What was present with God when He formed the cosmos out of nothingness? You might say, “Angels?” “Air?” “Space aliens?” God tells us in Proverbs 8. It is Wisdom. Wisdom – “the ability to navigate life effectively” is speaking in Proverbs 8, saying, “I was there! “When God set the borders for the seas, I was there. When God established the sky above, I was there. When God laid the ocean depths, who was there? ME.” Wisdom is personified in order to say that just like God established order in the natural world, He has designed order in the moral, spiritual world. Wisdom is following the order.
Here is what I think it means. There is design and order in the natural world. There are laws of nature. Scientific laws, mathematical laws. If you jump off a 12 story building, the law of gravity works against your survival. If you took a rocket to Venus and take one big gulp of the Venutian air, you will get 96% Carbon Dioxide 4% nitrogen, and no oxygen. They say a change in climate is good for you, but probably not in this case. Your lungs would experience alienation. They are in an environment that does not fit their nature. There will be disintegration, breakdown, death. There is a physical order. You may try to balance your accounts with the determination that $2,000 plus $2,000 means you have $10,000 now. But, your $8,000 debit card purchase for a cruise will say otherwise. There are laws, rules, order in the natural world that God designed, from the very beginning. Go against them at your own peril.
But, God also embraced order In the moral, spiritual world. Wisdom is following His order. Folly is trying to beat that order and “do it your way”. The contrasting fruit between people living foolishly and wisely is clearly presented in the Book of Proverbs. You can go against God’s order and act like your own god. We all do it. We act like fools. But, the more we do so, the more we experience how toxic it is to breathe Venutian air. We were designed to thrive living God’s way for us. Anything else is poison.
For some of you, God is saying, “This is the problem. It is actually the seat of all your problems! Your folly in living according to your rules and understanding, fights your very design.” The beauty is that God has a quick escape route from Folly’s path. You can “repent”. Change your mind about what you have been doing, agree with God’s mind and confess it for what it is. Sinful rebellion born our of pride. Wisdom has been calling out to people in every generation of history. Maybe it is calling to you today.