Personification is a literary device whereby writers attempt to help readers understand a concept (like wisdom) by portraying it as a person. Wisdom is "personified" from beginning to end of chapter 8.
As I read this chapter I found myself thinking that "wisdom" in vv1-21 could easily be God the Father (except, of course, that 'wisdom' is referred to in the feminine sense). And in vv22-36 "wisdom" sounds a lot like Jesus. I guess that makes sense, because the Father and the Son (along with the Spirit) are the source of perfect wisdom. If you want to know what wisdom "looks like" look no further than God.
The last two verses are a great summary of the result of finding both wisdom and Jesus.
For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the Lord.
But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death.
God will bless your search for wisdom when you seek it in Jesus,
Pastor David
Vs. 13 stood out for me here. God says wwe should "hate" pride, arrogance, and perverted speech if we fear the Lord.
ReplyDeleteI take "fear" in this case to mean respect and hold faithful to God's wishes. Doing so would certainly eliminate a lot of problems we humans tend to make for ourselves.