“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. “Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it.    Proverbs 8:32-33

After wisdom has spoken to us about all that God has done and how wisdom has not only watched creation, but God created manifesting that very wisdom in all that He made - now God makes an appeal that we walk by wisdom.  Since we have compared God's wisdom to the thinking and mindset involved in evolutionary therory - we will once again compare the way this worldview and philosophy compares to that of God's wisdom as well in the conclusions we come to at the end of this chapter of Proverbs. 

Wisdom offers an exhortation, through the father, to his sons.  Just a quick hit here, dads.  It matters what you believe about origins.  It matters what you teach your sons - and it matters what philosophy they wind up seeing life through as they live their lives.  If you have the wrong view of origins - you will wind up with a philosophy of life founded on false precepts.  This in turn will lead you and your sons to make bad decisions in life.  Wisdom says through the father that the ones who keep the ways of wisdom will be blessed.  They will have a wise foundation which in turn will lead to a blessed way of life. 

God tells us that this world is NOT an accident.  It is His creation – and it functions according to laws that He has set in place.  He then revealed Himself to His creation and gave them His Word.  This revelation of Himself gives us the purpose for which we are to live – and very specific morals which we are to embrace.  We are made for God’s glory – and His pleasure.  Therefore we have a very strong purpose in life.  We know that the answers are going to be found in God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible.  We know that we are made for God’s glory – and that when we live for His glory our lives will be filled with meaning and purpose.  That is why God can say to us that we need to listen to Wisdom – heed God’s instruction – and keep God’s ways.  When we do – we will be blessed.

The other option is that of evolutionary theory.  The enlightened ones in the scientific area who hold to this view get very offended when we press them on the ramifications of what this view means philosophically.  They want to tout their superior education which has brought us such so-called scientific enlightenment on matters concerning the origin of the earth and space.  The problem is that their pseudo-science makes for horrible philosophy and absolutely no reason to live.  Let’s explore why this is so.

One’s origin matters – because it tells us much about what purpose there is for that person.  Purposeful origin means a life filled with purpose.  But an origin that is chalked up to pure accident and utterly random chances does not make for a pleasant ride when it comes to a philosophy of life.  The reason Christianity has morals and purposes is because God, Who created us, gave them to us in His revelation of Himself (which also contains the revelation of our origin – which is Him).  But what purpose is there for a being – or a world – that happened due to completely random chance?  Actually, there is no meaning or purpose in such a situation.  Philosophically – you wind up with Nilhism – if you are going to be philosophically honest.  If you try to account for some moral code – or some purpose in that world – you are fudging.  There are no morals in a purely Darwinian world.  There is no purpose for a purely Darwinian world.  You are left with no reason for existing – no reason for living – and no basis upon which to conclude that a moral code exists.  You are left with the survival of the fittest.  You are left with a motivation for pure survivalism.  Therefore whatever will make for the survival of your species – DO IT!  If a race or a group is in danger of polluting the gene pool – exterminate it.  To leave it in tact makes no sense whatsoever if you are wanting to advance the evolution of your species.  Therefore – according to evolutionary thinking and the honest philosophy that comes out of it – Hitler was doing the world a favor in exterminating the Jews – especially if, as he said, they were an inferior race.  Any kind of code by which someone should live, that goes against the ultimate survival and advance of your genetics to the next level – should be soundly rejected.  This is HONEST philosophy according to an evolutionary view of origins – and it really ticks off the evolutionist to face it.  But the truth is the truth.

This is why issues about our origin are important.  They can determine how we live – and whether we have any meaning or purpose as we do.  To ignore these things is to ignore the happiness that can be ours when we know the truth.  Our other option is to admit that there is NO truth – at least upon which to build a worldview and its subsequent moral code by which one lives.  There is only random emptiness and a dark void where things like meaning and purpose are not only rejected – they just do not exist.  

Prepare plans by consultation, And make war by wise guidance. Proverbs 20:18

Some think that living a godly life means relying on the Holy Spirit to the point where you make no plans at all - you are simply led by the Spirit to do whatever is next on the Spirit's agenda.  But, as with all extreme positions, this runs contrary to the whole counself of Scripture and what God has to say about planning.  Here we have a verse in Proverbs that promotes planning - but not from a fleshly standpoint - but rather from one that urges us to be wise and to consult with others as we make plans.

