wisdom

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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: A Prayer for Guidance

Heavenly father, your love and guidance amaze me. Thank you for the wonders of your Wisdom which is ever present, ever patient, waiting in plain sight for us to simply take note. Bless my eyes, dear God that I may see; see your hand in everything, no matter how great or small, and no matter how joyous or painful. Bless my ears, oh Lord that I may hear; hear your loving voice in every situation, no matter how difficult or harmonious, and when I have lost my way, fill my heart with your gracious Wisdom that through Wisdom’s presence, I may truly live.

Amen.

~SLM

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Proverbs 8:22-36 Let Those Who Have Eyes See

Wisdom’s words in Proverbs 8:22-31 are strikingly similar to the language the gospel of John uses to describe Christ. John 1:1-4 states that the Word was with God from the beginning, and that nothing came into being apart from him. Similarly, this section of Proverbs describes how Wisdom was with God before the earth began. The Lord possessed Wisdom at the beginning of his work, as in acquired or held; creation requires wisdom in the first place in order that it (creation) may be generated, formed, constructed. Wrap your head around that conundrum!

But wait, there’s more…Consider this:

The word was formed before all creation, and the word was with God. Wisdom was also with God. The word is wisdom and Christ is the word, hence wisdom is Christ. Wisdom is also the spirit, so Christ is the manifestation of wisdom – wisdom incarnate – and wisdom is God’s delight and rejoices before Him, praising His creation.

It’s interesting how themes are repeated and expounded upon in scripture, like puzzle pieces that fit together in only the proper sequence, exposing ever more profound turns of how wisdom works.

When God opens your eyes to his truth, He shows it to you wherever you look: His wisdom awaits your notice, and once we have eyes to see, we always see.

~SLM

A note on connecting the dots…

Normally, I use a New Inductive Study Bible that my mom got me at a garage sale, complete with lots of hand written notes in the margins, or my New International Version, which is easy to read, and I also use biblos.com and biblegateway.com, as well as aish.com, when studying for my posts, but when It’s time to write a prayer, I go to the Lutheran Study Bible my sister got me. This bible is humongous, it’s part scripture and part foot note, there are lots of footnotes, and not including the concordance, it sports 2244 pages.  So this morning, I pulled out the big book, and as is my habit, started reading the footnotes for chapter 8. At nearly the end of the chapter was a commentary entitled “Christ as Wisdom” that discussed the very ideas that I had expressed in this posting. I was amazed to see that others have also connected the same dots that I had…talk about once we see, we always see!  Synchronicity.

SLM 5/23/13

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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 7 A Prayer Against Temptation

Heavenly Father, creator of the seeds of wisdom, root your word in my heart that I may grow in truth and light.  Lead me away from the enticements of the temptress, and keep me safe from her carefully placed snares.  Help me to keep company with your wisdom as I would a sister or a trusted friend, and show me Your will that I may know Your way. Amen

~SLM

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Proverbs 7 What Waits in the Shadows

Ah, the seductress, once again she visits us to tempt and deceive, to lure and entrap.  Solomon uses her to paint a picture of how we can allow flattery and desire to mislead and betray us. He describes her as brazen and brash, as roaming the streets and lying in wait for just the right time to approach, using our cravings to entice us into sin.  She snares us by our own folly, and we willingly follow her down the path of destruction and death.

While reading this chapter, I couldn’t help thinking of “The Lord of the Rings.” The details with which the story is related, reminded me of the tale of the Nazgûl, the nine black riders, who once were mighty kings and whose greed and lust for power became their undoing, distorting and disfiguring them, transforming them into hideous, unrecognizable creatures. Like the naïve young man in Solomon’s account, they were seduced by the promises of forbidden fruit, and through their eager acceptance of the dark lord’s gifts, they became enslaved to his will.

We have all, at one time or another, been in Solomon’s shoes, looking out upon a scene we know will not end well, watching from a distance as a loved one makes a wrong turn, seeing the outcome as if someone had drawn a diagram on a chalkboard. If only they could see what we are seeing, the traps that have been set, the heartache, the devastation waiting in the shadows.  We can protect ourselves from the snares of the seductress, and Solomon tells us that wisdom’s voice is the only guard we have against her, that the temptations of our worldly desires can be waylaid through talking to wisdom as if she’s a sister, and through treating her insight as a constant companion.

 

~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 6:1-5 A Fool and His Money

Originally, I had intended to tackle Proverbs 6:1-19 in one fell swoop, but sometimes the direction we are called to follow is poles apart from the path we have laid out for ourselves. So, today’s post is reserved for a fool and his money, and how putting our reputation on the line for someone else’s debt is not a very wise move.

When I was 19, my dad did this very thing for me. I had gotten it into my mind that I would like to take a trip to the Holy Land, and since I had just quit college, and had only been employed for a few short months, I didn’t have the money.  Dad cosigned on a loan for me, and while I did understand that there was no way I could ever face him again, if I didn’t pay it back, I don’t think I was fully aware of the risk he took for me. It was HIS honor on the line, not mine.  I’m glad my dad didn’t take Solomon’s advice, and that I didn’t leave him holding the bag. I have been witness to many an instance where others were not as careful about how they have treated another’s reputation as I was with my dad’s.  Sometimes the things we do in the name of love, in the name of friendship, of business, or of just plain neighborliness, don’t work out exactly as we imagine they might, bringing us to loss and disgrace.

Once again, as I’m finding with most of the Proverbs, the subject applies to more than simply guaranteeing someone else’s loan. It also applies to vouching for another’s integrity, which, I guess, is really what we do when we “cosign” for someone else.

We take a chance, when we put our faith in anyone other than God, and hitching our star to someone else is risky business at best. While I’m certain that God wants us to help each other as much as we can, it’s not a very wise move to vouch for another man’s debts.  It’s a trap, entangling us into compromising positions, ensnaring us by our words, deceiving us into heart ache, and unless we are prepared to walk into all sorts of troubles, and live by the consequences, it’s a practice best avoided.

 

~SLM

Note: At last, after a several days of fever-induced delirium, a few more of wild coughing and headache, I’ve finally gotten to post about Proverbs 6 – YAY!!!