Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding give forth her voice?
Proverbs 8 opens with a question that carries its own answer: wisdom is already calling, out in the open, where everyone passes. Two questions follow: whose voice is this, and why does she choose the busiest places in town?
Wisdom's call is the opposite of seduction. It hides nothing.
Here is no courting of the dark, no flattery of the careless, no smooth speech to seduce into foul deeds and forbidden indulgence. The wisdom which has its root in the fear of Jehovah is open and earnest with man… John the Baptist not only bore witness to Jesus, but "cried" (John 1:15). So did our Lord in the temple as He taught (John 7:28). He cried above all at the close of His rejected testimony (John 12:44), in urgent love.
Yet crying out was not His usual manner.
It was prophesied of the Lord Jesus that "He shall not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street". Yet when the occasion called for it, He would stand and cry, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37).
In this chapter, wisdom starts doing things only a person can do.
I admit that in the book of Proverbs the word wisdom usually means the right use of knowledge. But in this eighth chapter you notice that the word is applied to a person. Wisdom cries (v. 1); stands (v. 2); I cry, my voice (v. 4); I dwell (v. 12). Kings get authority from Wisdom (v. 15); Wisdom loves (v. 17); leads (v. 20); is possessed by Jehovah (v. 22); blesses the man who hears (v. 34).
Some readers stumble over the fact that Proverbs calls the speaker "she".
That the one who calls is female need not trouble us; whenever a female is used in the types it is to set out divine principles in their inward character. No honest mind taught of God can doubt that it is Christ who is set before us in this chapter. Some claim that we cannot apply abstract principles to Divine Persons, but Luke 11:49 clearly disproves this: "Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles." Here we have a divine Person speaking. So we can be sure that the voice which speaks as female here in Proverbs is the same voice which speaks in Luke 11. Divine wisdom has been made available to us in Christ, as we read, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who has been made to us wisdom from God" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Verses 2 and 3 place her where the roads split.
Travellers who want to go straight on their way come to crossroads where three ways open before them. Turn one way, and you fall victim to the "strange woman". Turn another, and the "foolish woman" traps you. But to go straight on means walking in fellowship with divine wisdom, whose voice calls to us right there. Whenever we reach a point in the history of our souls where the next step needs very careful thought, Wisdom is always there to instruct us.
The three positions she takes — gates, city entrance, doorways — are read as three areas of ordinary life. The last of them is the home.
Thirdly, Wisdom cries "at the coming in at the doors." Here the household is in view… Am I a wife? Then subjection ought to mark me towards my husband. Am I a husband? Then love should mark me towards my wife. Am I a father? Then grace ought to mark my dealings with my children. Am I a child? Then obedience to my parents should be my attitude… It is in keeping these things that the practical marks of the children of Wisdom come to light in the world.
Verse 4 names who this call reaches.
Though the message of wisdom is announced even where crowds gather, it is not addressed to the crowds in general. It is addressed to people one by one — "To you, O man, I call" — and to the sons of men. It presses the message home in a way that fastens on each one as personally responsible, even though simple or foolish (vv. 4-5).
And the ones singled out are the least promising hearers.
How often the Old Testament, like the New, reminds us of God's favour towards mankind! It is not with angels but with the human race that God pleads, that they may hear and live… So it is here when wisdom cries aloud. More than that, it pleads with the weak and the unwise.
Those who receive this wisdom do not keep it indoors.
God has seen fit to plant wisdom in the hearts of believers by faith… Believers therefore become messengers who carry the message of wisdom to the world. They carry it from the top of the high hills, or by the gates of entry into the city, where of course there are crowds of people.
- Calling openly. Wisdom uses no darkness and no flattery. She calls in the open, where anyone can hear.
- Calling as a Person. She cries, stands, loves, leads and blesses — actions that point past an abstract quality to Christ, made wisdom to us from God.
- Calling at the crossroads. She stands where the road divides, so her voice reaches us just as we must choose the next step.
- Calling each one. She calls in crowded places, but she speaks to one person at a time, and she reaches the simple and the foolish.
- Calling through hearers. Those who take this wisdom in carry it back out to the same gates and hills.
On the top of high places by the way, at the cross-paths she taketh her stand.
Proverbs 8 opens with Wisdom refusing to hide. Verse 2 marks her position: high ground, the roadside, the fork where a traveller must choose. Why does wisdom stand in the busiest and most decisive spot in life?
Wisdom does not wait for seekers to find her. She goes where the crowds already are.
Verses 2 and 3 show remarkably the character of this testimony. She meets man where he is. She lifts up her voice above the roar and confusion of man's restless activities in this world. She meets him in the crowd. She puts herself forward in the highway where everyone passes, to bring in the light of God and His claim on man for his good. She calls man's ear to hear. She calls him to think of something besides the pressure of his own will and the muddy stream of his passions and earthly hopes. The word was proclaimed on "the top of high places," in full view of men, in the crowded places where people gather.
A crossroads forces a choice. Three roads open there, and only one of them is wisdom's.
This is the voice we turn to: the voice of wisdom, who stands at the crossroads. The "strange woman" is on one side and the "foolish woman" on the other. Travellers who want to go straight on come to a crossroads where three ways open. Turn one way, and you fall victim to the "strange woman". Turn another way, and the "foolish woman" traps you. But go straight on, and you walk in fellowship with divine wisdom, whose voice calls to us just there. We reach points in our lives where the next step needs very careful thought. Wisdom is always there to instruct us. If we follow her instructions, we keep going straight on our way.
