Old Testament reading: Proverbs 7-9
Wisdom is calling; will anyone answer? Proverbs 8-9 extol the value of wisdom. Solomon informs his son that wisdom is not hiding herself from men. Rather, wisdom cries out from the hilltops and at the crossroads (8:2). Calling from the hilltops, wisdom announces her presence to all who will hear. At the crossroads, wisdom is waiting to join all who pass through the busy intersection. She sits in the gate of the city (as with the elders and respected men – cf Gen 19:1), crying out to all who enter therein (8:3). What follows through the end of chapter 9 are paragraphs detailing: the prosperity of wisdom (8:12-21); the divinity of wisdom (8:22-31), the promises of wisdom (8:32-36, 9:10-12); the path of wisdom (9:1-6). While we understand that wisdom must be pursued and practiced, we should not be deceived so as to think she is beyond the immediate grasp of any one us.
New Testament reading: 1 Corinthians 1-2
Could Paul be hired to be the preacher for the congregation where I attend? I think if most of us were honest, we’d have to answer in the negative. Aside from Paul’s direct (1 Cor 1:11-16) and sometimes personal (cf Phil 4:2) remarks, (remarks that would get many preachers fired today), 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 reminds us that Paul was not the polished orator we desire in our “front man.” By his own admission, he validated the accusations of his detractors as being weak in bodily presence and contemptible in his speech (2 Cor 10:10). Thus, he was neither flashy nor eloquent. The minds of many brethren today would be made up before Paul ever made it to the microphone to speak: “We don’t want someone like this representing us to the community.” Our desire, yea our demand, should be that every man who mounts the pulpit in our assemblies should “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet 4:11). May we ever give thanks to those men who hold up the word of God as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. Let us hold up the hands of those who stand behind the cross and plead as a dying man speaking to dying men.
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