Words to the ‘wise’

by Jonathan Krause

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Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth (Proverbs 8:25).

Read Proverbs 8:22–31

Okay, I have a confession to make.

I had no idea where to start with exploring this Bible reading with you. I had to go looking at Bible commentaries before I even knew that the writer, Solomon, was talking about wisdom. (That was a comfort for me, because each day I pray for three things – wisdom, patience and grace.)

Of course, once you start looking at things online these days, AI jumps in, thinking you need help. All these suggestions start popping up. And unless you do all your research, you don’t know whether what AI says is ‘true’ … or something designed to say what the algorithm says you want to hear … or, as the experts call it, an ‘AI hallucination’.

If that’s not bad enough, then you stumble into influencers. They have opinions about whatever they claim is their special area of expertise, and that your life will be all sorted out if you just take the time to listen to what they’ve got to say. (And buy the products they’re paid to promote.)

You and I both know that none of that is wisdom.

So, where does the wisdom that Solomon talks about sit in the world we live in today? Wisdom that was there before the work of creation began. That was alongside God at the dawn of our time.

Yes, I’m sure AI, the influencers, the sceptics and the know-it-alls will have an opinion. I can guess what they’d say. Call it foolishness.

I went looking for the verse about the cross being foolishness to those who don’t believe and ran instead into 1 Corinthians 1:25: ‘For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.’

That’s the bottom line for me. The comfort of knowing God’s wisdom goes beyond anything the world’s smarty-pants can serve up.

The wisdom that Solomon describes is more than facts. Greater than knowledge. Beyond experience. Somehow, it’s all of those things, but filtered through understanding, tested across time, then distilled into truths that stand firm no matter what happens around them.

So, instead of relying on the ‘wise’ of this world, you and I trust in the wisdom of God, formed ‘Before the mountains had been shaped’. A much wiser thing to do.

Father, you know how little I know, how much I need to trust. Give me the wisdom to always place my faith in you. Amen.

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