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Proverbs 8 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
When I was in college, I reluctantly took a poetry class. It was difficult for me, but I actually managed to learn a few things. The Bible is chock-full of literary masterpieces. The artistic flair of each writer shines with creativity. I think sometimes we assume that the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible, and that is true to an extent. However, just like spiritual gifts today, the authors had to cooperate with the Spirit and use their natural ability to beautifully articulate God’s truth.
With that being said, what can we take from Proverbs 8?
“I was there when He established the heavens, when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, 28 when He placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out, 29 when He set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate His command, when He laid out the foundations of the earth. 30 I was a skilled craftsman beside Him. I was His delight every day, always rejoicing before Him.”
Proverbs 8:27-30 HCSB
Who is the “I” in this passage? We know that “He” is God because this excerpt speaks of the creation process. Many people have interpreted this passage to describe Jesus Christ. Is that true?
The literary style being used here is personification. It is assigning human-like, personal attributes to an inanimate object. We know this to be the case by studying Verse 12…
I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion.
Proverbs 8:12 HCSB
Reading it this way, we get a clear picture of wisdom. True wisdom is greater than gold or silver. It uses good judgment and hates pride, arrogance and a perverted mouth. Wisdom fears God and is something that is found when sought after. Wisdom existed with God, but it was uniquely given through the person of Jesus Christ.
“Wisdom had a beginning only in the sense that God singled it out for special display at that time; insofar as it is one of God’s perfections, it has always existed (v. Pro 8:23). These verses provide part of the background for the NT portrayal of Christ as the divine Word (Joh 1:1-3) and as the wisdom of God (1Co 1:24, 1Co 1:30; Col 2:3).”
Nelson’s Commentary
Wisdom is Jesus Christ!