What Does Wisdom Cry?

What Does Wisdom Cry?

For a long time, I was amazed that King David could come up with all those psalms.  He didn’t have all the prophets’ writing nor Solomon’s Proverbs.  Nor Jesus’ parables.  Mostly what he would have had is the mosaic law and all its rules, regulations, and sacrifices.  Did he just meditate on those things to get his wisdom?

Proverbs describes wisdom as crying (Prov 8:1) in the top of high places, by the paths (Prov 8:2), at the gates, at the entry of the city, and at the doors (Prov 8:3).  These are public places, good places to get people’s attention.  Was King David seeing what Wisdom was seeing?

He could have heard cussing using God’s name in vain because the seller’s wares were dropped and scattered.  Or a child could lie to his mother about taking his sister’s toy. Or maybe a rich person rode by to watch people’s faces as they coveted his money and possessions.

But then again, maybe he saw a son helping his mother go to a doctor.  Or how about a vendor giving a boy a second roll when he saw the boy stealing one?  Maybe a husband threw his wife’s carved idol in the fire.

He would have seen the ten commandments both obeyed and disregarded and learned wisdom from it.

There are two ways to get wisdom.  Either you learn from observing someone else, or you learn from experience.

©  April 2014 by Bonnie Clarkson

Knowledge of the Holy is Understanding

         Prov 9:10, KJV says "that knowledge of the holy is understanding."  We understand that God is holy and that knowledge of the ten commandments will help us to be holy.  Knowing what is holy and what isn't will help us make good choices.
          Ps 49:20, KJV says "man with honor but no understanding is like a beast."  Show animals have a lot of honor, but no understanding of what the honor should mean to them.  It doesn't matter to them if they win or lose.  Trained animals also have no understanding about their honor beyond the immediate reward of food.
          A lawyer or doctor may have honor in his field, but if he has no knowledge of the holy, he has no understanding and therefore is no better than a beast.
       

Plan for a Plan

Psalm 10:17, KJV  Lord, thou has heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause the ear to hear.

No matter what you do, whether it is a recipe or a woodworking project, you pick something you want to make.  Then you go over the plan and get all its ingredients and tools.  After you made it, you evaulate it to see if it can be done better next time.

This verse is the plan for an idea or vision you have for the church.  The verse says "desire of the humble". This is the idea stage.  Start by talking to God about the idea or vision.  A concordance for looking up scriptures that addresses the subject is helpful.  God hears our prayer, so tell him your desire humbly, not commanding Him.

"Prepare their heart" is for getting together want you need and doing it.  Let's say you have an idea for a Christmas play.  Now is the time for gathering and making what you need to complete your idea or project. Do you have enough money to carry it through?  Find people good at  making a stage for a Christmas play, or find people who are carpenters.  Someone who is good at singing may be needed for part of the Christmas program.  Allow enough time to meet around people's schedule.

Lastly, you need to spend some time evaluating your idea.  This is where "cause the ear to hear" comes in. Pray for discernment to honestly evaluate your idea or project.    Were there problems that you never accounted for?  Did everyone have a chance to get involved?  What do people remember about it?
Write down ideas for future events.

God is not the author of confusion. (I Cor 14:33, KJV) He planned the making of the world and saving the world through Jesus in an orderly manner.  We can do the same if we will listen to what He is causing us to hear.

Use Your Dictionary

I find a dictionary helpful when studying the Bible.  When two words sound like they have similar meaning, I look them up.  I use Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, published by G. & C. Merriam Company, Springfield, Mass. 1965

Abide--to accept without objection, to remain stable or fixed in a state, to continue in a place.
Rest--freedom from activity, to cease from action or motion
To me, "abide" means to choose to stay where you are.  "Rest" means to choose to cease from activity.  We abide in Jesus the vine and in God's hands, but we won't have complete rest until we get to heaven.

