In the story of the Bible, God creates the world by carving order out of disorder and darkness – and life flourished. These are the beginning words of the Bible Project’s blog/video on wisdom.
They fast forward saying that still today, God’s ordering power is at work, preventing the cosmos from slipping back into chaos and nothingness. This is an idea I really want to grasp given all that is presently going on in our world.
And I particularly keyed in on their words that humanity has a key role to play in this ordering work. They then stepped into the subject a bit deeper. In order to partner with God in that ongoing ordering of the cosmos, we need to be mentored by Lady Wisdom. I loved how they handled this personification as set out in Proverbs, chapter 8.
The cast of characters you find there are the wise fatherly king and a woman named Lady Wisdom. As you would expect, they are offering divine wisdom that leads to stability and life.
But of course, there is also a wicked man and a wily woman called Lady Folly. Their way of life is attractive, but it leads to disorder and death.
And there is the choice we have! Whose advice will you listen to? These characters point to the many voices that are “out there” in our world today telling us how to be human.
I jump here to a devotional by Blackaby where he reminds us Jesus gave His disciples the power to cast out demons and to perform miracles of healing. He gave them His great authority to minister to people, yet they became so self-centered (listening to those worldly voices) that they lost the power to do the work of God.
He references the disciples’ discussion with each other where they were so concerned with their own position and status – they had argued about who among them was the greatest. Jesus’ response included some of the harshest words ever to come from His mouth. Why? Because they were supposed to be on mission with Him to bring salvation to others, but they had become so disoriented to Him that they were spiritually powerless.
The incident that showed this was when God sent a father with his epileptic son to them for healing, and they failed miserably in doing that. They had forgotten that their power came from Jesus.
Back to Proverbs’ Lady Wisdom – which is God’s wisdom personified. She gives a speech declaring the value of wisdom. Her instruction — greater than silver or gold, and more precious than pearls. Living by God’s wisdom leads to the most valuable things in life: healthy relationships, moral integrity, a stable, fruitful life – things you can’t buy with money.
The Bible Project video blog does a great job of describing how God carved order into the world, boundaries for the waters and dry land, so that humans can flourish in peace. And because humans are the image of God, we are called to live by divine wisdom as we carve out our own little spots here in this world.
But what happened? Sadly, humans often reject God’s wisdom, doing what’s right in their own eyes. That is how in the Bible, humans drag creation back into chaos and darkness. (and it continues into our world today, right?)
Proverbs 8 points out that those who find wisdom, find life and receive favor from Yahweh. But the one who forfeits wisdom, hurts themselves. Those who hate Lady Wisdom’s words (God’s words), love death.
They pose the problem this way: Every day, Lady Wisdom presents us with a choice. Will I live by God’s wisdom and contribute order, beauty, and justice to the world? Or am I going to live selfishly by my own wisdom and pull creation back into the chaos from which it came?
That truly is, as they point out, the decision that lays before humans throughout the story of the Bible and still today.
Quite a sobering picture – and I commend your viewing this 7 min blog for the full effect Proverbs 8 – Creation Series Visual Bible Commentary (bibleproject.com)
Back to the parallel story Blackaby presents of the disciples – and heck, how can I even compare myself with the disciples who walked with him and did amazing things? Yet they became so disoriented to Him that they were spiritually powerless, lacking the faith to bring physical and spiritual comfort to those God had sent to them.
Yet Blackaby didn’t let me slip by with “I am not a disciple” as an excuse. He says that God ought to be able to send hurting persons to any child of His and expect that they will be helped. Yes, I do claim to be a child of His – so there! I am definitely heading back to Lady Wisdom to get help.
I can become so preoccupied with my own prideful ambitions and distracted by the busyness of my life that I, like the disciples, can become ineffective in ministering to those whom God sends to me.
Jumping back to Proverbs 8:33-35:
Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it,
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord.
And of core importance is Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
But Blackaby doesn’t leave me wringing my hands. His suggestion I will take to heart – “Regularly take inventory of your life to see if you are being a faithful steward of every life God sends to you.”
And the Bible Project words show me the better way: “Lady Wisdom understands how to resist chaos and destruction. But maintaining God’s design for order requires limiting instinctive human cravings.”
Are you with me on this?
