The Lord Jesus on several occasions told both His disciples and His enemies that He was the primary subject matter of the Old Testament (Jn. 5:39, 46; Lk. 24:27, 44). Therefore, as we approach the Old Testament Scriptures, we need to be looking for the Lord Jesus in both prophecy and picture (type). Sadly, much modern scholarship seems to have overlooked this principal.
Recently, while studying Proverbs 8, I was disappointed to see in two recent conservative evangelical commentaries, a denial that this passage speaks of the Lord Jesus.
All the older evangelical commentaries affirm this. For example, A. M. Hodgkin writes, “We cannot doubt that the wisdom of Proverbs is identical with the incarnate Word of the New Testament.”
Christ is in all the Scriptures. When studying the Word, we must constantly remind ourselves that the Divine author of the book, the Spirit of God, loves to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:21; Jn. 15:26).
Proverbs 8 is clearly Wisdom personified, but of whom does it speak? In 1 Corinthians 1:24 we read of “Christ, the wisdom of God.” Again in Colossians 2:3, speaking of our Lord Jesus, we read “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” As we look briefly at Proverbs 8, let “looking unto Jesus” be our principle of interpretation.
Before we look at the evidence that this speaks of the Lord Jesus, there is a minor difficulty to overcome and that is that Wisdom personified in Proverbs 8 is spoken of in the feminine. For example, “She standeth in the top of the high places” (v. 2). How are we to deal with this? The Hebrew language has only two genders, masculine and feminine, so grammatically speaking there are no “its” in the language. As a rule, concepts such as righteousness, wickedness, love, truth and law are feminine. Wisdom fits into that category and appears as “she” in this chapter.
Wisdom’s Cry (vv. 1-5)
In Proverbs 7, we read of the harlot going out into the streets to seduce a young man. Here in chapter 8, Wisdom is also gone out into the highways and byways, calling to the simple and the fool alike. We have contradictory messages in the public arena and both are vying for the affections of men.
In John 7:37, we find Christ, the wisdom of God, calling to the sons of men, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink!”
Today, the public arena is still the scene of competing voices. Men must make a choice. And as we shall see, there are far-reaching consequences to the choice which he makes. Let us not forget our responsibility to confront men in the streets and public places with their great need to choose Christ! Evil seeks daily to entice them and the stakes are high.
Wisdom’s Speech (vv. 6-9)
Again in contrast to the deceitful words of the harlot, Wisdom personified speaks excellent things, right things, the truth that wickedness is an abomination to his lips. Surely this speaks of the One whose enemies had to conclude, “Never man spake like this Man” (Jn. 7:46). His disciples, too, declared that there was something wonderful about His words. Statements like: “Thou hast the words of eternal life” and “neither was guile found in His mouth” and “did not our heart burn within us as He talked with us by the way” indicate that “all the words of His mouth are in righteousness.” Do we love to listen to His voice? Are we availing ourselves daily of the vast treasury of His words found in holy Scripture?
Wisdom’s Reward (vv. 10-21)
You are in the public places. You hear Wisdom’s speech and you respond to what you hear. What then? The clear implication is that you will never regret responding to the wonderful words of Wisdom personified and embracing Him. Great rewards accompany Wisdom. Contrasted with the items that are given great value in the world, we read that Wisdom is better than rubies (v. 11) and better than gold (v. 19). It is important to pay attention to the personal pronouns used in this section, I, me and my being particularly dominant.
The greatest reward is that Wisdom is a Person. “I love them that love me; and those who seek me early will find me” (v. 17). Getting to know this wonderful Person is a reward in and of itself (Jn. 17:3), especially knowing that such a wonderful person actually loves us!
Other rewards include such things as good counsel, sound judgment, leadership ability and moral strength to do what is right. In a world of confusion, these rewards bring stability and strength to those that embrace Wisdom.
Wisdom and the Creation (vv. 22-31)
In this passage, we see clearly the eternal Son of God in what Gaebelein calls “a great prelude to the incarnation.” Here Wisdom is represented as dwelling with God from all eternity. God, whom Scripture calls “the only wise God” (1 Tim. 1:17), never existed without the quality or attribute of Wisdom.
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1). What was their relationship like? Wisdom tells us: “I was daily His delight.” Who can read this without being reminded of Luke 3:22 where the Father breaks the silence of heaven and expresses once more His delight in the Son of His love? “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” or “in whom is all My delight.”
As well as being the delight of the Father, He was also co-creator. The niv renders Proverbs 8:30, “I was the craftsman at His side.” Again our minds go back to John 1:3, “All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.”
Perhaps the most staggering statement in this amazing passage is found in verse 31: “My delights were with the sons of men.” His delight was so great, that it caused Him to lay aside His glory and leave His eternal dwelling place to become a Man and redeem man by His death on the cross. Such was His delight in the sons of men!
Wisdom and the Consequences (vv. 32-36)
As the world is confronted in the highways and by-ways by Wisdom personified or Christ, the Wisdom of God, there are eternal consequences to the choice each individual makes concerning Him. Proverbs 8:35 says, “Whoso findeth me findeth life” or as the Apostle John later would put it, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”
In contrast verse 36 says, “He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.” Again let us allow John the apostle to clarify that statement: “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
For those of us that have responded to Wisdom’s cry and delight in His Words, the future looks bright. Sadly for many in our world, the future is bleak. Should we not then renew our efforts to take the message of Christ back to the public places? The harlots and purveyors of evil never seem to rest in their onslaught to capture the hearts of men with their deadly message. Is it not time to rise up and work?