Tyndale Chapel Podcast

Hello Tyndale Community!

My name is Dr Andy Witt, and I teach at the undergraduate in the Biblical Studies and Theology department. My main area of focus is on the Old Testament, and I specialize in the book of Psalms.
It’s a pleasure to be able to ruminate on Scripture with you today. The passage I have chosen to reflect on comes from the book of Proverbs, first chapter, verses 20-33. The passage is about the need for wisdom, but also the stark reality of what life looks like without having the wisdom God has richly provided for us.

As we enter into the summer at Tyndale we tend to think about this as a time of refreshing and regrouping. We’ve just finished a strenuous eight months of study and community, and have just had the opportunity to celebrate the graduation of friends and fellow students, sending them off with blessings as they enter into post-Tyndale life—whatever that may bring.

In adult life, May also marks the time when you look at the outside of your house and think of all the wonderful projects you want to do to spruce things up: preparing your lawn, thinking through what you want to grow in your garden or what flowers you want in your flower bed, should we paint? Do we need better patio furniture? And, if you are anything like me, grandiose plans are worked out in your head but find much difficulty getting fully worked out on the ground.

One thing that does get worked out, however, are my legs and hands. This year I spent a few days doing all sorts of things in the front yard. Where I live, dandelions are everywhere—you can’t escape them, and let me tell you, my front yard did not escape them either. Because I was not a good planner, I did not put down my weed treatment when I was supposed to, so I needed to come in and dig out all of the weed growth in the grass—the blisters are still there. But I pushed through and cleared the yard. I also had the bright idea to dethatch the grass. If you don’t know what this is, it is the worst. Basically, you need a special rake or lawn-mower like machine that pulls up all of the dead, brown grass from the previous season, leaving room for overseeding new grass and the hope of a full, green lawn. Our yard is not terribly big and so instead of buying the dethatching machine I decided to have a work out, and spent HOURS upon HOURS raking up the dead grass. It’s incredible how much dead grass there is. This meant blisters over my blisters. After dethatching, then you still need to put down some new topsoil on any empty spaces and put down some grass seed. But you are still not done. You need to water for ten days and then put down some fertilizer to help the new grass grow deep roots and make your lawn healthy. There’s a lot to do, and lots of planning that needs to go into this. You also need to know when to start the process, because starting late leads to extra work. However, once you have a routine, and once you put a few seasons in on your lawn, some of the more difficult parts of lawn care are gone and you can more easily maintain the look you are going for.

Now, what’s all this have to do with wisdom? As I hope we will see, having wisdom is a lot like growing grass. To grow in wisdom you need a plan in place, you need to prepare ahead of time, and you need to maintain a steady growth of life experience to be wise when wisdom is called for. If you choose to ignore the call for wisdom, when disaster comes it’s too late. You won’t be ready for life when it hits you. Like growing a healthy lawn, a healthy wisdom is a long game. You need a long-term strategy to grow.

So let’s have a look at Proverbs 1:20-33. I will be reading from the Jewish Study Bible.

Let’s focus on a couple of verses that stuck out to me:

(1) Wisdom meets us not in our place of study; not in our prayer closets; not in Kimmerley Hall; but out and about, in the public square. In the busyness of our lives wisdom calls out to us—“HEY, I need to get your attention! Stop being simple, loving simplicity; stop your empty sarcasm and backbiting bitterness; and stop ignoring reality. I know that you think you might not need me now, but don’t deceive yourselves. You need me now more than ever!”

a. On the one hand we can take this to mean that wisdom is issuing her call to any and all who are willing to listen

b. On the other hand, however, we can see this as wisdom entering into our world,
willing to meet us exactly where we are; her call is not simply about your mind,
but about your hands and feet; where are you going? What are you doing as you
go?

(2) Situations of calamity and terror are going to come on all of us. Suffering will always abound, and though we often pretend as Christians that somehow we are going to escape it, it’s just not true. News of sudden deaths in the family or the community, news of cancer will come, ailments, tragedies—they will all come, and we are not immune to them. Natural disasters will also afflict us—earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, drought, famine, pandemics—we are not immune.

(3) If we wait to seek wisdom until the tragedies come, it will be too late to tap into the kind of wisdom God offers us. Let me repeat that: if we wait to seek wisdom until the tragedies come, it will be too late to tap into the kind of wisdom God offers us. This is a rather harsh passage, isn’t it: “You spurned all my advice, and would not hear my rebuke, I will laugh at your calamity, and mock when terror comes upon” (1:25-26). Or, “They shall call me but I will not answer; they shall seek me but not find me” (1:28). But this is true. Seek wisdom now, not later. Knowledge will not magically appear out of nowhere because you pray at the last second. That’s not typically how life works. Remember: wisdom is a long-game strategy.

(4) Wisdom is about facing misfortune well; there is no promise that misfortune won’t come. Hear verses 32-33 again: “The tranquillity of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of dullards will destroy them. But he who listens to me will dwell in safety, untroubled by the terror of misfortune.” Solomon is not telling you that misfortune won’t come, or even that when misfortune comes it will somehow be softened because of you are such a devout, good person. No. The terror of misfortune of is still there; but what’s changed is that someone who has pursued wisdom and listened to her will not be troubled
when that misfortune comes. The present tranquility of life, leading to complacency, can be the death of you when misfortune comes; but those who see through the tranquility and seek wisdom in the present, they will be prepared, and because they are prepared, they will dwell in safety, untroubled by the tragedies that are definitely on their way. So…the question is, will you heed the call of Lady Wisdom, or will you ignore her. What will it be?

Wisdom is calling you right now, will you hear her? Wisdom is extending her hand to you, will you take it? Wisdom is giving you advice for long-term life strategies, will you receive it? She is even willing to point out the errors of your thinking or the ways you are living—will you receive her rebuke and correction?
It’s never too late to start your journey with wisdom. Listen to what the letter of James teaches us:

“My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything. 5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.” (Jas 1:2-5; NET)

May God hear your prayers for wisdom, and may God meet you where you are and be with you.

We ask these things in Jesus’s name.

Amen.