Wisdom's manner matches her open position.
Here is no courting of the dark, no flattery of the careless, no smooth speech to lure into foul deeds and forbidden pleasure. The wisdom which has its root in the fear of Jehovah is open and earnest with man.
Wisdom speaks here as "she." One writer shows from the New Testament who is really speaking.
That the one who calls is female need not trouble us. In the types, a female figure always sets out divine principles in their subjective character. No honest mind taught of God can have any doubt that it is Christ who is set before us in this chapter. Some claim that we cannot apply abstract principles to Divine Persons. Luke 11:49 clearly disproves that: "Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, I will send them prophets and apostles." Here a divine Person is speaking. So we can be sure that the voice which speaks in female character in our passage in Proverbs is the same voice which speaks in Luke 11. God has made divine wisdom available to us in Christ, as we read: "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Prophecy said the Lord would not raise His voice in the street. Yet He did stand and call out.
In the book of Proverbs, Wisdom lifts up her voice. "On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand" (Proverbs 8:2). It was prophesied of the Lord Jesus that "He will not cry aloud or lift up His voice, or make it heard in the street." Yet when the occasion required it, He would stand and cry, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37).
The One who calls at the crossroads is the One who ordered creation.
The One who ordered creation rightly did so for the pleasure of the Godhead. He presents to us that same wisdom, so that we might walk rightly in that creation for the pleasure of the Godhead.
- Stand — Wisdom takes her place in the crowd, above the roar of restless human activity.
- Crossroads — Three roads open where she stands: the strange woman one way, the foolish woman another, and straight on with wisdom.
- Open — No courting of the dark and no flattery; wisdom rooted in the fear of the Lord deals with people in the open.
- Christ — The voice is His. Luke 11:49 calls Him the Wisdom of God, and He became wisdom to us from God.
- Walk — The wisdom that ordered creation now guides your very next step.
Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud.
Proverbs 8 pictures wisdom out in the open, calling from the busiest parts of the city. Why does she choose the noisiest, most crowded spots in town? And whose voice is this?
These places are not scenery. Wisdom picks the spots where the crowds are thickest. One writer sees the whole character of her message in verses 2 and 3.
Verses 2 and 3 show the character of this testimony in a striking way. She meets man where he is. She lifts her voice above the roar and confusion of man's restless activity in this world. She meets him in the crowd and steps into the road he travels, to bring in the light of God and His claim on man for man's good. She calls man's ear to listen, and to think of something besides the push of his own will and the muddy stream of his passions and earthly hopes.
To us a city gate sounds like a wall with a door. In Israel it was where public business got done.
Gates protected a city, but "in the gate" was also where people settled many important matters. When Boaz wanted the question about Ruth and the inheritance settled, he went up to the gate. There he argued the case with a nearer relative, closed it, and had the elders witness it. To "sit in the gate" was a place of honour. It should have been the place of true judgement and justice, but was not always so.
So wisdom takes her stand where people settle their affairs, and where their justice so often fails.
Wisdom's way of speaking is the opposite of seduction. One commentator draws out the contrast.
There is no hiding in the dark here, no flattery of the careless, no smooth talk to lure people into foul deeds and forbidden pleasure. The wisdom that is rooted in the fear of Jehovah is open and earnest with man... John the Baptist did more than bear witness to Jesus; he "cried out" (John 1:15). So did our Lord in the temple as He taught (John 7:28). He did it again at the close of His rejected testimony (John 12:44), in love that would not give up.
One prophecy about Christ points the other way. Another writer holds the two together.
It was prophesied of the Lord Jesus that "He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street." Yet when the occasion called for it, He would stand and cry, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37).
The chapter speaks of wisdom as a woman, which puzzles some readers. One writer answers that, and names the Person behind the voice.
The fact that the speaker is a woman need not trouble us. Whenever Scripture uses a female figure this way, it is to show divine principles in their inward, personal character. No honest mind taught of God can doubt that this chapter sets Christ before us. Some say we cannot apply abstract principles to Divine Persons. Luke 11:49 disproves that: "Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles.'" Here we have a divine Person speaking... God has made divine wisdom available to us in Christ, as we read: "And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God" (1 Cor. 1:30).
Wisdom calls to whoever walks past, not to a select few.
How often the Old Testament, like the New, reminds us of God's favour to mankind! God pleads with the human race, not with angels, so that they may hear and live. "The life was the light of men." It is the same here when wisdom cries aloud: "To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the children of man." More than that, it pleads with the weak and the unwise.
- Cries — Wisdom does not wait for people to ask. She lifts her voice above the noise of restless human activity and steps into the path people already walk.
- Gates — She stands where a city did its business and judged its cases. It was a place of honour, and it often failed to give true justice.
- Openly — Wisdom works in daylight. No darkness, no flattery, no smooth talk: she is plain and earnest with people.
- Christ — The One crying here is a Person, not just a quality. God has made Him our wisdom, and He Himself stood and cried out in the temple.
- Everyone — The call goes to the human race, and reaches even the weak and the unwise, so that they may hear and live.