In one of the greatest personifications in all of Scripture, the wise man paints a powerful picture of wisdom. While there are many amazing statements about wisdom in Proverbs 8, one in particular struck me as signifantly poignant.
"For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord; But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.” (Prov. 8:35-36).
The language used here almost makes you think that the wise man is speaking of God, and not merely wisdom. I mean, does not the idea of "sinning against wisdom" not cause you pause? The fact that sinning in such a way is equated to "wronging our own soul" is astounding!
If anything can be taken from such a revelation, it certainly places an exclamation point on the reality that we must not turn our back on wisdom ... most importantly, the wisdom of God ... as she is so very precious to our soul!
He posted! And a good post it is. I'm inclined to say that the wise man is, in a sense, speaking of God and wisdom. Because God is the source of wisdom. (Proverbs 2:6-7; 8:22) =)
^^Interesting you say that, because that was exactly my first thought, but ... God is not the source of all wisdom. Consider James 3:13-18. There is wisdom that comes from this world. We are not to put our faith in it (1 Cor. 2:5). It is foolishness with God, but it is called "wisdom" (1 Cor. 2:13; 3:19). There are even things that have an "appearance of wisdom" (Col. 2:23) that we must be aware of. Just another thought.
^^^I might also add that the text says in verse 35 that if we find wisdom, we find favor from the Lord. It doesn't work if we use God in the place of wisdom. So I think the personification is speaking solely of wisdom, but some of the same general comments can be said of God. To find God is to find life. To sin against God is indeed to wrong one's own soul. To hate God is to love death. But, this context is dealing solely with wisdom. That is what makes it so fascinating to me.
LOL, Good evening, Moody preacher! I am guessing that if you don't know who this is, your family can tell you! Your new dogs have surely completed your family. How sweet! LOL
Blimey, mate. This is like...the most boringest blog on Pleo...You've only updated like...twice.... *sighs* "Manmonsters, so verilously dumbilythick..."
I hear it oft repeated these days that "Gospel Meetings no longer work." Is this true? Might it be more accurate to say that we don't work the gospel meetings the way they need to be worked?
I have solid evidence that if we would get out there and invite folks with some zeal and enthusiasm to our meetings, that folks will come. I would be glad to bounce ideas with anyone interested in getting a little more mileage out of their meeting efforts. So, work them meetings my brethren.
What about attending other's meetings? I know we are a busy people, but what value do we place upon the encouragement that comes from having visiting brethren attend our gospel meetings? It is huge! What about visitng other's meetings? It is not a matter of finding the time, it is a matter of making the time! We all can do a better job of encouraging one another in this regard. So, attend them meetings my brethren.
A little something to think about, as brother Perz steps off of his soapbox...
Howdy Jonathan! Welcome to pleo. Hope all's going well with you. Guess you've heard I'm in Houston now, training with Dee Bowman. Lovin' it here, but I can't wait to get back to the southeast in 2 years!
Let's see, you have a total of 2 posts, one day apart from each other. And now you have 4 months since your last one. Your posting rate has fallen tremendously.
