To get the first glimpse of wisdom in the Bible we don’t have to go too far; it is there in the book of Genesis. It is in the second chapter itself. However after reading the entire Bible we know, wisdom dates far back into unknown times, even before the world was created. The prophesy about the king of tyre flows into the description of the wisest of creations, the anointed cherub, just as a river merges into the sea. His description is found in the book of Ezekiel chapter 28 and Isaiah 14.
He was the anointed cherub who God established to guard His throne. He was a creation of God and was in the holy mountain. He was full of wisdom, even wiser than Daniel and perfect in beauty. He knew everything and there was no secret for him. His business wisdom made him rich. He was extremely beautiful and therefore his heart, was lifted up. He corrupted his wisdom and said “I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods.” But God said, “You are a man, not a god” and threw him out of the mountain of God. Thus started the over ambitious pursuit of man to get to sit on the divine throne.
Where did this thrust-out cherub, Lucifer land? May be in the then existing world, to make it chaotic, void, without form and dark. So when God recreated the world, he was there waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on God for his ruthless dismissal perhaps.
Now God was very careful in his creation. He created a being and gave him topmost wisdom and beauty and he exalted himself to the place of God and fell. Iniquity was found in him. God did not want the same thing to happen to the man he created. So even though He created man in his own image, He kept one thing from him—the ability to discern good and evil. May be God thought it better to give him His wisdom in grades. God did not intend to keep man away from the tree of life, but
He gave definite warning not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to spare him the same fate of the police cherub that is, the second death!
But Lucifer—as the anointed cherub was called, was keen on getting man on his side as co-inhabitant of his home— Hades or hell! He knew the lure was the longing to be equal with God and the whipping desire to be as wise as God. He knew for certain, woman, rather than the man will fall flat before the offer. The serpent was cunning with demonic wisdom (Js 3:15). “You shall not surely die. For God knows, the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” said the serpent, meaning, God chummasaid you will die. He wants you to keep off the fruit because He doesn’t want you to eat it and become as wise as He. How false! For the Bible says we shall be like Him when we see Him. That’s why he created man in His image. When he became a sinner God said, “Be holy as I am holy” the first step to becoming as wise as God. In other words, man’s short cut to aquire wisdom was a total disaster.
Satan’s aim was perfect and the woman nibbled at the bait—wisdom! She took the lead to transgression and perhaps that’s why even today the woman is seen as the unwise half. The woman’s primary attraction was not just the fruit but the fruit of the fruit ie the knowledge of good and evil and the status of God. It was a tree desirable to make one wise. She talked her husband into eating it (3:17). What did she talk? May be, “See, you’ll become as wise as God. He has kept the knowledge of knowing good and evil from us. Take, eat. See, I have eaten and I have not died. Let’s become gods.” Blah, blah, blah. At that moment man traded his innocence for the forbidden knowledge. If he had waited he would have gained it in due course with God’s blessings. But he failed miserably. The one wise thing the woman did after eating the fruit was to make her husband partake of the sin. Otherwise the aftermath is beyond imagination. God gave a special wisdom to Joseph above all the wise men of Egypt; but he refused to take the place of God (Gen 50:19).
In their bargain to become like God, they lost their innocence to gain the serpent’s corrupt wisdom, who also corrupted his wisdom by pride. That’s the earthly wisdom described by James (Gen 3:1; Isa 14:12-15; Eze 28:6; 12-17; Js 3:14- 16). It is full of envy, self-seeking in heart, boasting and lying against the truth, earthly, sensual, demonic, leading to confusion and every evil thing. If we listen to the counsel of the serpents of the world, we will inherit the corrupt wisdom. The situation is not much different today. Worldly wisdom is a bait the devil hangs in front of our nose. In the last days many will scramble for knowledge (Dan 12:4). The preacher says of worldly wisdom: I thought to myself, “Look , I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge. Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief (Eccl 1:16-18). In our pursuit of wisdom, we can make lot of mistakes like Adam and Eve who ate the fruit to become wise like God and made fools of themselves. It they lacked wisdom and if they wanted it they need to have just asked their heavenly Father without doubting, and He would have given them liberally (Js 1:5-7). But they doubted His love and turned to the wrong direction. God longs to bless us with His divine wisdom. Ask, and it shall be given to you.
