L. C. FOX-SMITH - 21/05/25: I read Proverbs 8 today. When I read the Proverbs this chapter stood out the most and it was nice to go back to it.
I’ve always been intrigued by stories of the muse and how if you show up daily in the same place, at the same time, ready to work, the muse will inspire your creations. A lot of writers have talked about the muse, and I like the poetic nature of it. Proverbs 8 reminds me a lot of this but takes the idea to a whole new level, especially in 8:34, ‘Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.’ I never thought of the muse as a real thing or anything supernatural but it’s interesting to note that the muse is described as feminine.
In Proverbs 8, God’s wisdom is personified as ‘Lady wisdom’. She gives us a choice that the Bible Project Video sums up so well, “Will I live by God’s wisdom and contribute order, beauty and justice to the world or am I going to live selfishly by my own wisdom and pull creation back into chaos from which it came?”
As well as the choice, we are told that listening, learning and living in Gods wisdom is much more rewarding than anything we can experience from this world. We’re invited to seek wisdom, draw on it and apply it to our lives. In doing so we will ‘obtain favour of the LORD.’ But if we choose to ignore her and live selfishly by our own wisdom, then things won’t end well for us. The end line states this so powerfully: ‘all they that hate me love death.’ That must be referring to the eternal separation from God?
I pray for God’s wisdom in my life so that I might contribute positively to the world rather than be seduced and corrupted by it.
What are you praying for today?