Proverbs 8
1Listen as wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice! 2She stands on the hilltop and at the crossroads. 3At the entrance to the city, at the city gates, she cries aloud, 4“I call to you, to all of you! I am raising my voice to all people. 5How naive you are! Let me give you common sense. O foolish ones, let me give you understanding. 6Listen to me! For I have excellent things to tell you. Everything I say is right, 7for I speak the truth and hate every kind of deception. 8My advice is wholesome and good. There is nothing crooked or twisted in it. 9My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those who want to learn.
10“Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge over pure gold. 11For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can be compared with it.
12“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. 13All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech. 14Good advice and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine. 15Because of me, kings reign, and rulers make just laws. 16Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments.
17“I love all who love me. Those who search for me will surely find me. 18Unending riches, honor, wealth, and justice are mine to distribute. 19My gifts are better than the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! 20I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. 21Those who love me inherit wealth, for I fill their treasuries.
22“The LORD formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else. 23I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began. 24I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters. 25Before the mountains and the hills were formed, I was born—26before he had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil.
27“I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans. 28I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established the deep fountains of the earth. 29I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundations, 30I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence. 31And how happy I was with what he created—his wide world and all the human family!
32“And so, my children, listen to me, for happy are all who follow my ways. 33Listen to my counsel and be wise. Don’t ignore it.
34“Happy are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! 35For whoever finds me finds life and wins approval from the LORD. 36But those who miss me have injured themselves. All who hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:1-36, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
When I was a high school senior, I took AP English. At one point we were studying poetry and we read a famous poem by Robert Frost, entitled, “The Road Not Taken”. The poem starts with the line:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and ends with the oft-quoted phrase:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.
Our teacher asked the class what we thought the poem was about. A few people in the class who had a somewhat religious background, including myself, thought the poem was a metaphor for heaven and hell. After all, if you’re going to talk about two roads that diverge, you cannot get any more divergent than heaven and hell.
I remember our teacher graciously telling us that we were overthinking the poem. There was nothing in the poem that mentioned heaven or hell and the context of the poem was not about eternal destiny. There was really nothing about the poem that would indicate that it was religious in nature.
To my surprise, I learned that the plain meaning was usually the correct meaning, unless there was some compelling reason to believe that the writer was speaking metaphorically or allegorically.
In our case, the poem was simply about two different choices, both of which were appealing in their own way. Which one should I choose? How do you choose? The author is simply writing about the conflict that arises when we have to choose between two paths. That’s it.
What can happen though is that some people will naturally want to import their own views and perspectives into the poem. In my case, being a person who went to church and Sunday school and who had heard a lot about the two different life choices of heaven and hell, I saw “two paths” and immediately concluded “heaven and hell” without really thinking about whether that was what the author was really writing about.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses make a similar error in their understanding and explanation of Proverbs 8.
If you’ve ever had a discussion with a Jehovah’s Witness, you likely know that they do not believe that Jesus is God. Instead, they teach that Jesus is a created being. They believe that Jesus is God’s first created being, which makes him extra special, but in the end, he’s still a created being like you and me.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses theological viewpoints on Jesus are rooted in an ancient heresy known as Arianism. I wrote about their views in my blog post “A Modern Day Version of an Ancient Heresy” in which I discuss their views of the opening verses of John’s gospel.
When talking to a Jehovah’s Witness regarding their view that Jesus was a created being, they have a number of biblical “proof-texts” to support their theological stance. One of those passages is Proverbs 8.
According to the Jehovah’s Witness, Proverbs 8 provides ironclad evidence that the Bible teaches that Jesus is NOT God.
Verses 22-31, in particular, demonstrate that Jesus is created. The Jehovah’s Witness argument is that Jesus is speaking about how he was formed “before he created anything else.” Jesus was there at God’s side when He created everything.
To the Jehovah’s Witness, this fits perfectly with their view that Jesus was the first created “thing” and then God created everything else through Jesus.
There is only one problem with this reasoning – the subject of this passage is wisdom not Jesus.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses, in their haste to project their theological view of Jesus into any text that might have words or phrases that trigger their theological bias, have erred in much the same way I, and others in my high school English class, so quickly attributed a wrong context to Robert Frost’s famous poem.
Solomon, the author of Proverbs, is using a literary device known as personification to explain and highlight the importance of wisdom.
There is nothing in the context to suggest that Wisdom is really Jesus. Actually, when you really look at this passage, you realize that the text cannot be referring to Jesus. Here are a couple of reasons why:
First, wisdom in this passage is identified as a female, whereas Jesus is male.
Secondly, if wisdom is an actual person, then “good judgment” must also be a person because wisdom lives with good judgment according to verse 12. If wisdom is really Jesus, then who is this “good judgment” character?
Lastly, if you know anything about the broader context of Proverbs, it is a collection of sayings and instruction regarding wise living. This is made clear at the very outset of the book:
The purpose of these proverbs is to teach people wisdom and discipline, and to help them understand wise sayings. 3Through these proverbs, people will receive instruction in discipline, good conduct, and doing what is right, just, and fair. 4These proverbs will make the simpleminded clever. They will give knowledge and purpose to young people. (Proverbs 1:1-4, NLT – emphasis added)
Additionally, in this particular section of the book, Wisdom is personified as a female instructor. Proverbs 9 continues with this personified motif as Wisdom is contrasted with Folly, both of whom are given female personalities.
So if this passage isn’t speaking about Jesus, what is the point being made?
The point of this passage is summarized at the end, in verses 32-36, which state:
32“And so, my children, listen to me, for happy are all who follow my ways. 33Listen to my counsel and be wise. Don’t ignore it.
34“Happy are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! 35For whoever finds me finds life and wins approval from the LORD. 36But those who miss me have injured themselves. All who hate me love death.”
In short, the reader is encouraged to “listen to my counsel and be wise.”
In the end, the Jehovah’s Witnesses commit an error we call eisegesis, which occurs when one imports their own viewpoint or bias into the interpretation of the text. Good Bible interpretation will instead interpret the passage based on the plain meaning and the context while resisting the urge to make the passage say what the reader wants or hopes that it will say.
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Reflection
The error of eisegesis, where one interprets a text in such a way that it fits with their pre-conceived views, is not just a problem with Jehovah’s Witnesses. People everywhere commit this error. What are some views you have that you are more apt to try to find the text to support? In other words, what are some ways you have, or are tempted to commit this error of eisegesis?
Why do you think the Jehovah’s Witnesses are so committed to their view that Jesus is a created being?
What are some of the benefits of wisdom according to this passage?
What do you think are some good Bible study habits and techniques that will help you to interpret passages correctly, without importing your personal views into the interpretation of the passage?
Photo by James Wheeler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-pathway-surrounded-by-fir-trees-1578750/
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