Archive for September, 2009

3:13ff God’s Wisdom in Christ

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

The Good Shepherd rescuing a lost sheep.

The Good Shepherd rescuing a lost sheep.

Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding, for its merchandise is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain from it than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her: and happy is every one who retains her.

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, let not them depart from your eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: then they will be life to your soul, and grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely on your way, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid: instead, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.

As we uncover the secrets of the universe, and probe the workings of the human mind and body, we find an amazing richness of design. Whether on the grandest physical scale—the universe itself, or clusters of galaxies—or in the intricate workings of the smallest living cell, we find a wisdom which is almost incomprehensible.

We owe all of this to Christ. He is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), and by him and for him all things were made (Colossians 1:15). The Christians who founded modern science believed this, and thought that they were but thinking Christ’s thoughts after him in their researches and experiments.

The promises of this passage of Proverbs are fulfilled in Christ.

• Length of days — Christ promises eternal life to whoever believes in him (John 5:24).
• Honor — We are told that when Christ comes in his glory he will be ashamed of whoever is ashamed of him now (Luke 9:26).
• Riches — Christ became poor so that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
• Pleasantness — Christ’s yoke is easy, his burden is light (Matthew 11:30).
• Grace — grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

Solomon instructs us to keep wisdom. Jesus instructs us to keep his words, and likens the man who does so to one who plants his foundation on rock (Matthew 7:24-25).

Are we afraid? Jesus is our consolation. He is the shepherd who protects our sheepcote with his very life (John 10).

This passage in Proverbs 3 and another in Proverbs 8 foreshadow Christ wonderfully.

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27:17 Friendship Power

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

<em>The Inklings</em> by Humphrey Carpenter.

The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter.

Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

The Inklings were an informal group at Oxford University who gathered to talk, eat, share their work, and critique one another’s output. Several of them, such as Owen Barfield and Charles Williams, produced works of high value.

Among Christians, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis remain the best known. Tolkien credited Lewis with encouraging him to finish The Lord of the Rings; and without the influence of Tolkien, C. S. Lewis would probably never have become a Christian or written the Christian works which brought him such prominence. Iron had certainly sharpened iron.

Those who followed Jesus were also sharpened. Thus we are told in Acts 4:13ff that the Pharisees saw that Peter and John were uneducated men and marveled at their boldness. “And they realized they had been with Jesus.” This is a sharpening any of us can experience if we allow Christ’s Spirit to work in us.

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25:19 Not Trustworthy

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

William Bradford, from a statue at Plymouth.

William Bradford, from a statue at Plymouth.

Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

In his history of Plimoth Plantation, William Bradford tells about some English separatists [Christians wanting to separate from the Church of England] who attempted to escape persecution in England by going over to the Netherlands. A large company of them planned to sail from Lincolnshire, and hired a ship, making an agreement with its master to be ready on a certain day at an appointed place. After a long wait, with unexpected expense, because he did not show up when he was supposed to, they finally saw his ship appear. He took them aboard in the night. But when he got them and their goods on his boat, he betrayed them, having plotted earlier with officials to do so. The officers sent men to seize the poor refugees, forced them into open boats, and ransacked them, searching even their shirts for money, and pawing the women without regard to modesty. They then brought them ashore to jail them, and made them a spectacle to the crowds, which came flocking from all sides to see them.

I cannot find an instance in which Jesus placed confidence in any man during his time of trouble. On the contrary, we are told he did not trust himself to the people because he knew what was in their hearts.

Had he placed confidence in his disciples, he would have been sorely disappointed, because one betrayed him to the authorities, the rest fled from him when he was arrested, and his chief follower, Peter, denied even knowing him.

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3:19 God’s Creative Wisdom in Christ

Monday, September 7th, 2009

DNA design from the U.S. government's genome project.

DNA design from the U.S. government's genome project.

The Lord by wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding has established the heavens.

Gerald L. Schroeder, in The Hidden Face of God, discusses the wisdom scientists are finding as they dig into the hidden workings of biology (and other sciences). For example, a few strands of DNA, invisible to the eye, carry sufficient information that a complete human being, with all its different cells and capabilities, can form from their blueprint. Or consider our thinking process and the working of nerves which carry information to the brain, a system which is exquisitely simple on one level but extraordinarily complex on another, and certainly indicative of brilliant design to anyone without a closed mind.

I find intriguing Schroeder’s continual references to the wisdom of nature which reminds him of Old Testament wisdom references, including Proverbs 3:19—”With wisdom God founded the world.”

Paul teaches us that Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:22-24) and that it was through him and for him all things were created, visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16ff).

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22:29 Skillful Workers

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

Christopher Wren, mastermind, was asked to rebuild St. Paul's Cathedral.

Christopher Wren, mastermind, was asked to rebuild St. Paul's Cathedral.

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Rich and powerful people want the best. Not many White House invitations go out to obscure people. Business leaders, renowned stars, and meritorious teachers get them. In Great Britain, royal chaplains and medical consultants are not chosen at random, but from the prominent individuals in their field. Christopher Wren was asked to rebuild St. Paul’s Cathedral, not some farmer who threw up a sheep cote between breakfast and dinner.

Now Jesus’ business was the Father’s business—that is, showing holiness and testifying to the truth of God. As could be expected, this brought him to the attention of the powerful men of his day. We are told, for instance, that Herod wanted to see him, thinking John the Baptist had returned from the dead.

In the end, Herod got his wish. Jesus stood before this murderer. He also stood before the Jewish leaders and the more powerful Roman governor, Pilate. But Christ’s business was not of the kind worldly leaders ooh and ah over. Palestine’s power mongers did not solicit his services toward becoming better men, but derided and disposed of him.

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