Soulfood

Alastair Groves: Wisdom asks what is the patient investment, the hard work of building a life well lived. It contrasts with the simple way of doing what feels good and is easy.

Ed Welch: The Story of Wisdom

The Lord by wisdom established creation. God is a builder who assembles everything just perfectly. When we see wisdom, we see a result that is simply perfect.

There is a care and gentleness in God’s wise creativity. He is building a house for those he loves and he knows just how to build it.

Wisdom makes judgments – it evaluates and assesses things. In creation God judges creation to be Good.

Wisdom characterizes God’s household. As the King He displays wisdom through right counsel and right judgments. It is loving and communicates the care the King has for His subjects.

Wisdom provides boundaries as to what is right and good and life-giving, and what is dangerous and deadly. And always wrapped in gentleness and love.

To walk wisely we must attend continually to the voice of Wisdom. The way of life and the way of death are ever before us.

In the wilderness, God speaks His law to teach His people the way of wisdom. Deut. 30:15ff

Moses speaks of the fear of the Lord (Deut. 4) Wisdom follows God’s people through the wilderness and works to build a house where wisdom displays love again.

In wisdom literature the kings again speak wisdom and teach its ways to subjects. The way of life and the way of death are clearly shown. Solomon gets a do-over of creation. (1 Kings 3). And so wisdom becomes adorned in loveliness.

Wisdom literature is characterized by a desire to capture the attention of those loved by the wise counselor.

Wisdom looks at what is coming and where the path is leading and points out the dangers on the path. Wisdom discerns the pig on which the gold ring is fastened…

Wisdom understands that while we have not acted on our wrong desires, but in our hearts we are murderous and adulterous. Wisdom discerns that some things are better than others. It discriminates between good, better, and best. 1 Cor 13 – tongues and prophecies are good, but love is still more excellent. The best is worship and glorification of God. Communion with God is best – wisdom helps us recalibrate our loves so that they are ultimately oriented towards God, not towards creation.

Jesus points us to the blessings of wisdom (Matt 5). He teaches us the way the Father thinks. We must discern well our own hearts before we can see others rightly. Wisdom begins by understanding God’s supremacy and my inadequacy, fallenness, blindness, crooked thoughts, broken mind, bent desires…

Psalm 1 contrasts the way of the righteous with the way of the wicked. Psalm 2 announces the wise Son – Jesus! Jesus in the Psalms is the wise king who blesses his people, the priest on the order of Melchizedek, the prophet who proclaims God rightly. The end of wisdom is the praise of God (psalm 150)

In Jesus, God is building *us* into a wise house where the Father is rightly worshipped and praised.

Wisdom doesn’t take a break in self-interest or grow weary of doing good. Wisdom takes every opportunity to teach, and continually learns and seeks opportunities to grow. Wisdom is alert to the details.

By wisdom the Father beautifies us as He makes us more and more like Himself.