Today I want to look at Hebrew Scripture Which introduces us to The sublime character of Lady Wisdom 'Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, She has mixed her wine, She has also set her table. She has sent out her servant-girls, She calls from the highest places in the town, "You that are simple, turn in here!" To those without sense she says, "Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed. Pretty Provocative stuff Isn’t it? Have you heard 1
Her words before? Maybe the better Question is Who is Lady Wisdom? Earlier in The Book of Proverbs Lady Wisdom tells us Who she is: The Lord created me at The beginning of his work, The first of his acts of long ago. Ages ago I was set up, At the first, before The beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs Abounding with water. Before the mountains 2
Had been shaped, Before the hills, I was brought forth— When he established The heavens, I was there, When he drew a circle on The face of the deep, When he made firm The skies above, When he established The fountains of the deep, Then I was beside him, Like a master worker; And I was daily his delight, Rejoicing before him always, Rejoicing in his inhabited world And delighting in The human race.
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So In other words A female character Has been with God from The beginning of Creation‌ Is this not At least a Little shocking? This introduction To Lady Wisdom Gives us a window into A portion of Holy Scripture That gets the Least attention But offers us Great riches So before we get to The intriguing Lady Wisdom‌ A little explanation About where Proverbs Fits into the OT is 4
In order: The first five books – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy – These comprise The Torah The Torah contains The story of Israel from Creation to the Death of Moses With the The Law of Moses Thrown in. Then there are The History Books… These include: Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings The two Chronicles Ezra and Nehemiah
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Then there are The Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel Jonah and Daniel, So it’s Torah, Histories, Prophets All that’s left is the Wisdom section The books in This group include: Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs Sirach, the Wisdom of Solomon, The Psalms and Proverbs So what is Wisdom? On a basic level you could say Wisdom is simply Good sense, Sound judgment,
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Wisdom can be applied To simple tasks But it can also Be applied to The most profound dilemmas of Human life and destiny.
Wisdom can be Exalted and mysterious But it is rooted in The practicality of Life experience What wisdom is NOT: Being a super-champion On Jeopardy Does not necessarily mean You possess wisdom Some of the wisest people are Not book smart Who are some of the Wise people in your life? 7
Wisdom is certainly Not exclusive To the Scriptures As Proverbial wisdom Can be found within All cultures
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It takes one to call one
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Loose lips, sink ships
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Truth is stranger than fiction
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Live and let live
I had a blast Coming up with those And there are Thousands more But that’s Worldly wisdom… How do these Wisdom Books tie together? Unlike the other 8
Sections of the OT Which either Tell a specific story Wisdom literature Doesn’t even attempt to offer A coherent narrative Like the worldly wisdom Biblical Wisdom Literature also Offers up its insight in Short bursts Sayings like
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Pride goes before a fall.
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All is vanity.
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A man reaps what he sows.
And where some Scriptures Prescribe behavior In the form of Commandments Wisdom is more Concerned with 9
Truth That is: Wisdom is concerned With telling us the way Things are‌ The way they Really are. Although Wisdom Literature is Most associated With the OT The NT can be seen Carrying the tradition forward. In its structure and content The Book of James is a Wisdom Book But with a focus on The teachings of Jesus •
Faith without works is dead
But it is Jesus himself Who brings 10
The Wisdom Tradition To its fullness The Beatitudes Which many consider Jesus’ signature statements is Wisdom in its Purest form •
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
But it wasn’t just In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus must be seen as THE supreme Wisdom teacher Jesus’ was and still is An overflowing Fountain of Wisdom So what is The take away From all this? 11
Sometimes what we need is Not be reminded again About the rules That always Sounds preachy But there is nothing like A saying A proverb A burst of wisdom That names reality And cuts to the truth The truth About ourselves The truth about God What is the truth You need to hear today? This is can tell you
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Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow bring worries of its own
Amen.
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