As we continue our study in the book of Proverbs, I wanted to pause a moment to address why wisdom is referred to as she throughout. And then to ponder, which kind of woman are you Prophetess or Temptress? For me, this question of why Wisdom is given a feminine gender lead me to wonder a lot. So, prayer and research have driven me further into this. Wisdom is referred to as she, like a prophetess calling through the streets, urging all to listen to her cries.
As I began to ponder the question, I also wondered whether it also gave meaning to how we women should respond? So, busy is this world to eradicate the differences between men and women. Yet, God’s word always embraced the differences. Men were to love, cherish and protect his female counterpart. That however, gave the woman some power over the man to be either the prophetess or the temptress who could lead him to God or to destruction.
5 Reasons Why Wisdom is Personified as Female
Well, I think there are 5 reasons why wisdom is personified as female. As we explore these, let us see whether we might be able to consider also whether we individually are more the prophetess shouting words of wisdom or the temptress leading men into destruction. Also, I believe these 5 reasons better equip us to grasp the depth of Solomon’s proverbs, as written by God through this King. It was God’s wisdom given to Solomon and it is God’s wisdom we seek. As noted last week Solomon’s wisdom was a foreshadowing of the wisdom of Jesus, for Jesus is God’s wisdom on display. But then why is wisdom referred to as she? These are some I think so please let me know if you disagree or think otherwise, for I do not claim to know for certain.
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Gender correctness—
one of the simplest of all explanations is that in the Hebrew language, gender is assigned to all nouns. Much like in Spanish where a car is male, el Couche and a living room is female, la Sala. The sun is male (el sol) and the moon is female (la Luna). The Hebrew word for wisdom (Chokhmah) is very simply assigned a female gender.
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Wisdom is Not a god to be worshipped
Wisdom is one of God’s attributes and not God itself. Hence, He chose to refer to wisdom as female. He did not want us to mistake wisdom as a separate being of the Godhead. There is Father, Son and Holy Spirit—all hold wisdom. Jesus Christ personified this wisdom as both the one who came to earth in human form to reach out to us. It was God’s wisdom that bore this perfect plan of Salvation from eternity past, knowing that humanity would fail. His wisdom is beyond our understanding
3. Prophetess or Temptress
When we look at the corridors of time and in the life of Solomon, we are quick to see that women are the temptresses who can lure a man away or the Prophetess who draws him toward God. Hence throughout Proverbs there is the comparison between the harlot calling one to destruction and the prophetess wisdom calling them to remain faithful, doing the right thing. After all was it not Eve who was so easily beguiled. Adam who loved her so could not imagine life without her and sinned willfully. Sexual desire sometimes leads men to not think clearly. Women use that sometimes to get what they want, playing the seducer to gain for themselves. And never really considering what love truly is.
4. Solomon’s Experience
Solomon’s own experience would lead him to think also along these lines when warning his sons. Do not fall into the same mistakes I did. He must of known of his father’s errors as well. . What was Solomon’s failures most linked to? In part his negotiations with many other countries and his love of women, he married many and bore children by them. Then, he allowed them each to build shrines to their gods and teach the children the same. What a tragic error on the part of Solomon. For all his wisdom, in this area, he failed himself.
Were it not for God’s grace, Solomon would have gone to his grave, lost. But for the promise God made to David. “ 12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee (2 Samuel 7).
This first section of Proverbs is Solomon’s instructions to his sons. Therefore, certainly he wanted to warn them of that in which he himself failed. Thus, he warned them to follow the beautiful prophetess “Wisdom” and not to get sidetracked by the female temptresses of this world. For wisdom’s beauty would bring them joy, peace, success, hope and true love rather than heartbreak and death.
5. The Protective Beauty and Position God Gave for Women
God gave to women a beautiful role to be held with high esteem. She is to be cherished, adored and protected by husband, children and in general. Wisdom is much like that beautiful woman to be sought after, cherished, adored and protected.
Women need to keep this in mind and never above this cherished position they were placed in. For they, in their humanity desire to bring men to their knees. Pride steps in and destroys all that God intended. So Beware of which kind of woman you are a prophetess or temptress. The only way to become the wise prophetess is to seek God first above all else and to lay aside all one’s pride.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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©Effie Darlene Barba, 2020
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