I was listening to someone talk today on Fox News and I thought about how unjust their words were. They were discussing Sarah Palin's resignation. I'm tired of hearing the cruel and spiteful things people say about the Palin family. This is not just about political differences, it is an example of wicked people speaking out unjust judgements. This is one of the reasons we need to go after wisdom. Wisdom preserves us. God wants us to understand right and wrong, and stand for truth and justice. There are alot of verses about God loving justice and expecting us to stand for what is right. Here is one I like:
Psalm 82:1-3 (New International Version)
1 God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods":
2 "How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
The pursuit of wisdom is beneficial for us personally. Wisdom and understanding results in blessings of all kinds. God wants us to have wise and understanding hearts in order to be a blessing. Like verse 7 of Proverbs 8 says, He wants us to speak truth. The wickedness that we hear in the world should be an abomination to us and we should live out the righteousness Jesus paid for. I'm encouraged today by Proverbs 8. God needs our lives to show the world what a good God He is.
Proverbs 8 (New King James Version)
1 Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice?
2 She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet.
3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors:
4 “ To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 O you simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart.
6 Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, And from the opening of my lips will come right things;
7 For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.
9 They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold;
11 For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
12 “ I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.
15 By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of the earth.
17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than choice silver.
20 I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.
22 “ The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.
23 I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primal dust of the world.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men.
32 “ Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain it.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD;
36 But he who sins against me wrong his own soul; All those who hate me love death.”
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I know the theme is to get wisdom, but I love verse 29. It reminds me of the power of our God. When you stand on the seashore and see the vastness of the ocean and God drew a line in the sand and said, stop right here. That is awesome to me. He is a mighty God, worthy of our praise.
It is made clear in this chapter that wisdom is very different from foolishness. There is an obvious difference between wisdom who stands at major intersections and in public places (8:2-3) and the adulterous woman who sneaks around at night and hides behind corners (7:10-12). This is a theme throughout the Bible.
John 3: 19-21: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
I must live in the light and be willing to allow God to expose darkness in my heart. When I give Him total access to my heart, He will shine His light in the dark places – the things that I have tried to hide from Him.
I operated many years with a whole section of my heart blocked off from God. This was foolish. I was frustrated with Him about different circumstances in my life that were beyond my control. And I was scared to allow Him access to those hurts that were deep in my heart.
Thankfully…His love broke through to me by the Word. Particularly Isaiah 45:2-3: “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. I will give you the treasures of darkness. And hidden wealth of secret places, so that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.”
God promised to go before me as I allowed Him access to my heart. It was a deep, dark prison and He shattered the doors of bronze and cut through my iron bars. Beneath this prison, He showed me treasures and hidden wealth. As we sorted through issues together, I fell deeper in love with Him, for He was compassionate and gracious to me. The very section of my heart that I was scared to give Him access to brought me to a new level in my relationship with Him. He is my healer and my restorer. And I can trust Him with access to my heart.
Proverbs 8:2 really jumped out at me today.
Wisdom takes her stand on top of the high hill, beside the way, where the paths meet.
Matthew 7:13 says, " Enter by the narrow gate (path): for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
1 Cor. 10:13 says, " No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to stand up under it.
It is my prayer that we call on God for wisdom, especially when we cross the path of good and evil where wisdom stands high on that hill calling to us.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD;
When I read these verses I see such a great visual picture. I remember in scripture how the important men of the city would stand at the gates of their city and make decisions. To me, these verses illustrates this picture. As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and employer I see the imporatnce of waiting at the "gate" for the Lord's wisdom needed in all these areas of my life and receiving His favor!
I love the poetic description of creation in this chapter. When I homeschooled my elementary aged children, I remember using these verses when we learned about creation.
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