One year during Advent I had asked all the children to gather around the Advent wreath. I asked the children why we took the time each year to talk about the Advent wreath. One young man answered, “To see how smart we are.” I would guess that there are times in all our lives that we would like to think that we are smart. I would also suggest that there are times when we would like to think we are as smart as, or maybe even smarter than the Lord. It happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as they tried to become like God. It happens in our world today as people try to be smarter than God. When it comes to being smart or thinking that we are smart I like to remind myself of Paul’s words, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Cor. 1:25).
Our text for today is a text about wisdom. Wisdom is personified as a person, as someone who is out to attract others to herself. As you read through the book of Proverbs you will also come to see that not only does wisdom seek to attract others to herself, so does folly. Our text for today, however, just talks about wisdom, so let us get to our text.
Our text begins with wisdom making preparations. We read beginning at verse one, “1Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. 2She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town” (v.1-3).
Our text begins by telling us that wisdom has built her house on seven pillars. Seven is the number of completion. It is the trinity number, three, and the earth number four. Wisdom has built her house on the foundation of the fear of the Lord, the triune God and the Creator of the world.
Wisdom prepares the heavenly banqueting table. We do not see it here in this one verse, but this verse is in contrast to verse seventeen which tells us about the banqueting table of folly. The banqueting table of folly is one that is prepared with stolen water and with food eaten in secret. Food eaten in secret is another way of exposing folly for being what she is, an adulteress who is only looking to have a “good time,” that is why she does what she does in secret.
Wisdom calls to all people. She calls to all people of all times of all places. Our Lord is the Lord of all. Jesus came to give His life, not just for one group of people, not just for one generation. Jesus came to give His life for all people of all places of all times. Wisdom calls to all people of all places of all times.
Our text continues with the words of wisdom’s call. We pick up at verse four, “4‘Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!’ To him who lacks sense she says, 5‘Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. 6Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight’” (v.4-6). Wisdom calls. She says, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” Wisdom calls the simple. And yes, we are the simple human beings that she calls. We are simple and we need to take heed lest we fall, not for wisdom but for folly.
Wisdom calls us to come eat at the eternal banqueting table. Wisdom calls us to come and believe in the Lord. Wisdom calls us to faith. Wisdom calls us to be a part of the kingdom of God, to have a part of heaven, by grace, through faith in Jesus.
Wisdom gives us the gift of understanding. The gift of understanding is not necessarily what you and I think of when we think of understanding. The word which is translated as understanding is literally the word “heart.” The word “heart” in Hebrew includes the whole of a persons life. The word “heart” includes the person’s mind, body and spirit. So, to get the gift of understanding from wisdom is to get life and to get eternal life.
And we have a few more words to the wise in the last verses of our text. Picking up at verse seven, “7Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. 8Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. 9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (v. 7-10)
Here we are reminded that we cannot correct a scoffer which is another way of saying that we cannot correct a fool. Someone once noted that if you argue with a fool you only wind up looking foolish yourself. And who is the fool? The fool is the one who believes himself to be wise and even more, the one who believes himself to be wise apart from the Lord. As the Psalmist tells us, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps. 53:1). Of course, as Christians we would include in this category those who deny the validity, the authority and the truth of God’s Word. We would also include those who accept over the Word of God, without a challenge, science, anthropology, geology, biology, and so forth including anything that speaks anything contrary to the Word of God. I know you have heard me say it before but it bears repeating, when the word of falliable human beings differs from the word of God, I will believe the Word of God and conclude that the word of man needs more study.
Our text reminds us that when it comes to wisdom, a wise man will listen to correction and will become wiser. The key to our text is this, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and here we understand that fear is not necessarily being afraid, although when we are in our sin, we should be afraid. No, here in our text this fear is an awe, a respect, and acknowledging that the Lord is God, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Redeemer, the Sanctifier.
The question I would then ask our text is, how is this done? How do we get wisdom? To answer that question we must contrast the world’s understanding of wisdom with that of true wisdom from the Lord. According to the world wisdom is something a person learns, perhaps in a classroom or from a book. Wisdom is often equated with a person’s education, or perhaps even his age, thus religion, which is based on faith, is for the uneducated, and not for the wise, again, according to the wisdom of the world.
To be wise and educated in this world is to live life as if this is all we have. Our life in this world should include eating, drinking and being merry for tomorrow we die. The wisdom of this world is that this is all we have so we must make the best with what we have, because once it is gone, or once we are gone, that is all there is.
To gain wisdom in this world we need to educate ourselves. And, according to the world, we can educate ourselves so that we are smarter than the gods of the various religions. In other words, the educated have no need for any god because they are smarter than any superstitions concerning gods. What happens then is that the educated person becomes their own god.
But there is a better answer. There is a better answer as to how do we get wisdom and how do we get eternal life from wisdom? The better answer is the answer of the ways of Christ. The book of Proverbs and Holy Scripture itself reminds us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of true wisdom and of truth. Think about it this way, if your Kenmore refrigerator breaks down, you go to Kenmore to get it fixed. God is the Creator of all, He ought to know about all things, thus where do you go when you want to be truly educated? You go to the Author and Perfecter of all. You go to the manufacturer, the Creator, you go to the Lord.
The ways of Christ are that we dine at the Lord’s table of grace and mercy. We dine at the Lord’s table made ours through the life, death and resurrection of His only Son Jesus Christ. This death and resurrection stuff are indeed foolishness to those who are perishing. The unwise cannot understand how or why a God would give His life, would die for His creation, especially for His creation run amok. That is the cross point of the believer and the unbeliever. The unbeliever will not believe. The believer praises the Lord.
The ways of Christ are that not only did our God become human for us, but He also gives us all His good gifts and blessings, including wisdom and understanding. Our Lord gives and we are given to. And we are given to declare, praise be the name of the Lord.
We live in a very academically advanced world. A great much of what is known today was not know a hundred, fifty, and even ten years ago. What was once learned in college is now taught in grade school. Many fields of education are so advanced that they have divided up into specialty groups. You do not go to a doctor today, you go to a specialist.
While all this intelligence is abounding in our world today, something rather interesting has happened. Sociologist tell us we have moved into a post-modern, post-Christian era and I actually believe we have moved into the next era, but we do not know yet what it will be called. The dawn of enlightenment in the 18th century brought with it the “wisdom” that if something could not be proved then it was not true. Science was seen to be provable and religion was not, so science was the way for the enlightened and educated, while religion was for those who needed some superstition to believe. We have come full circle so to speak in that we are now in the age when the educated are beginning to realize that much of science cannot be proved, but must also be accepted by faith. The thought is that maybe the theory of evolution was not how the earth began, because it cannot be proved, and more often than not it has been disproved. Thus, science is now back on the same field as religion, or we should say, religion is back on the same field as science, both have to be accepted by faith, or so it is believed.
As Christians we can proclaim what the writer of Proverbs has said all along, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The foundation of wisdom is the Lord. Jesus is God in flesh, true wisdom. Jesus is true wisdom, true God who came down from heaven to live for us and to give His life for ours. This belief is foolishness for those who are perishing, but eternal life for those who have been given faith. God gives us all things and especially He gives to us our greatest need, forgiveness of sins and with forgiveness we know we have life and salvation. Thus, God gives forgiveness, life, faith, wisdom, eternal life. And for this we say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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