Wisdom It is a Poser
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(note the gender in the following verses)
Proverbs 1:20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: 22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? 23 Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
Proverbs 4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.
Proverbs 7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.”
Proverbs 8:1 Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?
Proverbs 8:11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Proverbs 9:1 Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls
from the highest point of the city,“Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, 5“Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. 6 Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.”
Proverbs 3:19 By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place;
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.
John1:9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
I apologize for the many scriptures I have included here as well as those to come. I wanted you my readers to start on a theological theoretical thought journey with me. As I progress and start making my point, if you have not yet discovered it, I may offend some of you. Please don't be. This is just a contemplative exercise. Some of you may be aghast (I love that word) that a pastor and teacher of the Word would even suggest what I'm about to suggest or better said imply. Again please don't be. I welcome any and all calm, intelligent, well thought out comments supported by scripture, whether or not you agree or disagree with me. I can also assure you that I am not "pin dancing."
So here goes. Part of studying the Bible is understanding who the Biblical audiences and cultures were at the times it was written. I want that to be a part of the foundation of my discussion. You will understand why shortly.
We are taught in almost every Christian church, that God will meet us where we are. No matter where we are. If we accept that, then we further can state that it was also true for those to whom the Bible was originally written.
Psalm 55:God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change—
Psalm 102: In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. 27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change.
Hebrews 6:6 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.
Hebrews 13: 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Thus there is no argument for us who believe the Bible is true, that God's nature is permanent, absolute and unchanging and that God meets us where we are and works with us as who we are. I am going to refrain from all of the Bible quotes supporting this but if you doubt me on this concept, I will doubt you on your experience of reading the Bible. It is a major theme from Genesis to Revelation.
I think we would all agree that from ancient OT times to even today, our world has been a male dominated world. Now I propose that it was not meant to be like that or at least not like it had become. Perhaps both male and female were to play different but equal roles in the propagation of humankind. As we read in Gen 1:27 both were created in God's image. We know what happened in Genesis 3, the story of the fall of mankind. The plan was disrupted, death and sin entered the world and men and women were cursed. Granted, I believe that the male dominant hierarchy may have been part of the original plan but I would argue that subjugation and enslavement of females was not.
So God had to work with a very messed up creation, that in spite of its corruption, He still loved as a father loves his children. So He put His plan of redemption in motion in which He Himself chose to be the sacrifice to set us free. He came as a man into a man's world ruled physically, emotionally, and religiously by male concept, philosophy and understanding of culture. The entire world was and still is in that state of mind. He met us as we are and as who we are.
So, when we look at the proverbs, and I did not list all of them, we see wisdom being gendered as female and not male. (Don't get me wrong there are plenty of proverbs denouncing the wayward woman as well but that is for a different discussion. On the other hand, most of the fools mentioned in proverbs, again a lot, are gendered as male, and again for a different discussion.) This presents us with an unlooked for tension. In Proverbs 3:19, the Lord created the earth with wisdom and in John all things were created by and for and through Jesus Christ the Word and the third person of God, the son of God.
With all this stated and some dots connected, some interesting conclusions can be drawn. Chief of these is that while God has chosen to relate to us as a Father, a male, He does so because He desires to do so for our sake but in reality, He is either genderless or both genders. Another conclusion could be that had the corrupt world become female dominant across the board, Jesus Christ may have come to us as Jesina Christ. Still another conclusion could be that regardless of male or female domination, God is our Father, His Spirit, and His son Jesus Christ, all 3 persons presented to us as male, was His idea and not ours and it makes no difference what we think.
Enjoy ruminating on this or don't. We may not ever know the answer until we see Him face to face and even then...
(note the gender in the following verses)
Proverbs 4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.
Proverbs 7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.”
Proverbs 8:1 Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?
Proverbs 8:11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Proverbs 9:1 Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls
from the highest point of the city,“Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, 5“Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. 6 Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.”
Proverbs 3:19 By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place;
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.
John1:9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
I apologize for the many scriptures I have included here as well as those to come. I wanted you my readers to start on a theological theoretical thought journey with me. As I progress and start making my point, if you have not yet discovered it, I may offend some of you. Please don't be. This is just a contemplative exercise. Some of you may be aghast (I love that word) that a pastor and teacher of the Word would even suggest what I'm about to suggest or better said imply. Again please don't be. I welcome any and all calm, intelligent, well thought out comments supported by scripture, whether or not you agree or disagree with me. I can also assure you that I am not "pin dancing."
So here goes. Part of studying the Bible is understanding who the Biblical audiences and cultures were at the times it was written. I want that to be a part of the foundation of my discussion. You will understand why shortly.
We are taught in almost every Christian church, that God will meet us where we are. No matter where we are. If we accept that, then we further can state that it was also true for those to whom the Bible was originally written.
Psalm 55:God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change—
Psalm 102: In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. 27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change.
Hebrews 6:6 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.
Hebrews 13: 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Thus there is no argument for us who believe the Bible is true, that God's nature is permanent, absolute and unchanging and that God meets us where we are and works with us as who we are. I am going to refrain from all of the Bible quotes supporting this but if you doubt me on this concept, I will doubt you on your experience of reading the Bible. It is a major theme from Genesis to Revelation.
I think we would all agree that from ancient OT times to even today, our world has been a male dominated world. Now I propose that it was not meant to be like that or at least not like it had become. Perhaps both male and female were to play different but equal roles in the propagation of humankind. As we read in Gen 1:27 both were created in God's image. We know what happened in Genesis 3, the story of the fall of mankind. The plan was disrupted, death and sin entered the world and men and women were cursed. Granted, I believe that the male dominant hierarchy may have been part of the original plan but I would argue that subjugation and enslavement of females was not.
So God had to work with a very messed up creation, that in spite of its corruption, He still loved as a father loves his children. So He put His plan of redemption in motion in which He Himself chose to be the sacrifice to set us free. He came as a man into a man's world ruled physically, emotionally, and religiously by male concept, philosophy and understanding of culture. The entire world was and still is in that state of mind. He met us as we are and as who we are.
So, when we look at the proverbs, and I did not list all of them, we see wisdom being gendered as female and not male. (Don't get me wrong there are plenty of proverbs denouncing the wayward woman as well but that is for a different discussion. On the other hand, most of the fools mentioned in proverbs, again a lot, are gendered as male, and again for a different discussion.) This presents us with an unlooked for tension. In Proverbs 3:19, the Lord created the earth with wisdom and in John all things were created by and for and through Jesus Christ the Word and the third person of God, the son of God.
With all this stated and some dots connected, some interesting conclusions can be drawn. Chief of these is that while God has chosen to relate to us as a Father, a male, He does so because He desires to do so for our sake but in reality, He is either genderless or both genders. Another conclusion could be that had the corrupt world become female dominant across the board, Jesus Christ may have come to us as Jesina Christ. Still another conclusion could be that regardless of male or female domination, God is our Father, His Spirit, and His son Jesus Christ, all 3 persons presented to us as male, was His idea and not ours and it makes no difference what we think.
Enjoy ruminating on this or don't. We may not ever know the answer until we see Him face to face and even then...
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