"Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither, is it found in the land of the living.... Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living.... Behold, the fear of the Lord, THAT is wisdom." Job 28:13, 21, 28. The fear of the Lord is the setting aside of our own will, so that the will of God as expressed in the Word directs our paths.
"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching [the actual thing preached- J.N.D. Trans.] to save them that believe." 1 Cor. 1:21.
Wisdom was before creation (Prow. 8). Creation displayed it (Psalm 104:24). Wisdom entered this world in the Person of Christ, but man by his wisdom knew Him not (Acts 13:27). The world in its "wisdom" rejected Him. His death is the complete setting aside of the first man (2 Cor. 5:14-18), for in new creation "all things are of God." The pathway of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ on earth is the path of wisdom in a world where fallen man, by his lust and his "wisdom," corrupts himself, and rejects God, revealed in Christ. The natural man is the slave of his lusts (John 8:34), and his mind is at enmity against God (Rom. 8:7).
Christ, the perfect obedient Man, lived "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of sod" (Matt. 4:4). He left His own an example that we should "follow His steps" (1 Pet. 2:21). The sermon on the mount (Matt. 5-7) is the wisdom of God in a world of evil. The new nature in the child of God will manifest these moral excellencies, in the measure in which the old nature is kept in the place of death (2 Cor. 4:10).
God's wisdom is perfect, because of His perfect knowledge of all things. "0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor?" Rom. 11:33, 34. Man can never discover the things that belong to revelation. This is just the theme in the Book of Ecclesiastes. It shows us the extent of man's wisdom "under the sun" apart from God's revelation. Creation and resurrection are two things that belong to revelation. The wisdom of man could never discover either the one or the other, as we see from Acts 17:23-32.
Man is a fallen creature, and his fallen nature loves sin. He is at enmity with God and does not want God's wisdom. To him "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." Pro. 9:17. But this same Book of Proverbs shows us that "the way of transgressors is hard [not pleasant]" (Pro. 13:15). This is because Proverbs shows the way of wisdom in an evil world. We need a path wherein to walk, and this God has given us in the Book of Proverbs. It is heavenly wisdom in which man is called to walk, instead of yielding to the evil of a fallen nature. These moral principles are of immense value for young and old in the pathway of life.
Now Christianity supplies that which is needed to walk rightly in these ways, by giving the believer a new life, a new power, and an Object for the affections of his heart. Christ is now our life (Col. 3:4), the Holy Spirit that dwells within us is the power for godliness (Rom. 8:4), while Christ in glory is the end of the path for faith (Phil. 3:14). The child of God does not need to know the subtle evil of the world to avoid it. He needs "a plain path" (Psalm 27:11). This the Book of Proverbs supplies, by giving us the wisdom of God for our walk. He who knows all, and has understanding of all, has given us in this Book the way of wisdom in all the various relationships of life, the temptations, and the vexations that are met along the pathway of life. How precious to have the wisdom of God to direct us!
"The wisdom that is from above is first pure [no element of self in it], then peaceable [it takes the heart out of all that produces the strife in this world], gentle [just yielding, because the will of fallen nature is not there], and easy to. be intreated [it commends itself by its fruit], full of mercy [it is not the fruit of what man is, for the source of wisdom's actions is the new life] and good fruits [God in His nature is displayed, so that fruit is there], without partiality [it does not question whether it is deserved or not], and without hypocrisy [it is unfeigned, because it is pure]." Jas. 3:17.
Now the wisdom of God is not an extension of man's wisdom, neither is it an improvement upon it. It is always the very opposite of man's wisdom. Apart from the revelation of truth found in the Word of God, man makes the horizon of all his thoughts, his efforts, and his actions, the world in which he lives. His whole life is governed by these worldly motives. Now the voice of wisdom, as found in the Word, would teach us to sit at the feet of Jesus, as Mary did, and listen to the word of His mouth, that we might learn God's wisdom. This is the meaning of 1 Cor. 3:18: "If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool [that is, take the place of knowing nothing], that he may be wise." How blessed is this principle! I do not need to know the evil of the world to be kept from it, but just walk in the light and wisdom of the Word. Only in this way is the eye kept single, not governed by the self-pleasing of a fallen nature, but by the precious wisdom of the Word. Speaking of this path, the Word tells us, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Pro. 3:17.
