Proverbs 8:28

How old is wisdom? How important is wisdom to God? How important should it be to you? These questions are answered in this proverb. The Creator God of heaven and earth had wisdom in the beginning, before He created the clouds in the sky and the fountains in the oceans. He used wisdom to create these things (Pr 3:19-20). You should love wisdom.

Proverbs 8 is a long personification of wisdom. King Solomon introduced Lady Wisdom and described her offer to men (Pr 8:1-11); he listed many of her benefits (Pr 8:12-21); he stated that God possessed wisdom before creating the world (Pr 8:22-31); and he repeated the offer of wisdom and warned of severe judgment on those refusing (Pr 8:32-36).

If the LORD Jehovah had wisdom in the beginning and used it to create the world, then surely it deserves your attention. You spend many hours, much effort, and lots of expense pursuing other things, why not wisdom? How many minutes and how much effort have you spent recently trying to acquire wisdom? It is time to get serious about your life.

God established the clouds above, and wisdom was with Him then. Do you grasp the wisdom of the water cycle and the many tons of water suspended in clouds? “He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them” (Job 26:8). “Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou” (Job 35:5).

“Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly. Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds?” (Job 36:26-29).

“Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” (Job 37:16). “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again” (Eccl 1:7).

“Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven?” (Job 38:34-38).

Consider a rainfall of 4 inches. This is 2.5 gallons per square foot, approaching 21 pounds in weight. For only an acre, this requires about 109,000 gallons; 905,000 pounds; or 452 tons of water. No wonder Job said, “He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them” (Job 26:8). God established the clouds above. Glory!

But what if the same rain falls on the average U.S. county, which is 800 square miles, or 512,000 square acres? Then the number of gallons becomes 56 billion! And the weight of that water is 463 billion pounds, or 232 million tons! If just clouds over your head can hold this kind of weight, then you need some of the wisdom God used in creating them.

God strengthened the fountains of the deep, which are ocean springs. If you did not know there are springs and fountains in the ocean, the Bible has said so for 3500 years (Pr 8:28; Job 38:16; Gen 8:2). It was only in 1977 that deep-sea geologists found hydrothermal vents in the earth’s crust blasting forth hot mineral water far below the surface.

God had wisdom in the beginning. He always had wisdom. He used His wisdom to create the heavens and the earth. How will you live the rest of your life? By the traditions of your parents? By the habits of your childhood? By trial and error? By your peers? By the learned experts who warn about an ice age one generation and global warming the next?

Reader, wisdom is offered to you. Rudimentary knowledge of God may be learned from viewing and considering His creation (Ps 19:1-7; Rom 1:19-21). But God offers great wisdom and understanding in His inspired scriptures, the Bible (Ps 19:7-11; II Tim 3:16-17). When did you last read them? When did you last hear them preached? You are missing the greatest blessing in life, if you do not seek out the Bible or preaching today.