The God of Wisdom

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The God of Wisdom

Provers 3:13-26

“The Lord by wisdom found the earth, but understanding He established the heavens.” Vs. 19

 

Wisdom is more than just an attribute we must strive to ingrain in our lives.  Wisdom is an expression of the character of God that served as the foundation for all his creative works.  In Proverbs, wisdom is extolled as the foundation for all decisions.  The wise and fool are contrasted, not by their intellectual ability or even their successful ventures in business, but by their ability to operate within the framework of God's moral law.  While a person can be successful from a worldly perspective, it can be nullified if achieved outside God’s moral order.  Because of this, wisdom and understanding are the most valuable possessions one can have.  They are more precious than everything this world places value upon (vs. 14).  Wisdom is desired above all things, and no possession or attainment in life is more desirable than wisdom (vs. 15).

If wisdom is to be the highest value, how do we obtain it, and how do we determine what is wise and what is not?  The answer lies in verses 19-20.  Wisdom is not defined by man but by the nature of God. When God created the world, he did not just create matter, vegetation, and atmosphere.  He made a world based on his wisdom and instilled wisdom and moral law within his creation's fabric.  Thus, the greatest threat to the universe's existence is not global warming; it is the abandonment of God’s wisdom, for wisdom is the unifying principle that governs all things and holds the universe together. With wisdom, he created the world. Wisdom was not only how he created the universe, but wisdom was integrated into creation as its foundational law.  The foundation of the universe is not the laws of physics but the laws of wisdom.  Therefore whoever abandons wisdom goes against the very structure by which the world was made.

When we speak of the wisdom of God, we are referring to his moral law established to govern the universe.  When God created the universe, after each creative act, he stated that it was “good.”  The word “good” does not just mean that it was well made, but that it also was “good” in contrast with was is morally evil.  God created the universe to be an expression of his moral goodness.  Wisdom is living within the confines of that goodness.  However, humanity rebelled against God, and instead of embracing the divine moral order, we rejected it.  In Ecclesiastes 7:29, the sage states, “Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”  In other words, we pursued our morality, which is the ultimate mark of the fool.  

God is infinitely wise.  This means that he knows all possible options, outcomes, and means to achieve those outcomes. This outcome is that which is in line with his character.  This is why we must make pursuing God’s wisdom our chief end.  To live within his moral law and order is to align ourselves with his purpose and goodness.  As a child, we quickly learn the importance of the laws of physics.  Even though our parents warn us that fire burns, we must test it ourselves. When we do, we learn an important lesson about obeying the laws governing heat and the maximum temperature the human skin can endure.  The same is true of God’s moral laws.  Wisdom recognizes that we must live within them if we are going to enjoy ultimate prosperity and joy (22-25).  The folly of our age today is that we continue to reject God’s moral order in the belief that it will bring happiness.  Instead, it only brings further harm.  The answer to a secure life only comes when we align ourselves with God's law. 

 

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