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Living Wise: Wisdom’s Appeal

Proverbs 8-9
Cascades Fellowship, JX MI
April 28, 2002

We have a saying in our culture that is often used in debate. When during the

course of public discourse we feel that someone representing an opposing view compares

two dissimilar things we say they are comparing apples and oranges. This morning in our

passage we have such a comparison. In fact we have the opposite of a comparison – we

have a contrast. In chapters 5-7 we spoke about the appeal of folly. In contrast, this

week we talk about the appeal of wisdom.

This week as I studied for this morning’s message, I realized that I had used the

wrong title last week. What I should have titled that sermon was the lure of folly or the

seductiveness of wickedness. Why – because folly does not really make an outright

appeal to us to follow her path. She does not stand in the street and call to us to call out

to her. Instead, folly comes to us with a hand-full of wickedness made to look desirable

and whispers in our ear. She does call, but only that she may captivate us with her eyes.

Folly, in persuading us to the wicked life does not appeal to us directly. Her ways are

much more subtle than that. She relies on passive responses – she excites our desires,

arouses our urges so that the truth of what she offers remains hidden behind the lure of

excitement that comes with forbidden fruit. Folly seduces us – like the livestock that

learns to trust the call of the farmer, we steadily learn to ignore the danger signs and rush

in obedience to our cravings into the slaughter house. That is the goal of folly – to lead

us into joining the millions who have followed her into the jaws of death.
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Our passage this morning stands in comparison to what chapters 5-7 had to say

about folly. In chapters 8-9 the father offers the appeal of wisdom in the light of the lure

of folly. And as alluded to earlier, the comparison ends up being a stark contrast – polar

opposites in every sense imaginable.

To understand the appeal of wisdom, we are going to concentrate on chapter 8 this

morning. We focus on chapter 8 primarily because in a very real sense, chapter 9 is a

summary of chapters 5-8. It places wisdom and folly side by side for an overview of the

comparison being made between the way each offers its appeal. It is really chapter 8,

which picks up on the language of chapter 2 concerning wisdom, that presents us with the

appeal of wisdom.

There are three things that we want to look at concerning wisdom’s appeal. First,

we will look at wisdom’s literal appeal – the call of wisdom for us to call out to wisdom –

wisdom’s “Marco” to our “Polo.” Second, we will look at the character of wisdom.

What it is about wisdom that makes her appealing. Finally, we are going to take a look at

the lineage of wisdom – why it is that wisdom can make the claims she makes. After

looking at wisdom’s appeal, we will then talk briefly about the father’s appeal to follow

the path of wisdom and instead of folly.

Wisdom’s Literal Appeal

One of the first things that we have to realize about the appeal of wisdom is how

in nature it is very different from the appeal of folly. We inferred something about this a

few moments ago when we spoke about the lure or seductiveness of folly. Wisdom’s

appeal is a direct one, offered in plain sight and in public. There are no hidden agendas,
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just wisdom calling out to us – indeed pleading with us to listen. Look with me at vv. 1-

5.

Does not wisdom call out?

Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights along the way,
where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
beside the gates leading into the city,
at the entrances, she cries aloud:
“To you, O men, I call out;
I raise my voice to all mankind.
You who are simple, gain prudence;
you who are foolish, gain understanding.

One of the amazing things about the appeal of wisdom is that it is pervasive. Any

place where people gather – in the highways and byways of life – wisdom calls out to us

to call out to her.

The truth of the matter is that wisdom comes to us often in forms that are so

familiar to us, we might have a tendency to overlook them. Two weeks ago, I received a

call from a man in town suffering from emphysema. His doctor had informed him that

without an air conditioner this summer he would be lucky to make it through the summer

without a severe complications, if not death. I am an impulse giver, so naturally my heart

went out to this man.

It just so happens that Rach and I had an air conditioner sitting in our garage, so I

offered it to him – without consulting Rachel. That, my friends, was a path to folly.

When I informed Rachel of my magnanimous gift to this man, she was not nearly as

enthused as I was. Now, before you begin thinking to yourself “Well, at least we know

where the real Dutch blood runs in that family,” let me finish the story.
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As I listened to Rach, something stirred in my spirit – more than just “giver’s

regret.” I began to question whether I was doing the right thing or not from a stewardship

standpoint. So I began praying – calling out for wisdom. After some consideration and

consultation with our deacons, I started making alternate arrangements. When I called

the man back to inform him of the changes he said “thank God you called back. I

measured my window, and the air conditioner you were talking about would not fit in my

window.”

Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they

succeed.” Through the voice of my wife, wisdom called out to me. Had I just gone

ahead with the original plan, what I would have offered in the name of the church would

have been of no help to this man. Don’t miss the call of wisdom by overlooking the

familiar. The call of wisdom finds us wherever we are – listen carefully for her voice.

A second thing I want to note quickly about the appeal of wisdom is that it is no

respecter of person. Verses 4 & 5 of our text this morning make it clear that wisdom

cries out to all of us, even those of us who hate wisdom. To the naïve, the ones who

are simply ignorant, wisdom cries “Seek me and you will become shrewd – able to

discern the good from the wicked.” To the one already on the path of folly she cries,

“Heed my call, and I will show you the path of life.”

II. Wisdom’s Character

Just realizing that the call of wisdom goes out to everyone tells us something

significant about the character of wisdom – it is gracious. That no one is excluded from

her invitation to understanding is clear evidence of this fact. But even beyond no one
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being excluded, we can take further comfort from knowing that our passionate search for

wisdom is really a response to wisdom’s call to call out to her. That she initiates our

pursuit of her by calling out to us is a measure of wisdom’s incredible grace. But what

else can we say of the character of wisdom?

Unlike the appeal of folly, wisdom does not seek to lure us in with promises of

pleasure. Wisdom speaks to us plainly. The value of a plain-spoken person in recent

years has sky-rocketed. In a culture where “spin” is labeled as perspective instead of

what it usually is – lying – the person who says what she means and means what she says

is considered a rare find. Wisdom’s words are not minced with titillation rather she her

words are a blend of righteousness and truth. What she speaks is truly valuable because

it is the she speaks the unadorned truth. Where folly relies on seductive beauty to entice

us, wisdom appeals to us through the beauty of purity. A beauty desirable above all other

things – nothing compares to her.

In verses 12-21 we see the evidence of her incomparable beauty. Because wisdom

is intimately related to prudence, knowledge and discretion, she hates evil – just as the

Lord hates evil. Let’s stop there for a moment and think about v. 13 a little more: The

fear of the Lord is to hate evil.

When we began the series on Proverbs, we spoke at some length about Proverbs

1:7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We said then – and still maintain

– that the basis of that statement is that any true knowledge of ourselves, of our world, of

our very existence begins with knowing our God. He is the Creator and we are the

creatures. In Proverbs 9:10, we find that the fear of the Lord is also the beginning of
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wisdom. A here in chapter 8 we find that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. What this

means is that the measure of wisdom is directly related to how we relate to our Creator

and how fervently we seek to be what he has called us to be. And what has he called us

to be? Conformed to the image of his Son – his image-bearers here on earth. The living

testimony to the Living God. A peculiar people intended for the revelation of God to the

nations – for those who are yet on the path of folly. And how do we reveal God to the

people? Through proclaiming the Gospel and through living lives that are worthy of the

Gospel we proclaim. If we are going to live those sort of lives, we must hate evil the way

God hates evil. We must be ever vigilant against wickedness in every form it takes. We

must be able to discern evil’s every metamorphosis and avoid its every crooked way.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil – to hate it as God hates evil. And never forget that he

hated evil so much that he was willing to go through the extremes of the cross to defeat it.

Job 28:28 says, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is

understanding.” Choose the fear of the Lord. Hate evil and its perilously beautiful

trappings. Go for that which is truly beautiful – pure beauty. Pursue wisdom.

Before moving on to wisdom’s lineage, let me just point some of the other

evidence that points to the incomparable beauty of wisdom. In vv. 14-17 wisdom is our

guide to justice – the root of true power; power that builds without destruction, lifts up

with out having tear others down. In vv. 18-21 wisdom is the source of true wealth –

wealth gained without impoverishing others; wealth without the bindings of avarice.

Such is the incomparable beauty of wisdom, if we will just seek her.

III. Wisdom’s Lineage

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In vv. 22-31 of our text this morning, we find wisdom personified speaking of her

lineage – her role in creation. Rather than going through this section verse by verse, let

me summarize by noting two things.

The first is that wisdom was established “from everlasting.” I love the way the

New American Standard translate v. 22. “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his

way, before his works of old.” In other words, as Irving Jensen puts it wisdom, “in all its

full character, including righteousness, has always been the Lord’s – in his person and in

his works.”

Wisdom is the hallmark of all that God does – an eternal attribute of the living

God. Where wisdom is evident, there is evidence of God. Wherever evidence of God is

present we hear the call of wisdom to call out for wisdom. In Psalm 19, the psalmist

writes that day and night, in every corner of creation that the testimony of the glory of

God goes out. Indeed, all of creation cries out to us to fear the Lord – which is the

beginning of wisdom.

