seeking understanding

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Proverbs 9:1-6 Wisdom’s Feast

In Matthew 22, Christ tells the parable of the King and the wedding banquet in which the king had prepared the feast (slaughtered his oxen and fat calves and mixed the wine), but those who had been invited refused to come, so he had his servants go out and gather people from the street corners to fill the wedding hall. This parable shares many of the same aspects as does Solomon’s tale of Wisdom’s feast. Wisdom has fashioned her seven pillars (principles) and prepared a place for us, has made everything ready, and stands by the door waiting for us to arrive.  The messengers have been sent forth, and are standing in the midst of our lives, calling out to us to take part in the banquet.

The goal is not to simply get to the table, but to eat from the table; to eat the bread and drink the wine that Wisdom has prepared. Wisdom’s table is not the culmination, but the commencement of the journey. Christ said to his disciples in John 6:26, “you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” Sitting at Wisdom’s table creates a hunger in us to “eat of the loaves,” to accept the bread of life and to drink of the cup of truth. And, the more we eat, the more we wish to eat, the more we understand, the more we wish to understand.

I just kept thinking of the Eucharist, of Christ blessing the bread, saying a prayer of thanksgiving for the wine, and noting how Holy Communion is connected to these passages Proverbs 9: “Come eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake all thoughtlessness and live; and walk in the way of understanding.”

 

~SLM

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Proverbs 8:1-22 Seek and You Will Find

Wisdom is right in front of us. Everywhere we go and in every situation we find ourselves, she calls out for us to see her, standing in plain sight on a crowded street corner, behind a cart at the grocery store, waiting in line at Starbucks. She cries out for us to take notice, to hear her message, not in the brash, loud voice of the temptress, but in the quiet, confident tone of a knowing mother. She waits patiently for us to seek her out, to willingly stop and listen, to still ourselves in the midst of controversy and mayhem, to focus on her steady voice, ringing clear and true, like temple bells tolling for the faithful. If we hope to heed her sage advice, and to keep her company, then we must recognize her in our daily lives, and in order to do that, we have to know what she looks like.

It’s interesting to me how the simple act of seeking can point us in directions that we never imagined existed. Like Paul’s model of what constitutes Love in 1 Corinthians 13, the first half of Proverbs 8 offers a model by which we can identify wisdom. Wisdom is discrete and prudent, not arrogant or prideful, knows the fear of the Lord, and speaks to truth and understanding. It’s a portrayal that is not altogether dissimilar to Paul’s description of love, and as Christ promises us in Matthew 7:7 that if we “ask, it will be given; if we seek, we will find; if we knock, the door will be opened,” likewise, we are assured that if we seek wisdom diligently, we will find it.

~SLM

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Proverbs 6:20-35 When You Play with Fire

Once again, we visit the subject of adultery. So what’s with adultery, and why does Solomon seem to have been so obsessed with the subject?  Maybe the story of his father and mother and how they came to be a couple played a part in his fixation, or maybe he thought the subject was of such importance that it bore repeating.  Actually, if you think about it, the later does warrant some consideration.  Other than to God, marriage is the most important commitment we can make, and how we handle the challenges of our pledge defines us as human beings. If we run at the first sign of trouble, if we are shallow in our obligation, or if we are cavalier about our faithfulness, it is a direct reflection upon our character, upon who we are within our heart of hearts. When you play with fire, you get burned, and if we are superficial in this, one of life’s most important endeavors, showing that we cannot be trusted to keep our word, then the consequence follows us throughout our lives.

Therefore, listen to the voice of wisdom; keep the word close to your heart, tied around your neck like a precious jewel. Dwell in the word for it is your light, and its discipline is the way to life.  God’s instructions will lead you when you walk, protect you when you sleep, advise you when you wake, and following his will keeps us focused on truth, on desirable action, and on the importance of faithfulness.

~SLM

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Proverbs 6:12-19 The Shit Disturber & The Big 6

After telling us that we should be as hard-working as the ant, Solomon advises which direction that industry should take. Wisdom dictates that unless we want our lives to be ruled by ruin and catastrophe, we need to avoid talking out of both sides of our mouths, saying one thing and doing another, cooking up devious plots to bring disaster on others, and being a “shit” disturber.  He even outlines six behaviors that the Eternal One despises. They are:

  • People who look down on others,
  • A liar,
  • Those who hurt the innocent,
  • People who harbor evil in their hearts,
  • Someone who willing takes a wicked path,
  • A false witness.