Planning can be a blessing or a curse.  What is key in determining which you are going to experience is your attitude and desire in what you plan.  The word "prepare" means to establish, set up something, to be firm, or to prepare.  It has the idea of being steadfast in a direction or being founded.  The idea here is that our lives are not to be flighty, but truly focused and set in a clear direction based upon Scripture.  The word "plans" gives us even a more clear direction and understanding of the idea of planning here.  The Hebrew word here is "mahashabah" which means a purpose, a thought or an intention.  This gives us an interesting line of thought - which is this . . . God wants us to think.  He wants us to think about our lives - to consider things - to take the time to reason biblically about the purpose for which we are doing things and the intent behind them.  When you consider planning from this perspective it takes on a whole new mindset.  Godly planning would involve prayer - consulting with God and with the Scriptures about the plans that are being made. 

The last word that is used in the first part of this passage is "consultation."  This is the Hebrew word "esah" which means to get advice, discernment from others, or to seek out the judgments of others.  This means seeking out advice, counsel, and not just relying on how you think about a matter when making plans.  Finding wise men and women who can help you grasp not only Scripture, but also good biblical sense is so important when making plans.  But too often the one thing we forget when reading a passage like this is that we ned to consult with God in prayer.  Without this important step, we will most likely make unwise plans.

The second half of this passage is interesting in that it tells us that we should "make war by wise guidance."  When I read this I see two things that immediately impress themsevles on my mind.  First is a physical reality - war in the physical realm.  Adam Clarke made a marvelous comment on this when he said, "Most of the wars that are undertaken are wars of injustice, ambition, aggrandizement, and caprice, which can have had no previous good counsel."  James 4 counsels us that the reason for the wars and conflicts among us are too often nothing more than a desire to get when we cannot get what we want through godly means.  This is why a war should never be entered into without wise counsel.

The second meaning I see here has to do with spiritual warfare - its reality and its engagement.  When we engage in doing God's will - even to the point of planning and setting a purpose in doing what God wants - we need to understand that we are going to face spiritual warfare.  The evil one is not going to sit still when believers are planning an attack against his kingdom and his territory.  That is why we need to make war - spiritual war - with wise guidance.  Our enemy, the devil, is a wiley foe.  He will oppose us openly as we preach the gospel, seek the salvation of the lost, and labor to see disciples of Jesus Christ raised up and eventually sent out to do additional damage to his interests.  That is why we need wise consultation with God.  We need to know we are doing His will, acting according to His Word, and are laboring and fighting by His Spirit.  When we do this we are sure to prevail and to bring glory to God.

Planning is not an ungodly thing.  Instead it is an opportunity to draw near to God - draw near to other wise saints who know Him - and to set our hearts and purposes according to His heart and purpose.  Rather than be a trip into selfishness and self-driven goals and 5 year plans - it is to be a time to engage with God Himself and with His most precious people who seek His face.  This can be even a time of reviving and realigning ourselves with Him - His purposes and plans - and even His power as we come into agreement with what He wants done and how He wants to accomplish it.

I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. Proverbs 8:17

One of the most disheartening things to me about the beliefs of the agnostic - is that although they believe there might be a God - they do not believe that He can be known.  The deist also has a sad belief that although there is a God who is great enough to make this world, all He did was wind it up.  They believe that He is letting it wind down - and principles for living in it can be known - but as for any kind of personal apsect to God, it does not exist.  How thankful I am that these misrepresentations of God are wholly inadequate in describing Him.  He has revealed Himself - can be known - and delights in those who diligently seek for Him.  For those who do - He has wonderful promises, not just of information, but a personal contact with Him - and emotional ties that He will initiate as well.

God is revealing Himself personified as Wisdom in this entire chapter.  After thrilling us with all the things that Wisdom is to us - God makes a wonderful promise.  He says that those who love Him - who love His wisdom - He Himself will love as well.  What a glorious promise is ours when we love the wisdom of God.  We will not only receive that very wisdom - information that will bless us infinitely - but we will receive the love of the One Who holds all that wisdom and makes it known to us.  This is no impersonal god whose goal is the communication of ideals and principles for living.  This is God, Who in giving us such things, delights that what He is giving us is Himself.  His glorious grace is that He gives us Himself.  This is so vital for us to grasp in our search for wisdom.  Wisdom is seeking not just information for wise choices - but seeking the One who not only gives the information, He gives Himself and all His power so that such principles can be lived out fully.  Our desire for wisdom will grant us those very principles - but they come with a Person - God Hismelf who will teach us and change us in the process.  Can there be anything more marvelous and wonderful!?

The second promise is those who diligently seek Wisdom will find Him.  Please do not think that a strange thing to say.  Wisdom is a person - the Lord Jesus Christ who is put within us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  If you think otherwise, you are not fully grasping the message of the gospel - and of the Scriptures.  We read in 1 Corinthians 1:30 that Christ Jesus became to us wisdom from God.  Earlier in verse 24 we read that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  That may blow some people's minds.  If we are pursuing wisdom - we are pursuing Christ in the end.  He is the ultimate wisdom that God had to share with us.  Jesus Christ is God incarnate - therefore His entire life was wisdom and understanding to us.  What we find in the book of Proverbs in principle and statement - we will find in Him lived out in every day experience. 

