In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is sometimes pictured as a person. She calls out for people to listen to what she says. The book is full of teachings that, if followed, will result in peace and life. We might say that wisdom cries out to us to live in such a way that we will experience the blessings of God. Wisdom is said to be shouting these things in the streets, in the busy courtyards, and in the gates of the cities (Prov 1:20-21). The abundant riches of her words can be experienced by all. All you have to do is listen and act upon what she says. She is not hiding her counsel.
But the person who does not listen will experience the opposite of peace and life. A “storm” will come that will destroy his life. Instead of peace and safety, he will experience “distress and anguish” (Prov 1:27, 33).
Proverbs makes it clear that this wisdom comes from God (Prov 1:7). His Word gives us wisdom by which we can live. In the book of Proverbs, the emphasis is on blessings in this life. But the OT also teaches that the life lived in obedience to God’s Word in this life will also be rewarded in the world to come (Hebrews 11).
When I read about wisdom calling out for people to listen in order to experience life and avoid destruction, I can’t help but think of Christ doing the same thing. His first sermon in the NT, which we call the Sermon on the Mount, is found in Matthew 5–7. Standing on a mountain, He too cries out for people to listen to His words. He tells those who hear Him that if they will take heed and act upon His words, they will be blessed (Matt 5:1-12).
His words can certainly result in blessings in this life. But His emphasis is on the world to come. Every believer will live with Him forever. But if the believer hears and obeys His teachings, he will also have great rewards in His eternal kingdom (5:12).
It is easy to compare the personification of wisdom in Proverbs with Christ at the end of His first sermon. As He stands on that mountain, He says that the one who hears His words and does them will be a wise man. The storm will come, but those who have listened and acted upon His words will have a house that will not be destroyed. The house refers to a person’s life. The one who does not listen and act will experience the destruction of his life’s work (Matt 7:24-27). He will lose eternal rewards.
Christ is the perfect personification of wisdom. He is the Word of God in the flesh. Even though an unbeliever can benefit from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus specifically directs His words of wisdom to believers. If you have believed in Him for eternal life, the Lord is calling out to you. You don’t have to search for wisdom as if it were hidden in a dark cave. His words are out in the open. Look and listen to Him. It is as if you are standing in the busy gate of an ancient city and He is in the middle of the courtyard calling to you.
From that same courtyard, the world calls out to you to listen to its counsel. It offers you immediate gratification of your desires and flesh. But the One Who is perfect wisdom offers true and eternal riches. A life built on His words will be blessed in this life and the world to come. We will be wise if we listen to His words.
