Wednesday Bible Study: A deep dig into Proverbs XVIII

So I am going on past chapter seven- which is a fuller yet description of the fallen woman and her victims- and I want to start working on chapter eight and just why I believe Wisdom and the Holy Spirit are one and the same.  I want to do this as simple as I can- yeah, you've heard that before- and I'm going to start with one part that I've seen for a long time, and one thing that was just shown to me recently, and finish with one I just now (as I type) saw.


First, the number seven.  Seven is the symbol of God's completeness, and is shown in a lot of ways.  Take, for example, in Revelation:


Rev 4:2  At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 
Rev 4:3  And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 
Rev 4:4  Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 
Rev 4:5  From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God...


I don't believe that this means there are seven Holy Spirits in the sense we would think it; but symbolic that the Spirit is the COMPLETEMENT of God.  Because the lampstands also connect in Revelation 1 to the seven Churches, which weren't just physical churches in 100 AD or so, but ages of the Church down through to today.  Also, let us take one step ahead into Proverbs 9, since this whole soliloquy of the Spirit actually runs from 8:1 to 9:6:

Pro 9:1  Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. 


Now, what actually those seven pillars were, I wasn't sure.  Lots of people have lots of answers; but this week I am reading in James 3....

Jas 3:17  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 

In a lot of ways, I'm finding James to be the "Proverbs of the New Testament", and here is another reason- Wisdom's seven pillars:

Purity- Here's a clue on our track, the word for "first" here is a combination of an intensifier with "before all".  Wisdom/Spirit is the pre-existing purity of God, and that purity is the base pillar.

Peaceable- This word in the Greek is the same as in Rom. 12:18 and Heb. 12:14; both times there it was connected with the phrase, WITH ALL MEN.

Gentle- Two good examples come from the commentators;  one contrasts this with those who are overbearingly strict on the Law, saying,  “Wherein not strictness of legal right, but consideration for one another, is the rule of practice” (Vincent's word studies), while the other uses 1 Thes. 2:7 to compare the feeling meant to

1Th 2:7  But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 

Open To Reason- Apparently this is the ONLY NT use of this phrase, which Wesley describes as "not stubborn, sour, or morose. "  This is one I am constantly working on, when I hear a preacher say something that I don't right off agree with, because I don't grasp the concept, but with prayer I come to see what they mean.

Full of Mercy and good fruits- The first thing that comes to mind here is James 2 (big surprise there), as he talks about not judging on the basis of wealth, then connects that to his famous speech on Faith and Works, with this verse:

Jas 2:13  For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 

Impartial- Again, the only time in the NT, and 'very rare in classical Greek"; as I just mentioned, James was very clear on not 'dividing people up' (basic interpretation of the word) according to any of man's judgments.

Sincere- Other translations put it, "without hypocrisy".

Notice how, like many times in the Bible, the seven are like a stairway:  Sincerity going with purity, impartiality connecting with peaceability through that connector "with all men",  and mercy going with gentleness, and the openness to the Spirit's persuasion as the key block.  

The other thing I wanted to touch on in this message really solidified my thoughts on the Spirit/Wisdom connection.  And it starts with this verse:

Pro 8:23  Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 

That word, "set up" kind of sounds like Wisdom was something that was created by God, but let me show you two things:  One from the prophet Joel...

Joe 2:28  "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 

Joe 2:29  Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. 

And the other, the Strong's translation of "set up"...

A primitive root; to pour out, especially a libation, or to cast (metal)

Not made at all, but POURED OUT.  I am not authoritative here, you are free to make your own judgments.  But I don't think these things are put there out of 'coincidence'.