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Proverbs
2:6: For the Lord
giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs
4:7: Wisdom is the
principal thing; therefore, get wisdom: and with all the getting get
understanding.
I
must admit reading Proverbs sometimes makes me feel like I am just reading nice
words…because of Solomon and his humanity which rejected the most important component
of wisdom, that of moral conduct. Wisdom is a conglomeration of pretty, useless
words if there is no moral conduct to support them. The conduct is the fruits
of wisdom.
Because
the word ‘wisdom’ is feminine in gender, it is allegorized as a woman in the
book of Proverbs. The adulterous woman in Proverbs is a metaphor for
foolishness as foolishness is opposite of wisdom. It is fascinating to me that Solomon’s
moral conduct was consumed by the ‘strange’ women he married out of the
covenant who turned his heart to idolatry (1 Kings 11:1-8)
The
scriptures use the metaphor of marriage to describe the Lord’s covenant with
His people. They portray the House of Israel as the bride and the Saviour as
the bridegroom. Among many references are these:
Isaiah
54:5-6: “Thy Maker is thine husband…the Lord hath called thee as a wife of
youth…”; Hosea 2:19-20: “I will betroth thee unto me for ever; Matthew 25:1,10:
the parable of the ten virgins going to meet the bridegroom; Revelation 19:7,9,
21:2,9: the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready…..prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband…the bride, the Lamb’s wife; D&C
109:73-74: that thy Church shine forth…and be adorned as a bride for the day of
the Lord’s coming.
In
Proverbs Chapter 7, Solomon admonishes his son to keep the commandments and
cling to wisdom as his ‘sister’ (v 4) that he may be protected against ‘the
strange woman’ (v 5) which would lead him into ‘whoredom’ or ‘adultery’ . The
mind boggles that he could not apply this to himself.
The
idolatry born out of foolishness as opposed to the moral conduct of wisdom, is considered
as adultery in the case of the marriage covenant between the Lamb and Israel,
His bride:
Exodus
34:14-15: the Lord warns Israel not to worship other gods, “lest they go a
whoring after their gods”; Jeremiah 3:8-9: Israel ‘committed adultery with
stones and with stocks’ meaning idols made of stone and wood; Hosea 2:2,5:
Israel is portrayed as an unfaithful spouse – “put away her whoredoms…and her
adulteries” as she says “I will go after my lovers” referring to false gods; Ezekiel
16:32: compares covenant unfaithfulness to a wife committing adultery ‘taking
strangers instead of her husband’.
My
hair stood on end when I read this about immorality in heathen worship:
“Among
the ancient nations of the East, with the exception of the Jews, prostitution
appears to have been connected with religious worship, and to have been not
merely tolerated but encouraged…in Egypt, Phoenicia, Assyria, Chaldea, Canaan
and Persia, the worship of Isis, Moloch, Baal, Astarte, Mylitta and other
deities consisted of the most extravagant sensual orgies and the temples were
merely centers of vice. In Babylon some degree of prostitution appeared to have
been even compulsory and imposed upon all women in honour of the goddess
Mylitta. In India the ancient connection between religion and prostitution
still survives.” (Encyclopedia Britannica, (1952 Edition) Volume 18, p
596)
Maybe
the God of Israel knew what He was doing when He gave Solomon all that wisdom
he desired…..because he knew that one day he would become a symbol of
foolishness…..oh the irony!
As
Israel, we have trodden worldly paths
That
have left us battered, scarred,
And
parched in search of love.
Our
lovers were many but
Our
hearts were empty.
At
long last
We
embrace the love that lasts,
We
prepare for the wedding feast
And
abandon our treacherous past.
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