The Feminine Nature of Wisdom

 Wisdom is is spoken of as a woman in parts of Proverbs and i have been fascinated by that idea. This 'personification' is not actual... but it does reflect an aspect of human nature.

"The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man." - Genesis 2:20-22 ESV

Adam was missing something. He was incomplete. This morning i am seeing that rib as language and mathematics. Human things that are descriptive. God is transcendent. He is beyond what he has created but he took something human and made a woman to complete 'him' (humanity). Be His companion.

He gave us what we could never have alone.... wisdom... the rib became a woman... the logos (information) becomes a rhema (logical God breathed illumination).

"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, do not lose sight of these - keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught." - Proverbs 3:13-26 ESV

Wisdom isn't a person we can meet like in Greek mythology... She is a gift we can treasure and a way we can operate. A companion both men and women can have so we are not alone in this world. Our 'plus one' who comes with us to commune with God and whispers insight into our ears about what she sees in those meetings.

"The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man." - Proverbs 8:22-31 ESV

We are made in God's image and wisdom is an impartation He has given us if we want it and woo it and value it. We can be fools. Information can just be a tool for our selfishness but it doesn't have to be... she can make us noble.

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Hermaphrodites

"And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' " - Genesis 2:22-23 ESV

Men have an XY genetic arrangement and women have a XX arrangement. Interesting considering the Genesis account has God removing part of Adam and forming Eve. What is not often discussed is that today our genetic code has degraded to the point where as many as 1.7% (17 out of 1,000) people are born intersex or hermaphrodites. That means they have qualities of both sexes but are usually (but not always) a XX genetic arrangement. In the past doctors at times decided to 'make' these children girls by a surgical procedure... sometimes without even telling the parents the situation. Just imagine the confusion of growing up thinking you are one thing when your biology is sending contradictory signals.

It is no wonder that people identify themselves in crazy ways. Genetics and environmental influences have muddied the water so much that the lines are blurred and societies are being forced into making strange decisions. It only going to get worse by the way. 1.7% is today's statistic. That number will only grow as population grows in an ever more poisoned and radiated world.

We aren't going back to the garden. That way is barred forever from fallen men.

So while I agree that darkness and deception are factors they are not the only factors. People are confused and I want to love people and show them the identity that they can have in Jesus. If that means building another bathroom or limiting bathrooms so that they have one occupant at a time then so be it. It is a small price to pay.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28 ESV

The identity we have in Christ is not primarily a sexual one. Everyone has a special place. The Bible teaches biblical marriage to be between a one man an one woman and sexual contact is reserved for marriage alone. It is a clear teaching and so it must be our conviction. Love is so much more than sex. We must protect our children from perversion with the clear understanding that our world is changing and they will be exposed to concepts eventually. Will we be kind, loving and firm or backward and intolerant?

In Christ we have liberty and a royal identity. Let's be loving and welcoming to people. Let's teach the Bible as it is written and let God untangle the complexities of each life. He is able. We can't but He can and does if His Son is lifted up in our midst.

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