The Excellence of Wisdom

Proverbs 8

1 Does not wisdom cry out,
And understanding lift up her voice?
2 She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet.
3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the entrance of the doors:
4 "To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men."

18 Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold,
And my revenue than choice silver.
20 I traverse the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.

The Book of Proverbs captivates me. Proverbs is smack in the middle of the number one best selling book in all of human history, but every time I read it, I feel like I'm reading about how to do life for the first time. The wisdom found in Proverbs makes SO much sense, I'm like: "Why didn't I think of that?"

King Solomon, the author of the lion's share of what's written in Proverbs is one intriguing cat. He's remembered as the wisest King that ever lived. Fables and fiction about his life abound. The Bible esteems him as the wealthiest man to ever live with more personal assets of anyone that has preceded or followed. I wonder if that includes Bill Gates? I'd be interested to know.

He also had quite a reputation as a ladies' man. He was a playa (sorry for that). He had 300 wives and 700 concubines. That's 1000 ladies all to himself. He knew what it was like to be pursued by gold-diggers, one would surmise.

He was the king of bling (oops, I did it again). He covered everything with any surface area with gold.

He knew love and he knew money. So when he ascribes female attributes to wisdom; when he says wisdom pursues us, he's got my attention. When wealthy, insatiable Solomon says wisdom is more valuable than cash, I'm listening. He's definitely got credibility.

Here's what I know: when I sit down and read Proverbs, my soul is satisfied. I want to be identified with the words written in this book. I want to, somehow, graft each principle into my spiritual and emotional growth and then be known for wisdom.

What did you get out of your quiet time this morning?