Wisdom

"The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,

before His works of old.

I have been established from everlasting,

from the beginning, before there was ever an earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no fountains abounding with water,

before the mountains were settled,

before the hills, I was brought forth;

While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,

or the primeval dust of the world.

When He prepared the heavens, I was there,

when He drew a circle on the face of the deep,

When He established the clouds above,

When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,

When He assigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters would not transgress His command,

When He marked out the foundations of the earth,

Then I was beside Him, as a master craftsman;

And I was daily His delight,

Rejoicing always before Him,

Rejoicing in His inhabited world,

and my delight was with the sons of men."

The words of Wisdom, from Proverbs 8:22-31, NKJV

 

Wisdom is skill, especially in regards to warfare.  It is administrative knowledge.  It is shrewdness.  It is religious prudence, ethics, and understanding.  Wisdom is a way of thinking, of deciding, of doing.  Wisdom is something that is pursued, possessed, and practiced as a way of life.  We mostly think of it in the abstract, as something gained by experience and education, a tool designed to assist us to success.  But the Bible tells us that wisdom is so much more than that.

 

Wisdom--the true wisdom that gives birth to knowledge, understanding, and skill--is the very mind and will and heart of God. It was possessed by God at the origin of everything, when He stepped out to start all that is.  It was His before the works of old, before there was an earth, before there were mountains and hills, before there was earth and sky and sea.  When there was yet nothing, Wisdom was brought forth, delivered as a writhing, vigorous babe from the womb of its mother, and given life as the processes of God.  From everlasting, from before, from the eternally existent source came their sovereign force and choice and ability and desire.  From the beginning, God established Wisdom as His rule over all creation.

 

Wisdom was the master craftsman to God's designer, architect, and engineer.  What God wanted, wisdom did.  When God prepared the heavens, Wisdom was there.  When He established the clouds above and the seas beneath, when He laid the foundations of the earth, when He assigned limits to the waters and marked the borders of the earth, Wisdom was at His side.

 

Wisdom delighted the Lord, rejoicing in His presence and over His creation.  Wisdom is the way of God, the will of God, the want of God for humanity--made in His image and after His likeness--to  enjoy God and all of His creation.  Wisdom is the great gift of God to mankind, given ultimate expression and personification in the person of Jesus Christ.  And it is through Jesus Christ, through knowing Him and finding understanding in Him, through experiencing Him and learning from Him, that we fulfill the plan, purpose, and pleasure of God.