God has called us to a glorious pursuit.  That pursuit will always lead us to the person of Christ.  It will lead us to knowing and learning and loving Him.  The pursuit of wisdom in the end is not a pursuit of something - it is a pursuit of Somone - Jesus Christ.  The Love loves those who passionately enter into and continue in that pursuit.  What He promises is that when we run that race we can run knowing that His grace and mercy will enable us to win - and the prize that we will is a glorious and fulfilling relationship with His Son - and the life that comes from knowing and following Him.  Oh, precious one - make that pursuit the one goal of your life.  

He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who pursues worthless things lacks sense. Proverbs 12:11

I find it interesting that one of the phrases that I hear often is, "Don't work too hard."  There are some out there who do struggle with the problem of working all the time - but over the past 49 years of my life, I think my problem is not working too hard.  My problem is that I get distracted and lazy - and don't attend to the things that really matter in my life - and in my work.

The proverb today uses an agricultural setting to help us understand the value and the blessing of working hard.  "He who tills his land will have plenty of bread."  If a man works hard at plowing the ground and planting a crop - he will have plenty of grain to harvest and make into bread.  God intended for us to work in life.  We need to remember that work is not a part of the curse.  God had Adam till and work in the garden before the fall.  What the fall did was make it to where we would have to work harder.  The ground, which formerly grew wonderfully without weeds, was now going to yield the crops we need by the sweat of our brow.  It is going to require not just tilling and planting - but also weeding.  This was an activity that was unnecessary prior to the fall.  This being said, there is a promise here that if we work hard tilling and planting the land - we will have a harvest sufficient to provide plenty of bread for our family. 

There is something that is good about work.  The more I am idle - the more my mind and my heart have time to think of things that will get me into trouble.  The saying that an idle mind is the devil's workshop is for the most part true.  That is why God wants us to work - and I truly believe He wants us to work hard. 

The second half of this proverb warns us that the one who pursues worthless things lacks sense.  What this is warning against is the wandering mind, and the earthly lifestyle.  This man is pursuing worthless things.  Worthless is the word "reya" which means something that is empty, worthless, or vain.  It indicates something that has nothing in it - it is utterly empty.  The unwise man is pursuing emptiness.  He is chasing after things that do not matter - and will not matter in eternity.  This man, according to Solomon, lacks sense.  He is as void in his thinking as he is in his pursuit of these empty pursuits.  What he wants and chases after is not worth having.  He will open what to him is his treasure chest one day and find that it is filled with things that are void of any value whatsoever.  As Solomon says in Ecclesiastes - he has chased after vanity and wind.

Here is where we need to consider Ecclesiastes to give us the proper perspective on things.  Solomon was arguably one of the richest men to ever live on this planet.  Yet at the end of his life, when he wrote Ecclesiastes, he said that all the riches and wealth and opulence was empty, meaningless - a chasing after the wind.  He looked at all the money and things he had and came to the conclusion that they were all vain.  He looked at all the women he had sexual relations with and concluded that his pursuit of pleasure was all vain.  He looked at all the authority and position he had enjoyed - and came to the realization that it too was vain.  It is not that these things were evil in and of themselves (unless Scripture forbade his actions).  It was that when he pursued these things he was pursuing emptiness - trying to catch wind in his hands. 

There is also the ones in today's society (and every society) that pursue vain things in the entertainments and amusements of our day.  We have millions of children and adults who pursue the high score or the next level on their video games like it was the most important thing in life.  We not only have people overindulged in sports - but now have fantasy sports leagues where we follow the ones actually playing in a make believe world of a fantasy league.  Some lose themselves in virtual worlds on the computer - others now lose themselves in virtual computer pursuits on their iTouch or smart phone.  Regardless of how we are doing it - we are wasting our lives in pursuit of worthless things.  On the day when we are ultimately judged for the "tilling and planting of our very lives" we may unfortunately find that these pursuits were the height of foolishness.  We may come to grasp that we have lacked the bread of life and as a result have suffered from spiritual famine most of our lives. 

May God gives us wisdom to learn now that what matters is working hard for the things that matter.  What will matter is how we have redeemed the time in providing for our families - loving our spouses and our children - and working in the eternal fields of God's kingdom.  If we do, we will have plenty of bread - even the bread that lasts forever.  If we do not, we will have the terrifying specter of learning that we have spent our lives chasing after wind.