Wisdom calls us to look upon others with compassion and love, never in haughty arrogance, or from a position of superiority.  Liars and those who would willingly make up stories about others are people who cannot be trusted. Someone who harbors evil desires in their heart and who would harm the innocent are faithless reprobates, and are not the kind of people the wise associate with. These are all behaviors that God hates, that speak against God’s laws, and that open up a world of hurt and misfortune for those who follow their teaching.  And, as if to underscore what he had just said, he adds the “shit” disturber to his list.

Wisdom calls on us to follow God’s laws, to write them on the tablet of our hearts, to live our lives every day according to His will, to seek Him first among all things.

~SLM

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Proverbs 6:6-11 An Ant’s Blueprint

Any discussion about wisdom has to include the subject of laziness. Solomon tells us to take a lesson from ants, that ants are the prime example of wisdom in action. Ants are one of God’s most industrious creatures, and I can attest to their tenacity every spring when they invade the kitchen.  They doggedly and tirelessly go about their work, and I’ve never seen one that wanted to sleep ‘til noon, knock off early, or take an afternoon nap because they’re exhausted by their lives.  An ant knows what it needs to do and works diligently to accomplish its tasks without a team leader, a boss or a king.

It seems that in our society, work is a dirty word, a bad habit, a thing to be avoided whenever possible. But without work, what would we do with ourselves? Whether it’s taking care of a family, working at the Walmart, volunteering for our church or a local charity, or directing a multi-million dollar corporation, work is an expression of who we are. It’s God’s way of utilizing the talents he has given us, and it involves more than what we do for a living.

Every day there are any number of things that just have to be done, and it’s our responsibility as stewards of this earth to see to it. We don’t get time off from life; wisdom says that we should assess the situation and motivate ourselves to accomplish what needs to be done. It is only through a mindful stewardship of life’s obligations that we can feel safe in the knowledge that we are indeed accomplishing God’s plan for our lives.

 

~SLM

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Proverbs 5:15-23 Dance with The One Who Brought You

After warning us off the path of the seductress, Solomon goes on to talk of faithfulness, of the wisdom of dancing with the one who brought you.  Sometimes we can convince ourselves that things are better and the water is sweeter in someone else’s yard, but usually, if we go ahead and climb that fence, it doesn’t take long the realize what’s what.  That beautiful field of green with luscious fountains is in reality only painted asphalt with flowing streams of vinegar.  Wise council advises us that not only should we be wary of the enticements of temptress, but we can also find the happiness we seek right in our own back yard with those to whom we have pledged our faithfulness.  Solomon instructs us to “drink from our own well” and to be “intoxicated” with the love of our wife/husband, to delight in their affection. This is the path to contentment, this is the way of the wise, and all esle is but foolish thought.

Here again the subject matter can be interpreted on many levels. At the surface it’s about marriage, about honoring your commitment to your spouse, but on another level, it’s also about life’s commitments, about keeping all the promises you make.  Christ made many allegorical statements about our relationship to God as that of the bride to the bridegroom, and in that light, Proverbs 5 becomes a guide for not only our personal relationships to each other, but also our relationship to God.

 

~SLM

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Proverbs 5:1-14 Beware The Seductress

Most commentaries associate this section of Proverbs 5 with the most common and widely held definition of adultery, which is specifically sexual sin, but the Latin root word adulterare (a-dul-ter-air) simply means to adulterate or to corrupt something. In ancient times, it was applied to sex outside the marriage bed between any man (married or not) and a married or betrothed woman, thus “corrupting” the issue (baby) from said woman. In other words, since they didn’t have paternity testing, and since fatherhood had legal and moral ramifications, they had a less cavalier attitude about the “Baby-daddy!”

Here again, Solomon uses the image of a woman to illustrate his point, and it’s interesting to me that he can so masterfully enliven the personification of the seductress. He describes her as having lips that drip with honey and a voice as smooth as oil, evoking the portrait of a beautiful woman who entices with sweet words and smooth promises of ecstasies untold.  It’s a powerful, provocative image, one that is meant to convey how dangerous seduction can be, because while she appears to be smooth and polished as sweet as honey, she is, in reality, bitter and distasteful, as dangerous as a double-edged sword, and highly unstable, enticing us down a wayward path that leads to death and destruction.

