See here for the third part in our series on King Suleyman's book of proverbs.
Wisdom promises to be accessible
At times in the Book of Proverbs, King Suleyman personifies Wisdom.
He speaks of Wisdom as a 'she', the creative force at the beginning of time who cries out for the obedience of mankind.
Her promise in Proverbs 1:20-23 is that she will not abandon those who listen to her.
Wisdom is not quiet or hidden
“Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.”
In the preceding verses, King Suleyman admonishes his son, the audience for these proverbs, not to fall in with murderers and evil men. These are people who hide in the dark, who "lie in wait" and "lurk secretly".
By contrast, Wisdom parades herself in the open. She is loud and unabashed. If you listen, you cannot miss her.
Wisdom leads us to knowledge
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?”
These are the words of wisdom. They are what she cries out in the streets. And this is the heart of God. Not that we remain in ignorance, but that we embrace knowledge.
Remember though, this isn't knowledge that's hard to grasp. This is knowledge given out freely and publicly.
Wisdom promises to be freely available
“Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.”
What a promise!
There's not one of us that enjoys being rebuked, but this is a theme that King Suleyman develops throughout his collection of proverbs.
Why? Consider this: we have embraced ignorance and foolishness when Wisdom is offering herself freely and publicly.
And yet, the promise is this: listen to Wisdom and be filled with her spirit. Take the time to hear what she says and she will speak to you.
We're freed from the plague of ignorance if we'll only listen.