Wisdom Is There

“Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads — she takes her stand;
Beside the gates, in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals — she cries aloud” (Prov. 8:1-3).

This is a wonderful assertion.

The previous chapter, Proverbs 7, is all about the young fool who goes to meet the adulterous woman at twilight, as darkness is falling, on the street corner, in the market. She seizes him, kisses him, propositions him with promises of a good time with feasting and pleasure. And with her smooth words, she lures him to his death, as an ox goes to the slaughter.

And yet, Solomon continues here: Wasn’t Wisdom there all along? Wasn’t Wisdom calling at every moment, at every step of the way? Wasn’t she crying out in the street where he met the harlot? Wasn’t she there in the market next to him? Solomon says that wisdom is everywhere. She’s stationed everywhere. She’s crying aloud on the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads, beside the gates, in front of the city, and at the entrance of the portals. Wisdom is there.

There is no situation of life, no circumstance in which Wisdom is absent. She is there on the heights when you look out over your life, when you imagine what is coming, when you plan for the future. She is there beside the way, when you are on the way — on the way to school, on the way to work, on the way home. She is there on the way with you. She is at the crossroads. She is there when you must decide whether to marry him or not, whether to take that job offer or not, whether to stay or move, whether to speak up or not. She is at the crossroads with you.

But that is not all. She is also at the gates, where the judges sit, where justice is done, in the courts. She is there in politics. She is at the entrance of the city where the merchants gather to buy and sell and trade. She is there in commerce, in our economic transactions and decisions. She is there at the portals, where we meet new friends, new ideas, and she is there stationed to help us distinguish between the good and the bad, the helpful and the unhelpful. There is no new situation where Wisdom is not there with us.

Wisdom is there, always there because Jesus is always there. He is the one who promised to never leave us or forsake us. He is the Wisdom of God, and in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In Him we are not lacking anything. And He has given us His Spirit, the Spirit of comfort, the Spirit that leads us into all truth. Wisdom is always there, in every situation of life because Jesus and His Spirit are always there, stationed there, standing guard for us.

This makes Christians a bold people, unafraid, unmoved by the surprises of life, the disappointments of life, the mysteries of life, the unknowns of life. Every situation we walk into Wisdom is already there. She is already there waiting for us, ready for us to hear her. Even when you have made the wrong choice, walked down the wrong path, listened to the voice of the wrong woman, Wisdom is still there calling. Jesus was led like a lamb to the slaughter for all the fools who ignored Wisdom and went their own way. Jesus went down into Sheol to free all the captives. Jesus is still there all the time with His Spirit offering the wisdom of repentance, the wisdom of taking responsibility for your actions and choices, and the wisdom of hope for the future.

Do not say there is no way out. Do not say there is no good choice or there is nothing to be done. No, Wisdom is there. There is always a wise a choice, a good choice, the right choice in every situation. There is no temptation that has overtaken you except that which is common to man, and with the temptation God always makes a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. There is always a way of escape because Wisdom is always there. And Wisdom is always there because Jesus is always there.