Proverbs 8:14-21, A Personality Portrayed!
March 25, Proverbs 8:14-21
Job 12:12-25; Rom. 13:1-8 “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever” (Rom. 11:36).
A Personality Portrayed!
We have already noted the emphasis on the personal pronouns in this passage. What, therefore, we must recognize as the central theme, is not how or why Wisdom operates, but Who Wisdom is. This is more than a mere pompous personification of the attribute of God. Who else could make such claims but the Living Word, hinting once again that we are dealing with a Person, not just a Power! Christ alone has the infinite power needed to meet the needs of humanity.
- A Dynamic Deity: Wisdom’s counsel does not come, as man’s, by learning or dialogue, but by Divine intuition (v.14). It flows from Wisdom as the Fountainhead. These words are either pretty poetry or the claims of Personal Deity. Wisdom says I am counsel. I am sound (efficient) wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. These are the claims of a Person who is Infinite. For Job, the wisdom of the wisest sages could not compare with that of the Ancient of Days. All this was predicted of Christ (Isa. 9:6; 40:28f) and fulfilled in Him alone (Jn. 1:9; 1 Cor. 1:24, 30). Remember that, wonder of wonders, Christ’s fullness is the inheritance of His saints. Wisdom is the source of all power and authority, as is Christ. The Father has delivered all things in heaven and earth to Him (Mt. 11:27; 28:18). The government of the world is upon His shoulders (Isa. 9:6). The implications of these verses are vital and will reward careful study.
- A Dramatic Deity: The allusion to kings supports the idea that Proverbs came from the court (vs.15, 16). Many proverbs deal with the wealthy and accounts are called in. powerful class, who, if they answer not to man, must answer to God when all accounts are called in.
a. Regal Righteousness: Five different words are used in these verses for kings. This brings all these positions within the domain of Wisdom, and answerable to Divine Justice for their rule (Isa. 45:23-24). The point is that those who rule well do so by Divine Wisdom. If much wisdom is needed in the ordinary affairs of life, how much more is it needed by those who hold these high positions. They are to rule with justice, not merely for personal advantage. Every upright enactment comes from the Wisdom that directs man’s life on earth. How blessed are that people whose regal rulers are righteous.
b. Regal Responsibility: What comfort this is in our day of moral failure! Wisdom sets up kings and puts down. It causes the wrath of even kings to praise Him (Ps.2), and controls their evil to carry out His grand design, while preserving His own integrity. Cyrus, a pagan king, was set up to fulfill the will of a Higher King (Ezra 1). The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he turneth it whithersoever he will (Pr. 21:1). “If ‘the power be exclusively of God,’ then is Wisdom by whom kings reign, the very essence and person of God. Here is our rest, our anchor, in this world’s agitating storm” (Bridges).
Thought: “The Lord is King! Who then shall dare, resist His will, distrust His care.”
Prayer: Blessed Lord, Thy reign over all things is my comfort, my stay, my hope.