Proverbs 8:1
|
Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
|
Personification. Attribution of personal form, nature, or characteristics; the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, as a rhetorical figure or species of metaphor.
Consider how we describe America's freedom as Lady Liberty or the material and animal earth as Mother Nature. Liberty is not really a lady, though we have the female form of the Statue of Liberty; and nature is not really a mother, thought we often call it such.
We see wisdom personified as a woman in the early parts of Proverbs (1:20-33; 2:4; 3:15-18; 4:5-13; 8:1-36; 9:1-5). Many spiritualize the woman and wisdom as the pre-incarnate Christ, or Wisdom of God. But the pre-incarnate Christ was Jehovah Himself, the Word of God. An eternally generated Son of God is profane speculation and heresy. The figure is a passionate woman pleading for young men to choose the life of wisdom.
In the first nine chapters, there is competition between the strange woman and the womanly wisdom. One seeks to seduce the young man by lust and fornication, and the other tries to save him by wisdom and discretion. As whores use public places to prey on men (7:11-12), so wisdom cries out in public places to be heard by all (8:2-4; 1:20-21).
Every young man has two women pursuing him (indirectly older men, girls, and women also). The question is, which woman will he love and follow to her house. One woman brings hell and death (2:18; 7:27; 9:18), the other favor and life (9:1-5; 4:13; 3:18).
Wisdom is not difficult to find and enjoy. She makes herself known and available by the revelation of God and work of His Spirit. She cries out to be heard. Why not embrace her as your own, dear reader? She will bring you great gladness and favor all of your life.
Wisdom is a quality God both has and gives. He has infinite wisdom (Rom 11:33-36), and He gives wisdom liberally to those who seek it (James 1:5; I Kings 3:12; 4:29-34).
Truly, Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, possesses all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3). Do you know Him? Do you love and serve Him?
Solomon wrote Proverbs with many figurative and poetic expressions, which gives it force and appeal, in addition to its wonderful content of wisdom for life. Here we meet the figure of speech called personification, where the abstract quality of wisdom is given the nature of a person. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the figure this way:
www.letgodbetrue.com
