These posts are tagged as “I die daily devotionals”, and if we are not experiencing what that means I’ve then neglected my responsibility and incorporated an alternative agenda that is not the gospel.
Today’s chapter 8 of Proverbs is rewarding when we develop our relationship to the active work of wisdom in our souls upon believing the gospel.
“What is the gospel?”
The good news of the gospel is an experience of faith that is a conviction; Jesus teaches us about what we will experience as believers in the gospel according to John; John is explaining the promise and purpose of the Holy Spirit that lives in us actively in chapter 16:
5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
That text is small, I know, I’m sorry; I just wanted to provide this entire section, but the keys verses are: “8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.“—concerning sin, righteousness, and judgement because the love of the world is distinct from the love of God.
“Why does wisdom call and understanding lift up her voice?”
God loves us in a way of discipline; like a father and mother raising their brows to communicate specific information to a misbehaving child; we now experience the knowledge of good and evil as a consequence for eating that fruit in disobedience, but check this out!
19 “My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than choicest silver.
20 “I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.
Our heavenly Father disciplines us in a way that reveals the meaning of love that this world will not understand unless it believes and trusts’ in Jesus Christ.
When the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was eaten in disobedience, it can be understood—from a metaphorical perspective—that God looked at us with eyebrows raised at the children He loves because of the severity of what happens when we sin; the expression of a father and mother raising their eyebrows in that context is actually blessing (Adam and Eve) us with the fruit of wisdom even though it feels painful during that discipline (eyebrows raised, swatted on the rear); the blessing is knowledge about our relationship to God when we experience how we displease a heavenly Father by disbelieving His love for us.
“O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom.”
It seems contradictory in nature when we equate the discipline of this world with the discipline of a Holy God; the world experiences pain and suffering, and says, “God can’t be real, because if God were; this knowledge wouldn’t exist” even though we ate the fruit of it in two different circumstances; the wife of Adam ate it because she was deceived and fell into transgression whereas Adam ate it because he chose to (1 Tim 2:14).
However, that begs the question.
“Why did Adam eat that fruit?”
6 “Listen, for I will speak noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.
7 “For my mouth will utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.
9 “They are all straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.
What happened to the man and woman after God said that it wasn’t good for the man to be alone—God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and created out of his rib something that the man would call, “Woman” (Gen 2:18-25). Does anyone find it a coincidence that the marriage of Adam and Eve (also called “the mother of all the living” Gen 3:20) brought about the greatest blessing of all eternity—the birth of Jesus Christ? (The Son of Man! The Son of God!). But how did this come about? Well why does a man and woman choose to be joined in marriage?
LOVE
10 “Take my instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.
11 “For wisdom is better than jewels;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.
There is nothing that compares to love when experienced in the design and nature of God’s good pleasure, because of it; produces…
LIFE
I don’t know about you, but no amount of silver or gold will change my faith about this wisdom we have in Jesus Christ!
12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And I find knowledge and discretion.
13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverted mouth, I hate.
14 “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, power is mine.
15 “By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 “By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
17 “I love those who love me;
And those who diligently seek me will find me.
18 “Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.
This life and love we experience are a lie when accepting the reality of life and love in Jesus Christ; Jesus was born through faith by love that was established before the beginning of Adam and Eve.
22 “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23 “From everlasting I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
24 “When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 “Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;
26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
“Does wisdom not call?”
32 “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways.
33 “Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
35 “For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the LORD.
36 “But he who sins against me injures himself;
All those who hate me love death.”
"NOT WITH INK" 