Web Theologian

>19 The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding he established the heavens;
20 by his knowledge the deeps broke open,
and the clouds drop down the dew.

21 My son, do not lose sight of these—
keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.
23 Then you will walk on your way securely,
and your foot will not stumble.
24 If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror
or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,
26 for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.

It was there in the beginning. Wisdom is tied to creation. The Garden of Eden is not far enough back for God’s wisdom, but rather the beginning of time as we know it. One thing that strikes me when thinking about the relationship between the beginning/creation and wisdom is that it expressed itself in the Word. God spoke the heavens and earth into place.

Aidyn makes lots of things now, and one of her favorite things to make is jewelery. It means tons to her when either Karin or one of her grandmothers wears the jewelery that she makes. God delights in our wearing of wisdom! He has made it for us, to grasp and wear and make us even more beautiful.

Wisdom does not just look good, our faith is not just about the show. But rather it keeps you from stumbling! It has practical application to real life. Your path will be more smooth. When you rest you will have deep rest. You won’t have to freak out when things get tough, or disaster strikes, for God will protect you. Therefore you are free to do good to those around you and who deserve it. I have trouble with the last part because I think everyone I meet deserves it and should be my best friend. Wisdom is teaching me otherwise. Also I think that I have all power to do that good, when my resources are severely limited and probably will continue to be that way until I am able to know exactly who does deserve it.

>13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.

Wisdom is there to be found, sometimes it doesn’t feel like that. My commitment this year to read one book a week is partially because I think there is wisdom out there for me to grasp. Why should we work so hard to find it. It is valuable. Gain, profit, and preciousness are all words used to describe her value. While the nice car and big house my appear to be of value they are nothing compared to wisdom. Life, a long one, she has to offer us. Sometimes that might sound scary because you think of old people alone and sick, but not from her. Riches and honor accompany this long life, it is pleasant.

Lastly I have never caught that wisdom is call a tree of life. Right now I have the picture of the tree of life compared with the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This should make a distinction for us. Wisdom is not mere knowledge. It is knowing when and how to use the knowledge. It has a reality element that knowledge does not require. A book on swimming may help you know how to swim, but wisdom would keep you from jumping in the deep end if you have never swam before.

>9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
10 then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.

11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.

Wealth is a touching topic. It is not very cool to encourage or support wealth these days. In someways I appreciate this trend if supporting wealth is done at the expense of the poor and needy. Often times the capital and emperial systems we have been a part of function that way. Britian became a world power because of slavery and great shipping which were both related. US became a world power because we could drop a bomb on people who did own a bomb.

Yet the assumption in the Proverbs regarding wealth is that you are seeking understand how to use it in a good way and then do it. Also wealth is clearly tied to God’s path for. It is not fantasy, don’t be surprised if things don’t work out and hate God’s discipline, but that is not the expectation for how God works.

>5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.

This is one of the most encouraging passages of Scripture to me. How often do you feel tired, exhausted, like you just can’t get through what you need to do. Who are you leaning on? I see myself as a pretty compedent person, and yet I cannot do it on my own, I am working against the tide when I try.

Rather we are encourage to let go, look to God. Acknowledge him to me is like working to see him in everything you do. From writing a thank you note, makeing breakfast, to how you do your job he is in all of them youjust need to pay attention as to how. All those difficulties you were having trying to do it on your own, he will clear us, and give you a straight path.

Let go of what you think is good or perhaps best and trust what God says is best. Don’t do evil and there will be a holistic effect. Not only will you feel and do better, but physical you will be renewed. God is about taking care of us as whole/entire people, so trust him to do that today.

>3:1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
2 for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.

3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.

When you get busy, when you get married, when you get into your work, when other people begin to tell you how great you are and how you have so much upside, then it is easy to forget some of the most simple things about life. Including those who have been like father’s to you, and given you guidance. Don’t forget and you will add years onto your life, and not just any years, but good ones.

Dog tags, the most basic information you offer during war, the essance of a soldier. Make these sayings your dog tags. How do we write on our hearts? We feel, we memorize, we meditate, you make sure you don’t let it go. Studies show that the brain is constantly erasing memories as we sleep, the things don’t get erase are the ones that have the deepest groove in our minds. The ones we have practiced the most, that which has been covered over and over and over again. Do this with these simple proverbs, don’t let them slip but etch them in deeply. Then the world will be your oyster.

>16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
19 none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.

20 So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

This unfaithful woman who looks pretty good to you, because of wisdom you will be saved from her. She is a cheat, and has forgotten the vows she mad or even writes it all of because she was young and didn’t know any better. Her house does not have a firm foundation but rather is build on a sink hole that goes straight to hell. Sounds like a great place to shack up.

Rather, stick with the good and righteous. Those who are upright will ultimately hold the deeds on the land, they will be the ones with the resources, keep your integrity. The wicked will be scatter and homeless. Those who are looking to kill others and stab them in the back will be rooted out.

At the end of Proverbs 2 the stage has been set for us to further explore these two ladies and our relationship with them. We also have been told what to look for. Now as we journey further into the book there is work invloved. The pithy statements of wisdom must be descerned not just in what they mean but when they apply. Hold on because it just gets more fun from here.

>9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.

Seeing God makes the good things clear. That leads me to reflect about how often I have a hard time in knowing what the correct/wise thing to do is especially in relationships with other people. I am a very emotional person, part of that is I care often when I need not to, so could it mean that when I am struggling with what is the correct involvement with a particular person or situation I am not seeing God clearly? I wonder.

Righteousness, justice and equity, and every good path. It seems that there are many out there today trying to confuse us regarding these things. Every issues seems so clouded and manipulated it becomes hard to know how to act. Yet I like the way discretion is not something that you work hard to get or even understand, rather it guards over you. You will be delivered from evil, and those who are playing mean games. That also tells me that if you are delivered you end up in the mess.

>6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.

So I get that God is the source of wisdom, and that is what we are to look for. So look for it and find God. There knowledge and understand come, often times I know personally it is challenging to figure it out because my mind is so slow and limited…it takes me awhile to get it. So integrity is key in that time, don’t slack because if you lack integrity and think you are hearing from God you’ll do some really terrible things to others.

Does this mean that wisdom is going to lead you into ‘battles’. Why else would God have to be your shield. I am not an a person who likes to argue for the sake of argument, there are few things I’ll be baited with. Yet wisdom will lead you, I think to step on toes, and when you do you must have some protection. God does that, he watches over us.