The second thing that I want to note is that in v. 30, wisdom is the craftsmen – the

agent of creation. By the wisdom of the Lord the foundations of the earth were laid.

Psalm 114 says, “How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.” Through wisdom God created all things seen and

unseen. No wonder that every corner of creation cries out to the glory of God. The

correlation between wisdom and the revelation of God is hard to miss in this passage.

One thing that I hope has not escaped your notice this morning is how closely the

language we have used and the Scriptures have used to speak about wisdom is the same
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language that we often use to speak of Jesus Christ. This is not an accident, for in 1

Corinthians 1, Paul speaks of Christ as the wisdom of God. Just as the call of wisdom

goes out to everyone, calling them to the path of life, so the message of the cross goes out

calling all to repentance. Just as our passionate search for wisdom is a response to

wisdom already searching us out and calling us, so our faith in Christ is our response for

already having been found in him. Just as the call of wisdom is no respecter of persons,

so it is with the gospel. Just as wisdom hates sin, so Christ hates sin – so much so that he

was willing to die to end its reign over the hearts of mankind. Just as the way of wisdom

leads to life, so Christ – the Way, the Truth and the Life.

So what am I saying, here? That Proverbs 8 describes the pre-incarnate Christ –

the second person of the Trinity prior to his coming in human flesh and dwelling among

us? Is this passage really speaking about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation? Well, let

me answer by giving you a cautious “no.”

Remember what we said about the nature of the Book of Proverbs when we began

this series. The purpose of this book is to pass on the accumulated knowledge of fathers

to their children about what it means to live before the face of God. So the way of

wisdom is life because it preserves the relationship between creature and Creator. So for

me to say that the author here intended to write about the coming Messiah or in some

way reveal directly something about the character of the Second Person of the Trinity

would be preposterous. That is simply reading the New Testament back into the Old – a

practice that in the past has lead the church into grave errors. What we have instead is a
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foreshadow. The father’s personification of wisdom – which calls on us to call out to

wisdom – points beyond itself to the redemption God has in store for his people.

Considering all of this, let’s now take a look at the father’s appeal to follow the

way of wisdom, concentrating on vv. 35-36.

For whoever finds me finds life

and receives favor from the LORD.
But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death.”

I have to admit here, that my inclination is to jump to the ultimate meaning of these

verses – to speak long and fervently on how these verses foreshadow the true wisdom of

God and how in finding that wisdom – in finding the truth concerning Jesus Christ –

leads us to eternal life. But before I go there let me remind you that the father is speaking

to children of the promise – young men belonging to the covenant God established with

his servant Abraham. So these words are important for those who already have been

found in Christ. They remind us that there is more to belonging to the people of God

than just a great retirement plan. We must live wisely now, because the life that we live

now, we no longer live for ourselves. We live it for the glory and honor of our God, that

his praises might be heard throughout creation.

People of God, one of the promises of Christ is abundant life – here and now, not

just in the afterlife. But to experience that abundant life, we must live wisely – in

obedience to how he has commanded us to live. To know true freedom – freedom from

the bonds of sin, freedom from the guilt and shame of sin, freedom from the brokenness

and pain of sin – we must pursue wisdom. Wisdom which is revealed for us in the pages
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of the Scriptures. Verse 34 says that the man who watches for wisdom daily at the gate

and waits by the door of wisdom’s house will be blessed. People of God pursue wisdom

– cherish it above everything

Now, let me turn your eyes to the true and incomparable beauty of wisdom – its

ultimate expression. In the cross of Jesus Christ we see the incomparable riches of God –

the wealth of his grace and love – poured out before us. The testimony of the cross is

compared to the pearl of great price in the gospels. When was the last time you let the

magnitude of love present in the cross wash over you – inspire you to faithfulness?

When was the last time you sat quietly and contemplated the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on

the cross? If you want a life of obedience – a life marked by gratitude and wisdom – you

will do it often

Next week we celebrate the Lord’s Supper – a time we set aside to remember

Christ’s death and resurrection. Make sure that this week you prepare your heart to meet

with our Lord at the table. Take time contemplate the cross. Be sure that as you take the

bread and the wine, you do so recognizing the wisdom of God.

People of God, I realize that this morning I have talked in lofty terms concerning

the wisdom of God, but considering the benefit of wisdom – life – how could I do

anything less? Two ways have been set before you this morning – the way of wisdom

and the way of folly. As different as apples and oranges. Which way will you choose?

To paraphrase a saint of old, as for me and my house, we choose the fear of the Lord.