A few examples will show how God's wisdom is the opposite of man's. The world by its wisdom would say, "Unity is strength." The language of Scripture is, "Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces:... gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.... Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us." Isa. 8:9, 10. This passage, of course, is prophetic; but it is the word of wisdom to the feeble godly remnant of a coming day, warning them not to be entangled with the confederacy of the nations that will seek strength in a unity which, though it will appear strong in the eyes of man, will in the end be "broken in pieces." We can see how the godly ones of that day will take the opposite path to that of man's wisdom; and then God will, in His wisdom, grace, and power, deliver them, just as He delivered Israel of old when He led them out of Egypt and destroyed the mighty power of Pharaoh. Now the word to our hearts in this day is, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31). Confiding in God, victory is sure, when in the path of His will. Our kingdom is not of this world. Here we may suffer, but nothing can really be lost when walking in wisdom's ways. The end will ever prove that "Wisdom is justified of all her children." Luke 7:35.
Again, man's wisdom would tell us that we must know something of the evil of the world in order to avoid it. God says, "I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil" (Rom. 16:19). How precious the principle! God, who has understanding of all, would preserve the child of God from every subtlety of the enemy. We have but to hearken to the voice of wisdom in the Word. It is just this forming of the habit of not doing our own will, but waiting upon God who speaks with wisdom in the Word, that delivers us from every false path.
Again, the world would tell us that we must have ambition to succeed. Now the wisdom of the Word would teach us contentment. Heb. 13:5 says, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." How far above man's wisdom is the wisdom of God!
Let the reader meditate on Psalm 49. Here we find that what man calls wisdom, God calls folly; and yet we read that "their posterity approve their sayings" (v. 13). The child of God is to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). He is to live in view of the judgment seat of Christ when all will be made manifest. Then those who have walked in wisdom's ways will be commended of Him.
Natural relationships form beautiful pictures of the wisdom of the ways of God. The parent has authority given of God (Eph. 6:1), but it is authority to be used in loving wisdom to do the child good all the days of his life. Love is here the motive spring of authority rightly used. Now it is the love of God that moved His heart to give us this wisdom from Himself, to guide our feet through a world filled with evil, and with the subtlety of an enemy who would use the fallen nature within us to lead in the paths of sin and folly.
The relationship of husband and wife too is a picture of Christ and the Church. If every husband would remember that his relationship is to be patterned in the manner of Christ's love to the Church; and if every wife would remember her place of submission is to be as the Church is to Christ, what a blessing it would be!
No relationship in life can be ordered aright without this wisdom from God. Alas, many a dear child of God has neglected it in his home life, even though he may have, at the same time, shown diligence in other ways of service to the Lord. May our home life be patterned according to this wisdom, and our children be brought up in it too! This is what is taught in Ephesians, chapters 5 and 6. Let us teach our children that the motive of all right conduct is love, keeping the commandments of God. Christian commandments are moral, and spring from the new nature given to us by God, as His children. Our whole Christian life is to be characterized by pleasing God-not pleasing self.
Let those who attend school and college ever remember that the things that belong to revelation are beyond reason. Reason must begin with facts. It can never give you the facts. Nothing that is known as a fact is the fruit of reason. It is always the fruit of testimony or experience. There are things in the Word of God beyond reason, and indeed it must be so because they come from God. A God whom man's reason is equal to, is not God at all. A man must be master of a subject to know it rightly, and he cannot be this of God. God and His wisdom is utterly beyond man.
When we come to something we cannot understand, we should just say with David in Psalm 139:6, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I CANNOT ATTAIN UNTO IT." Let us ever come to the Word of God as newborn babes, and allow our thoughts to be formed by the precious wisdom of God. "Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD, doth man live." Deut. 8:3.
"Low at Thy feet, Lord Jesus,
This is the place for me;
Here I have learned deep lessons-
Truth that has set me free.
"Free from myself, Lord Jesus,
Free from the ways of men;
Chains of thought that have bound me,
Never can bind again.
None but Thyself, Lord Jesus,
Conquered this wayward will;
But for Thy love constraining,
I had been wayward still."