Get Wisdom

“Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.” — Proverbs 8:1-11

God’s grace oozes from these verses. God sees the simplicity and foolishness of humanity. Then, instead of simply leaving us to ourselves, what does he do? He calls out to us! He sends his wisdom to a conspicuous place to draw our attention. His offer is the true riches of the knowledge of God. All we need to do is stop and listen. Too often, we ignore the obvious. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but it really boils down to three primary causes: distraction, deception, and desire.

Distraction

Wisdom is calling out in the busiest, most populated part of the city. God is not hiding his wisdom from us; he’s making it available right where we are in our day-to-day lives. Yet, we are too distracted to notice. We wake up, pick up our phones, and before we know it, news, pictures, opinions, and advertisements inundate us, but we haven’t heard the word of God. We missed the voice of wisdom crying out. It’s not that God has not made his wisdom available; it’s that we didn’t take the time to stop and listen.

Deception

We also miss the unmistakable voice of wisdom through deception. This happens when we question the truth of God’s word and instead trust ourselves or someone else. In these verses, what God’s wisdom speaks to us is noble, right, true, righteous, and straight. God’s word is all of these things, but deception comes from switching around evil for good and darkness for light, from being wise in our own eyes (Isaiah 5:20-21). Deception begins with saying that God’s word is twisted instead of recognizing that we are the ones who are twisted. Instead of stopping and listening to what God’s wisdom says and thinking about those things (Philippians 4:8-9), we walk right past God’s word and do what we feel is right.

Desire

Distraction and deception form a connection to desire. This section ends by comparing the value of wisdom to the value of treasure (i.e., silver, gold, and jewels). God knows that our desires and loves drive our thoughts and actions more than anything else (Matthew 22:36-40): our hearts will follow our treasure (Matthew 6:21). Distraction and deception are evidence that our desires are misplaced. We begin to look at what this world has to offer and think that it’s better than what God offers us, forgetting that this world and all that it has for us is passing away (1 John 2:16-17).

Yet, God offers us eternal life (John 10:28). There’s nothing we desire that compares with the wisdom of God. Our desires turn from God to this world when we fail to stop and listen to the wisdom of God’s word, calling out to us and instructing us that God’s way is where the true riches of grace are forever found in Christ (Ephesians 1:7-10).

Christ, the Wisdom of God

Nothing else compares to wisdom because it points us to Christ! Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Christ is the ultimate revelation of wisdom, and he “became to us wisdom from God” (1 Corinthians 1:30). There is no knowledge, no power, and no material thing that can satisfy you. Only Christ can satisfy you. What your heart desires is in Him because he is the only one who offers us righteousness, holiness, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).

There is no better word than that of the blood of Jesus. This is the word of our salvation because Jesus is the mediator between God and man, and his blood opened up a new and living way for us. We can now enter into the presence of God through faith in Christ. Stop and listen to the wisdom of God that speaks to you from the cross. God loves you, and he displayed his love in Christ. Therefore, lay down your distractions, turn from your deceptions, and place your desires in Him!

Jesus himself should be your greatest desire.