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
To get the first glimpse of wisdom in the Bible we don’t have to go too far; it is there in the book of Genesis. It is in the second chapter itself. However after reading the entire Bible we know, wisdom dates far back into unknown times, even before the world was created. The prophesy about the king of tyre flows into the description of the wisest of creations, the anointed cherub, just as a river merges into the sea. His description is found in the book of Ezekiel chapter 28 and Isaiah 14.
He was the anointed cherub who God established to guard His throne. He was a creation of God and was in the holy mountain. He was full of wisdom, even wiser than Daniel and perfect in beauty. He knew everything and there was no secret for him. His business wisdom made him rich. He was extremely beautiful and therefore his heart, was lifted up. He corrupted his wisdom and said “I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods.” But God said, “You are a man, not a god” and threw him out of the mountain of God. Thus started the over ambitious pursuit of man to get to sit on the divine throne.
Where did this thrust-out cherub, Lucifer land? May be in the then existing world, to make it chaotic, void, without form and dark. So when God recreated the world, he was there waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on God for his ruthless dismissal perhaps.
Now God was very careful in his creation. He created a being and gave him topmost wisdom and beauty and he exalted himself to the place of God and fell. Iniquity was found in him. God did not want the same thing to happen to the man he created. So even though He created man in his own image, He kept one thing from him—the ability to discern good and evil. May be God thought it better to give him His wisdom in grades. God did not intend to keep man away from the tree of life, but
He gave definite warning not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to spare him the same fate of the police cherub that is, the second death!
But Lucifer—as the anointed cherub was called, was keen on getting man on his side as co-inhabitant of his home— Hades or hell! He knew the lure was the longing to be equal with God and the whipping desire to be as wise as God. He knew for certain, woman, rather than the man will fall flat before the offer. The serpent was cunning with demonic wisdom (Js 3:15). “You shall not surely die. For God knows, the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” said the serpent, meaning, God chummasaid you will die. He wants you to keep off the fruit because He doesn’t want you to eat it and become as wise as He. How false! For the Bible says we shall be like Him when we see Him. That’s why he created man in His image. When he became a sinner God said, “Be holy as I am holy” the first step to becoming as wise as God. In other words, man’s short cut to aquire wisdom was a total disaster.
Satan’s aim was perfect and the woman nibbled at the bait—wisdom! She took the lead to transgression and perhaps that’s why even today the woman is seen as the unwise half. The woman’s primary attraction was not just the fruit but the fruit of the fruit ie the knowledge of good and evil and the status of God. It was a tree desirable to make one wise. She talked her husband into eating it (3:17). What did she talk? May be, “See, you’ll become as wise as God. He has kept the knowledge of knowing good and evil from us. Take, eat. See, I have eaten and I have not died. Let’s become gods.” Blah, blah, blah. At that moment man traded his innocence for the forbidden knowledge. If he had waited he would have gained it in due course with God’s blessings. But he failed miserably. The one wise thing the woman did after eating the fruit was to make her husband partake of the sin. Otherwise the aftermath is beyond imagination. God gave a special wisdom to Joseph above all the wise men of Egypt; but he refused to take the place of God (Gen 50:19).
In their bargain to become like God, they lost their innocence to gain the serpent’s corrupt wisdom, who also corrupted his wisdom by pride. That’s the earthly wisdom described by James (Gen 3:1; Isa 14:12-15; Eze 28:6; 12-17; Js 3:14- 16). It is full of envy, self-seeking in heart, boasting and lying against the truth, earthly, sensual, demonic, leading to confusion and every evil thing. If we listen to the counsel of the serpents of the world, we will inherit the corrupt wisdom. The situation is not much different today. Worldly wisdom is a bait the devil hangs in front of our nose. In the last days many will scramble for knowledge (Dan 12:4). The preacher says of worldly wisdom: I thought to myself, “Look , I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge. Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief (Eccl 1:16-18). In our pursuit of wisdom, we can make lot of mistakes like Adam and Eve who ate the fruit to become wise like God and made fools of themselves. It they lacked wisdom and if they wanted it they need to have just asked their heavenly Father without doubting, and He would have given them liberally (Js 1:5-7). But they doubted His love and turned to the wrong direction. God longs to bless us with His divine wisdom. Ask, and it shall be given to you.
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
