Advent Day 21 :: Eternal Wisdom

“Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. [24] When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.” (Proverbs 8:23-24)

One of the things that I have been loving about putting these daily readings together is getting to see how each book of the BIble interacts with the others and watching the narrative of God’s redemptive plan unfold all throughout Scripture. I know these readings may at times be a little intricate but my prayer has been that you are able to see and focus on Christ and His birth, realizing the significance of His arrival and what it means in the grand scheme of history and our existence.

Earlier in the series, Day 7, we saw that Christ is the ultimate Prophet (Hebrews 1:1-3). He is the Word of God incarnate that speaks to us to this day through the Scriptures. We know and understand that through the advent of Christ we have received the teachings of the apostles and the teachings of Christ Himself. It is through the Holy Spirit we gain knowledge and understanding, wisdom and discernment through the Scriptures which is good for “teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We have also encountered Christ as the One prophesied about in the book of Isaiah and we learned how He was the One who the Spirit of God would rest on. He would inherit “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:1-2). Thus echoing Hebrews, 2 Timothy and 1 Corinthians 1:24 where we see Paul states that Jesus is “Christ the power and wisdom of God,”. This same Spirit is given to us at the moment of our salvation where it seals us to the day of redemption and guides and directs us through life’s journey.

Through all of these things we begin to see what Proverbs 8:12-36 (what many scholars believe to be one of the more important passages that the early church used to understand who Jesus was) is trying to tell us about Jesus. Really what all of Proverbs is telling us. The book of Proverbs is showing us what wisdom looks like through Lady Wisdom and pleads with us to follow her voice. We’re shown in chapter 8 that Jesus is Lady Wisdom and He has been since the beginning. Proverbs is then asking us to see Jesus and follow Jesus. The writer summarizes it in 9:10 by saying “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” He speaks to us to this day showing us the Father and giving us wisdom for each day in order to be imitators of Him in all that we do (Ephesians 5:1; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6).

As we celebrate and reflect on the coming of Christ, how will you respond to the call of Wisdom? Will you reject it and go about living life as you please which ultimately leads to destruction (Proverbs 14:12)? Or will you yield to wisdom which leads to life (Proverbs 9:11) - eternal life through the Son Jesus Christ?

Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash