THE CALL OF WISDOM

Proverbs 8.1-11
THE CALL OF WISDOM
"...for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her." (8.11)

EARLIER IN PROVERBS, WISDOM HAS already called out. "Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares..." (1.20). But Wisdom's rival, Lady Folly — the adulteress, lurks in the shadows (7.12). Now Wisdom cries out again.

She stands "on the heights along the way, where the paths meet" (8.2). She takes up a prominent position. There at the cross-roads, she confronts us all with a choice: to follow Wisdom or to follow Folly. Derek Kidner notes how this chapter "which is to soar beyond time and space, opens at street-level." Wisdom is down-to-earth. However sublime the heights she takes us to (8.22-31), she is essentially found in the noisy thoroughfares, and the busy marketplaces of the world. Wisdom in Proverbs is always life-based.

Street-level Wisdom means also that she can be found by the man-in-the-street. She is not buried in some library to be discovered only by the learned. Wisdom in Proverbs has little to do with Intelligence Quotient. Young and old, educated and illiterate, rich and poor, can be wise. Yet, availability does not mean possession. A wistful longing for Wisdom is not enough. We must choose her and seek her (10.2,4). We must value her more than gold, silver and rubies.

Her call is addressed to those who are "simple" and "foolish" (v.5), that is, to those who are naive and gullible, lacking discernment. To them is promised "prudence" and "understanding." Prudence is good judgment or good sense. Understanding comes from the root "to discern." When Solomon asked God for wisdom, he said, "So give your servant a discerning heart...to distinguish between right and wrong" (l Kings 3.9).

Life is full of decisions, and we do well to ask, as Solomon did, for such wisdom. Two other words are "instruction" and "knowledge" (v. 10). The first carries with it the idea of correction and discipline, which fools despise. If we desire to be wise, we will listen to the counsel of Wisdom. The second word, knowledge, is not mere data in grey matter; knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord (1 .7). It refers not so much to what we know, but what we do with what we know.

Thus, Proverbs presents us with the two choices. We are standing, as it were, at the cross-roads where both Wisdom and Folly beckon us. We have to choose one or the other. Whom will we choose? "Say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,' and call understanding your kinsman; they will keep you from the adulteress..." (7.4-5).

Have I chosen Wisdom or Folly?