Listening to Wisdom

April 18, 2010 0

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

In this prophetic Word the ultimate distinction is drawn between the nature and value of human versus divine thoughts, and the ways of man and God. And it is for this reason that no matter how much one might know about God, or suppose they know, the inventions of the human mind will always need to be checked against the Word of God. In fact, as Luther once remarked, “Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but—more frequently than not—struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.”

Duccio di Buoninsegna, "King Solomon" (1308-11)

The right manner of knowing God in Holy Scripture is put forward in an entirely different kind of way than that of ordinary human knowledge. While human knowledge looks to the world or the individual self for its grounding, true knowledge begins with “fear of the Lord.” Right at the beginning of the Proverbs of King Solomon, true knowledge, right understanding, and divine wisdom are taken out of the hands of man, and placed in the hands of their author. And God wills not to make us knowledgeable or intelligent in a worldly way, but rather to bring us into his own wisdom, to bring us out of the delusions wrought by the Fall, i.e. you will be like God, and know the difference between good and evil.

I urge you to take some time and read through the Proverbs. Memorize the ones that resonate with you, meditate on those that are puzzling or intriguing. The encouragement and strength of the wisdom of God will be more precious and life giving than nearly anything else you might do.

If you listen to audio on your computer or mp3 player, Learn out Loud is offering an audio rendition of Proverbs as their free resource of the month for April.