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2. “Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?” (Proverbs 8:1)

3. Why is wisdom trustworthy? Proverbs 8:1-21 1.My mouth will speak truth (v. 7) 2.All the words of my mouth are with righteousness (v. 8) 3.My words are all plain and right (v. 9) 4.I dwell with prudence and science (v. 12) 5.Counsel and understanding is mine (v. 14) 6.The earth is judged by me (v. 15-16) 7.Righteousness is with me (v. 18) 8.I traverse the way of righteousness and justice (v. 20) Wisdom is the truth; the absolute truth we can only find in Jesus (John 14:6). “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” (Proverbs 8:17) “Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?” (Proverbs 8:1) Those who hear the cry of wisdom will find Jesus.

4. “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth.” (Proverbs 8:22-23) Father, Son and Holy Spirit designed and created this world with wisdom. Because wisdom is part of God’s own nature. In Proverbs 8:22-29, wisdom is linked to the abyss, the fountains, the mountains, the hills, the fields, the dust, the clouds, the fountains of the deep, the sea and the foundations of the earth. We cannot create any of those things by ourselves. In like manner we cannot get wisdom if God doesn’t give it. God possessed wisdom “at the beginning”, “before there was an earth”; before the “beginning” in Genesis 1:1.

5. How is wisdom’s joy related to the Creation week? “Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.” (Proverbs 8:30-31) Days 1 to 5 “I was daily His delight.” “And God saw that it was good.” Day 6 “Rejoicing in His inhabited world.” “Then God saw that… it was very good.” Day 7 “My delight was with the sons of men.” “and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” God rejoiced in His Creation. That joy increased until man was created. He fully rejoiced when He enjoyed the first Sabbath in communion with Adam and Eve.

6. “…blessed are those who keep my ways… Blessed is the man who listens to me… For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 8:32, 34, 35) Those blessings lead us to the source of true wisdom; the Word of God. “But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” (Luke 11:28) “The Bible presents to our view the unsearchable riches and immortal treasures of heaven. Man’s strongest impulse urges him to seek his own happiness, and the Bible recognizes this desire and shows us that all heaven will unite with man in his efforts to gain true happiness.” E.G.W. (God’s Amazing Grace, December 21)

7. WISDOM She is efficient (9:1-3) She makes food of life: sacrifices, bread and wine (9:2) She calls the simple so they get wisdom (9:4-6) FOLLY She is lazy (9:13-14) She makes food of sin: stolen water and bread that does not satisfy (9:17) She calls the simple to perdition (9:15-18) “Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.” (Proverbs 9:8)

8. “Those who regard it as brave and manly to treat the claims of God with indifference and contempt are thereby betraying their own folly and ignorance. While they boast their freedom and independence, they are really in bondage to sin and Satan. A clear conception of what God is and what He requires us to be will lead to wholesome humility. He who studies aright the Sacred Word will learn that human intellect is not omnipotent. He will learn that without the help which none but God can give, human strength and wisdom are but weakness and ignorance. He who is following the divine guidance has found the only true source of saving grace and real happiness, and has gained the power of imparting happiness to all around him.” E.G.W. (Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students; section 2, cp. 6; pg. 53)