Proverbs 8:27
I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Proverbs 8
Proverbs is the fourth book of wisdom written mostly by Solomon the son of King David. The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream early in his reign as king of Israel and told him to ask God for whatever he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern the nation of Israel. God then gave him “a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be” (1 Kings 3:5-12).
But in the book of Proverbs and particularly in chapter 8, Solomon talks about wisdom like it’s a person. And in fact it is a person. Jesus is wisdom. Now that concept may sound strange but we will discover that Solomon knew this and so did the apostles who wrote the New Testament.
Let’s jump back to Proverbs chapter 3. Solomon writes, “By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew” (Prov 3:19-20). God created the heavens and the earth through wisdom. Then speaking of wisdom, Proverbs 8 tells us, “he Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be” (vs. 22-23).
In the New Testament, John and Paul both write similar things about Jesus being there at creation. Paul writes, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Col 1:15). And John writes in his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3).
Thus, Jesus is wisdom. He was there from the beginning. He has always been and always will be as the eternal son of God. Solomon says of wisdom, “Before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep” (vs. 26-27).
God created the heavens and earth through the wisdom of his son Jesus. Paul continues in his letter to the Colossians, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:16-17).
And lastly, Jesus equates himself with wisdom. He said, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds” (Matt 11:19). You may have heard that saying or even said it yourself. But Jesus was actually calling himself wisdom there.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God… It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God” (1 Cor 1:24, 30). Jesus was the embodiment of wisdom. He is wisdom in the flesh.
Thus the only way to become wise is to know Jesus. To know Jesus is to know wisdom. More on that tomorrow!
Christ in the Old Testament 
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