Receive Wisdom’s Gifts

June 21, 2020 Background Scripture: Job 1:42; Proverbs 8 Lesson Passage: Proverbs 8:8 – 14, 17 –21 I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t appreciate receiving a gift. Receiving a gift can make you feel special. Gifts are wonderful because we don’t do anything to earn them—if we earned them, they would be wages rather than gifts. Even small tokens are received as signs of appreciation. Gifts can come in an endless variety. We are going to look at some of those in this lesson. Today’s lesson continues with the personification of wisdom; that is to say, wisdom is presented as a person. This proverb extols the excellence of wisdom. In our lesson, wisdom is spoken of as going to all the places where people frequently traffic. Wisdom is depicted as standing on the hilltop, or at the gate of the city, or at the door leading into a public place. Wisdom is there seeking for the wise and rebuking the foolish. For what purpose does wisdom seek the wise? It is because the wise loves wisdom. And wisdom reciprocates that love. Noblemen and magistrates are counseled by wisdom that they may reign and judge righteously throughout the earth. Also, wisdom wants to share her gifts with mankind freely. The gifts that wisdom offers are indeed precious because everything that wisdom has to offer is righteous. Therefore, people are admonished to receive the gifts that wisdom offers. Unfortunately, people often delight in money, jewelry, and many other worldly gifts. However, the true treasures, which are the righteous gifts of wisdom, are more precious than the finest jewels (diamonds and rubies) or expensive metals (gold, silver, etc.) in the world. When one receives wisdom, then one has access to true treasures. If one seeks wisdom first, then wisdom will give the wealth of the land as an inheritance. Rather than chasing after worldly goods, seek wisdom and worldly gain will ensue. Ironically, if one seeks the wealth of the land first, then they will obtain neither wisdom nor long-term wealth. Wisdom knows this all too well because wisdom is ageless. Wisdom has always been with God from eternity past. Wisdom delighted in the presence of God before the physical world was created. Yes, before the world was created, wisdom was with God. In fact, wisdom shares the details of the creation of the entire physical world as an eyewitness to those marvelous works of God. After the creation of the physical world, then wisdom delighted in God’s creation—especially mankind. Wisdom calls the offspring of men her children. Wisdom shares with mankind the knowledge of God—of which wisdom is the embodiment. The knowledge of God can be found in the wisdom that God gives. Put another way, to know God’s knowledge is to know God! The writer of this proverb presents wisdom as the living and active Word of God crying out to mankind. Think about it. Jesus is the manifestation of God’s knowledge (Word). “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ is the greatest gift of God’s wisdom. Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God. Receive wisdom’s gifts. Robert C. Hudson June 8, 2020