Proverbs 8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
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 was I brought forth:
26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
God’s wisdom is just as eternal as He is. God did not need to develop into God. He is from everlasting to everlasting. False gods have a date of origin. Even Satan has a date of origin. He was created as a good angel and chose to sin and became Satan.
God demonstrated His wisdom in the creation of the earth. No mere mortal could do what God did. Evolution has many theories regarding how they imagine the earth came into being. None of them make any sense. It takes a blind faith to accept the lies of evolution. Those who trust in the Lord are safe and know they have a faith they can trust.
God brought forth the depths of the oceans. He created the valleys and the high mountains. Of course that all changed with the flood of Noah’s day. However, at creation there were mountains and there were valleys.
Verse 25 reminds us that wisdom was there before the earth was formed. Verse 26 adds more to this fact. Genesis 1&2 gives us the progression of events in that first week. God created all things in six literal days. All things were made by Him speaking and declaring them to be. It was only when it came to creating man, that God used some of what He had previously made to form the man and then He breathed into man the breath of life.
We know that when God divided the dry land from the waters, He set the boundaries for the waters. He overrode those boundaries when He sent the world-wide flood. Prior to that the waters had their place and the dry land had its place. Man could live on the earth without fear of being flooded out. It was the judgment of sin in Genesis 6-8 that brought the waters so that the entire earth was covered, even above the highest mountains.
God’s wisdom cannot be separated from Him. God’s attributes cause Him to rejoice. He is complete in Himself. He does not need man to make Him complete. He created man for His glory. Adam chose to defy God, but that did not diminish who God is.
His wisdom is given to bring rejoicing to man. The world is looking for joy in all the wrong places. They assume that liquor and immorality bring joy. They do not. They bring sorrow. That is very evident in our world today.
In verse 32 God strongly urges man to listen to Him and His wisdom. He pronounced a blessing upon those who will keep His ways. There is no wisdom that comes close to God’s wisdom. We need to listen to God. Listening to God is not optional if we want His blessing. We see that here. The blessing is for those who “keep” His ways. It is not for those who modify His ways.
We need to hear instruction. You cannot hear instruction when you stay away from God’s house. You cannot hear instruction when you read from a perversion. You can only hear God’s instruction when you listen to Him. God says the wise person will listen to Him. The wise person does not refuse His instruction. We have had many people attend our services. Some have stayed for a while. Some have only been a few times. Those that left did not leave because we were teaching heresy. They left because they did not like the truth. They proved they were not wise and they are still not wise. We need to look at Matthew 7 again:
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
The Pharisees were puffed up with pride. They thought they believed in God. Saul/Paul thought he was pleasing God by going after the people of “this way”, later called Christians. He was fighting against God. God was merciful toward him. He stopped him on the road to Damascus and helped him to see he was fighting against the truth.
God is still merciful today. There are many who seem quite content to rebel against God. It is not a good thing when a person chooses to defy God and life seems to be going well for them. Keep in mind, the Bible is God’s Word. Your experience means nothing.
In our text God is challenging the reader to hear Him, to keep His Word and to follow Him.
Verse 34 repeats it again. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates. The Blessed man is anticipating something from God. He wants to hear from God. He can’t wait to get to church on Sunday to hear from the Word of God. He can’t wait to read his Bible every day. He wants to hear from God. He knows God has something important to say.
The person that finds God’s wisdom finds life.
I heard of a grieving mother who is wondering what happened to her daughter. Her daughter was a drug addict and she was also in an abusive relationship. She is blaming the police for the death of her daughter. She is taking no responsibility for her lack of decent upbringing of that girl.
You cannot expect people to make wise decisions in a vacuum. When you tell them all their life that God is not important and fun is what matters, you cannot expect them to choose wisely. It is sad to see what that mother is going through. She needs some wise counsel herself. She will not get that from her current choices.
Verse 36 warns of the rebel. “He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul”. Your soul wants the truth. Keep in mind, that God has placed a basic knowledge of truth in your conscience and heart. The thousands who choose to stay away from a good local church are wronging their own soul. They love death.
That is what God says. I did not make that up. If you love life, you will get into a good church and listen to some true preaching. If you are not Biblically saved today, get saved. Get a King James Bible and read it. If you do not understand it, find a godly person who can help you to understand it. Your soul needs the truth.
Pastor Bartel