While I understand the strong legal and moral associations linking adultery to sex, adultery is so much more than just sex.   In fact, idolatry, covetousness, and apostasy are spoken of as spiritual adultery in many places in the Old Testament (Jer. 3:6, 8-9; Ezek. 16:31-32; Hos. 1:2; Isa. 1:21), and we can be seduced into all sorts of corruption. We can be enticed into compromising relationships, into nefarious activities, into revering anything and everything but God. Corruption abounds in this world in many forms, and it’s through listening to the voice of God through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and steadfastly striving to live the life He would have us live that we may avoid following  in the wayward footsteps of the seductress; a road that leads to bitterness, regret, loss of respect and ruin.

~SLM

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Proverbs 4: A Simple Prayer

Dear Lord, show me the face of wisdom and help me to keep her voice in my heart.  You alone are the master of all that exists; you alone can create with just a word, speak to my heart and create in me the desire to follow your lead. Help me to see and understand with crystal clarity your will, show me the light of your love, that I may share your love and honor your great name.  Amen.

~SLM

 

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Proverbs 4:10-19 A Matter of Attitude

It’s all about a mind-set, a way of looking at the world, a pattern of behavior, and how that mind-set affects our relationships.  To get along in this world, to live a long and fruitful life, we must first understand what it means to be wise.  Wisdom is not an innate part of our being; it is something that must be sought after. We are not born with it, we must acquire it. It is not something we find on the beach, at the mall, or hidden in our grandmother’s closet.  It’s the result of quiet contemplation, of seeking the inner voice of God in our hearts and applying his spiritual guidance to the every-day situations in our lives. It is only through our passionate attention to the voice of wisdom that we can understand what is true and right, that we can recognize wickedness and therefore avoid it, setting our feet in the opposite direction from it.  

Jealousy, anger, greed, envy, pride, all consuming lust for anything, these are the precursors to wickedness and evil. When we are ruled by this way of thinking, it is so easy to get sucked into doing the wrong thing, especially if we cannot recognize what is happening to us. We hang out with nefarious characters, who care little or nothing about much else than themselves, we go along with popular trends, we participate in troublesome activities, and we willfully reject what we know to be honest. Evil is like a contagious disease, it infects all that it comes in contact with, and spreads easily. The only way we have to guard ourselves from its effects is to live according to God’s wisdom.

To be wise, we must search for the light; we must carry it in our hearts and hold it high for the sake of others. We must keep it as we would keep a precious and valuable jewel, lest we lose it and be adrift in the dark, getting tossed on every wave that crashes toward us, pushing us closer and closer toward the desolate shores of misery. Wisdom is the light that shines in the darkness, illuminating our way, showing us where to step, guiding us out of the shadows, and into the clear, calm land of spiritual fulfillment.

~SLM

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Proverbs 4:1-9 Solomon Speaks

One of the things I like best about Solomon’s verse is how he illustrates wisdom. He speaks of wisdom as a woman, and the phraseology is, for me, the picture of a loving mother, one who embraces us, guards us, guides us, exalts us, reprimands us, and honors us. I find it so spot-on that wisdom is described in this manner, a comfort that her realization is imperative to our living a blessed life. Solomon promises that if we do not forget her, she will keep us. If we love her she will guard us. If we prize her she will exalt us. If we embrace her, she will honor us.

Solomon’s lesson for his children is that we should seek, above all else, understanding, insight, wisdom. We should listen to the intelligence our ancestors have collected and recorded for our benefit. He tells us to never forget this: The primary goal in life is to obtain wisdom, therefore we should set our intention on acquiring it, and the purpose of its attainment is understanding.

Once again, we are reminded that the root of wisdom is the application of understanding in our daily lives, and to secure wisdom, we must gain insight. Insight is inspired understanding. Inspired understanding comes from our reverence for all that we do not know, all that is beyond our grasp, for our reverence of God, for God is the master of all that is incomprehensible to us. So here we are, again, back to square one – the beginning of knowledge, understanding and wisdom is the “fear” of the lord.
~SLM