Sin--an offense against God, transgression of the law of God, to commit an offense or fault.
Iniquity--gross injustice.
Transgression--to violate a command or law.
To me, "iniquity" is choosing to do something completely unfair to someone else, like a con man lying to a person to steal money from them.
"Transgression" is what you might call a "dead end" sin.  Like driving over the speed limit.  It may not even be intentional, but no one cares enough to sort out the truth of it.
"Sin" covers both "iniquity" and "transgression".

Prophecy--an inspired utterance of a prophet, declaration of something to come, prediction.
Prophesy--to speak as if divinely inspired to give instruction in religious matters, to make a prediciton.
The difference between these, is "prophecy" is a noun and "prophesy" is a verb. Prophets not only spoke predictions, but also pointed out things that were still happening, like idol worship.

Here are some more words worth looking up:
Light/lamp
Faith/hope
Worship/praise/thankful

Ps 139 in My Words

This is a peek into how I write.

Ps 139 caught my attention and I read it several times.

I started noticing who was being talked about and that the Psalm broke into 5 sections.

Verses 1-6 were about the Psalmist extolling that God knew him.

Ver 7-12 are about extolling God’s presence

Ver 13-18 are about both the author and God.  It is the interaction about His greatness and the author’s role in life.

Ver 19-22 is about the author.  He is talking about his reaction to men that are God’s enemies.

Ver 23-24  is back to both God and author.  The author is asking one last time to tell him and see if his attitude is right.

1)  You understand my reasoning

    You know my routine for each day

    You touch my emotions with healing

    You cannot be shocked by anything I say or do

2)  You are in front, in back, and right beside me

     Where can I escape Your presence?

      If I take an airplane trip, You are there.

      If I go into a cave, You are there.

      If I went to the ocean depths, even there Your hands shall lead and hold me.

      If I craw under the covers and pretend You aren’t there, You know where I am and what I am thinking.

3)  You are the driver of my car.

     Before that, You made me during my mother’s pregnancy.

     I will praise You for You are the great Creator.

     There never was a time when I was hidden from You.

     Even in the womb, you made me in orderly steps.

     Your thoughts to me are for good, not evil.

     How can I tell you how precious Your thoughts to me are?

4)  God, You have been so much on my side that I want to take Your side.

     I will not associate with those that take Your name in vain and willfully sin.

     I ask you God:  Do I not hate those that took prayer and the Bible out of schools?

     Am I not burdened by those who take the Ten Commandments out of halls of justice?

5)  Lord I need to know if my attitude is right.

     That’s why I want You to search both my heart and my thoughts.

     Try me and show me where the weak spots are.

     Then lead me so we can work together in the way everlasting.

Layers of Meaning

The Bible is an amazing work of writing.  It is even more amazing to me to find the wording able to reveal layers of meanings.  I'll give three examples.

1) Ps 28:1  "Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit."
     God is called a rock in this verse.  Rocks don't hear anything.  God can't hear if there is unconfessed sin between me and God (Isa 59:2).  This may be why the Psalmist said "be not silent to me".  You can stumble over a rock. Pharisees stumbled over Jesus who is called the "stumblingstone and the rock of offence" (Rom 9:33).
      The Psalmist called God his rock and fortress (Ps 31:3)  Rocks are strong and can be made into a good foundation.  Jesus is even called the cornerstone (Eph 2:20).

2) Ps 37:23  "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way."  Does "he" and "him" refer to the man delighting in God's way?  Or does it mean God delights in the man's way?  I think it is both.

3)  I Sam 5:6-7 called Jerusalem the city of David, while Luke 2:4 Bethlehem is the city of David.  That sounds like a contradiction, but symbolically it is not.  Jerusalem is in the promised land and can symbolize Jesus coming for the Jews.  But Jesus died outside the walls of Jerusalem, which could symbolize Jesus coming for the Gentiles.  At least, that satisfies me.

There are lots of symbols in the Bible.  The next time you want to see layers of meaning, try following a symbol.  I have found following the characteristics of a symbol here on earth can lead to finding more spiritual truths.