out to them because God wants us all to have life in abundance.
Wisdom is to be valued above all else because wisdom is a gift from God that grows ever greater. Wisdom is not prideful, greedy, or deceptive in any way.
Wisdom was with God at the moment of creation, and God used wisdom as He created. We are therefore a product of His wisdom, as much as His wisdom is a gift bestowed upon us. Rejecting her when wisdom calls is the same as rejecting life itself. This points to the Garden of Eden, where God’s presence among all mankind was rejected through disobedience. It is through wisdom that we desire to return to Him, and by His grace and the blood of the Lamb, we are able to return to Him.
Wisdom will bless us as we journey through our lives on this earth. Wisdom will continue to reveal the living God to us daily if we will listen.
The wise person is joyful for the opportunity to wake each morning, and seek the beautiful nugget of wisdom that awaits us each day.
lynnibug
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