For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD. 

Proverbs 8:35

 

To find wisdom is to find life. Our text makes this categorical statement. Where shall we find this life-giving wisdom? According to Colossians 1 all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. Therefore if we find Christ, we find wisdom and thereby life. These pursuits are inseparable. The person who would have wisdom and the accompanying life will find them in Christ. Christ declared Himself as, ‘the way, the truth and the life.’ Therefore, if we are to gain all in one package Christ is that package. This is the favor of the Lord. To know Christ as Savior; to pursue the knowledge of Him daily; to understand more of Him; to begin, even in the smallest ways to see things from His perspective, is life. Christ said, ‘and this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’ We have been speaking much of knowledge and wisdom lately. Every discussion has brought us again to Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom. These things we so highly prize are bound together with Him.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have revealed Yourself to us. 
We praise You that as we come to know You, 
we find wisdom and life. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 

Proverbs 8:34 

Seeking Christ is a lifelong pursuit. He is such a vast storehouse of wisdom and knowledge we can never exhaust the resources in Him. Certainly our minds and hearts can barely comprehend a tiny fraction of the wealth He contains. Our text holds out the promise of blessedness for everyone who listens to Him. The remainder of the text depicts the daily pursuit of the wisdom that is in Him. It  involves a daily watching and waiting. Wherever we look for Him in the Scripture He is there. From the gateway of Genesis to the doors of the Gospels we behold Christ again and again. When we come to the close of Scripture, we behold the revelation of Him. The more we find Him, the better off we are. The more we contemplate Him, the more He gives us wisdom and knowledge to imitate Him. As we pursue Him throughout life we grow to be like Him until we see him face to face. This is a blessed life indeed. It is a life with the greatest purpose and ends in the highest good. To pursue Christ brings us to wisdom that surpasses every philosophy and all other purported revelations. Christ is all and the highest good.  

Great God of Wonders, 
we rejoice that You speak wisdom to our souls. 
We praise You that, as we listen to You, 
we continue to grow more deeply.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Now therefore, listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways. 

Proverbs 8:32 

Christ’s words lead us to blessedness. Our text is a statement from the mouth of wisdom personified. It is striking how these words sound so much like Christ. In Luke He remarks ‘But He said, more than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’ On the night before He went to the cross, He said to His disciples, ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.’ By this He indicated that His word abiding in us would have a positive effect on our praying. These and other references like them lead us to the conclusion that Chris’s words and wisdom’s words are practically synonymous. To follow wisdom’s words is to follow Christ’s words and vice versa. This is utterly consistent with the idea from Colossians that in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Therefore we hear the voice of Christ from the ancient page. It is entirely appropriate for us to do so because ‘to Him give all the prophets witness.’ We are not imposing on the ancient literature anything that is not implicitly there. Where wisdom is, Christ is. It is always worthwhile to seek Christ.  

Our gracious Savior and our God, 
we rejoice that You have spoken to us from ancient days. 
We praise You that you are still speaking to us 
through Your word and by Your Spirit.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.  

Proverbs 8:30-31 

Christ is the creator. The Scriptures attest to this on multiple occasions. John says, ‘All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.’ The writer of Hebrews declares of the Son, ‘through Whom He made the worlds.’ With those statements in mind we turn to our text which is part of a passage with multiple references to creation. We read in the previous verse, ‘When He marked out the foundations of the earth.’ Our text follows with, ‘Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman.’ Thus the language of Wisdom personified is the description of Christ. This is the longer version of the truth that in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. If we would understand our origins, we must look to Christ. If we would interpret the course of history, we must look to Christ. If we would understand the course of the world and where it must ultimately arrive, we must look to Christ. No one else can offer us this depth and breadth of understanding. Christ was there at the beginning. He will be there at the end. He is full of the wisdom we need to understand what has been, what is, and what will be.  

Our Gracious God and our Creator, 
we rejoice that You have made all there is. 
We praise You that You uphold it with the word of Your power. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning