107. Wisdom Was Present at the Creation

Proverbs 8

I, wisdom, dwell with sense, and find out knowledge of discretions. 8:12
Jehovah possessed me from the beginning of His way, before His works of old. 
I was anointed from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth ever was. 8:22.

Scholars who accept the doctrine of the Trinity like to use these words to prove that Christ is eternal and that He has always been God.  A gimmick that is common among Trinitarians is also used here by them; they put meanings into words that are not there.  The words in Proverbs 8 are a personification of wisdom; they do not refer to any person, divine or otherwise.

If, for the sake of argument, we allow these words to refer to an actual divine person notice the contradiction between the words of scripture and the doctrine of the Trinity.

Jehovah possessed me:  The Septuagint, uses the word, ἔκτισε, "made," and so does the Syriac Version.  The Arians took the word in the sense of "created".  Based on the word, made, the Arians used the word, created to refer to Christ.  If Christ was created by Jehovah, than, obviously Christ is not equal to the Father.  Trinitarians, however, do not agree with the Arian doctrine and therefore, (in this case) they reject those two versions of the Bible.

It seems that the other translations use a word which can be translated as "made" or "possessed" and the Trinitarians opted to use the word "possessed" in place of "made".  Opposing the heresy of the Arians, the Fathers generally adopted the rendering ἐκτήσατο, possedit, "possessed;" Pulpit commentary.  The question must be asked: If Jehovah possesses Christ how is it right to say that Christ is God of very God?  Surely we can see that, in this statement, one is superior to the other and therefore "both Gods" are not equal.

I was anointed from everlasting:  If Christ is God why did He need to be anointed?  How can God be anointed and by whom would He be anointed?

At the same time that the Trinitarians were developing their theological stance, a self-centred, murderous man, named Athanasius was spearheading the Trinitarian theory.  "Perhaps it is no wonder that the theory was accepted as quickly and as widely as it was because Athanasius, a leader in the church at that time, would try to destroy those people who did not agree with his heretical, theological Trinitarian views."  

"About Athanasius, Wikipedia writes, there were allegations of defiling an altar, selling Church grain that had been meant to feed the poor for his own personal gain, and for suppressing dissent through violence and murder.  He also was accused of threatening to interfere with the supply of grains from Egypt.  If this accusation is true, his reason for doing that probably would have been to starve those Christians in Europe who did not yet agree with his theology concerning the Trinity."

"Even under the threat of persecution or death, there were some who followed Arius who insisted that God is not a trinity.  He taught that Christ is the Son of God, but not God himself.  Based on the teaching of the New Testament it seems obvious that Arius and his followers were on the right path and the church took a wrong turn way back in the fourth century.  Sir Isaac Newton expressed that same thought in these words, Christianity went astray in the 4th century AD, when the Council of Nicaea propounded erroneous doctrines of the nature of Christ."

"About Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, at the end of the fourth century, we find this interesting bit of history. Before the meeting of the council, he had intervened on behalf of Arius, and had remonstrated with Alexander ... for deposing him (Arius). By the more vehement enemies of Arianism he (Eusebius) was regarded with great distrust. When the creed of Caesarea had been modified ... (to include the words stating that the Son was) “of the substance of the Father,” “begotten not made” ... Eusebius hesitated whether he should subscribe it. He did not like the new terms; ... But after a day’s consideration he signed with the rest, and in a letter to the people of Caesarea he explained that, “though he would resist to the last any vital change in the traditional creed of his Church, he had nevertheless subscribed to these alterations, when assured of their innocence, to avoid appearing contentious.  So the creed which changed Christ from being the “Son of God” to being equal with God, happened, in part, because one leader in the church did not have the backbone to stand up for what he believed to be right!" The last four quotations were copied from 
http://wwwthinkagai.blogspot.com/2012/06/the-rise-of-belief-in-trinity.html

If you are looking for the truth you must do your own studying - don't simply believe what you hear in church.

106. Keep the Home Fires Burning

Proverbs 5

Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well. 5:15.  Have your physical and emotional needs met at home.

Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares? 5:16.  Should your children, the offspring of other women, be running around in the streets of your town?  Should they be seen in public places as a constant reminder of your past foolishness?

Let them (your children) be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you. 5:17.  Arrange it so that your children are a blessing to your virtuous self.  These children that you have the opportunity to train will make you "downright proud" to be their daddy.

Let your fountain (children) be blessed.  Your children will have a more solid foundation and a better life because they know who their parents are and because they will not be honestly teased because of errors that their father has made.

and rejoice with the wife of your youth. 5:18.  Some, in the church, have made it an issue that "making love", even in a wholesome marriage relationship, must be only for the purpose of "making babies".  They teach that any pleasure that is derived from "having sex" is a sin.  The Bible wholeheartedly refuses to acknowledge that unhealthy, absurd and stupid teaching.  Marriage is honorable in all (aspects), and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Heb 13:4.

There has been a constant effort made to show that celibacy was a more holy state; that there was something in marriage that rendered it “dishonorable” for those who are in the ministry, and for those of either sex who would be eminently pure. This sentiment has been the cause of more abomination in the world than any other single opinion claiming to have a religious sanction. It is one of the supports on which the Papal system rests, and has been one of the principal upholders of all the corruptions in monasteries and nunneries. Barnes Commentary.

Like the loving deer and pleasant doe, she is beautiful, fun to be with and lively as a young deer, enjoy her presence; after all, it was you that chose her for those very reasons.

let her breasts satisfy you at all times, throughout your life, not only when you are trying to "make a baby", and be ravished always with her love. 5:19.  Stay with the wife you married while you were young; gain experiences, gain learning and maturity together.  Enjoy her body and accept her love for you!

Wife, if you don't want your husband to roam you must do your share in keeping him at home and satisfied.  Rules and promises alone cannot make him stay at home if he is not satisfied!

In a counselling session, I told a troubled couple that if they were working on the idea of a fifty/fifty relationship, it would never work.  I told them that each partner must be willing to give, what they see as, about 90 per cent.  If each is willing to do that, they will meet at about the 50% point.  A while later the lady came back and thanked me for that bit of advice; because they were trying to follow that advice their relationship had improved.

Don't desert the ship when the sea is rough.  It is the rough seas that makes a common sailor the captain of a ship.  With time her annoying mannerisms will disappear if you are willing, also, to work on your roughness in the process.  All manner of shortcomings can be forgiven by each partner, but each must be willing to accept forgiveness so that emotional healing can take place.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life, which he (Jehovah) has given you ...: for that is your portion in life. Eccles. 9:9

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church. Eph 5:25.  Some other religions may not teach this, but in Christianity, it is a basic rule.

105. The Neighbours Wife

Proverbs 5-7

1.  She forsakes the guide of her youth (she neglects the instructions given by her parents) and forgets the covenant of her God (she breaks her wedding vows which were made "in the presence of God").  For her house bows down (inclines) to death, and her paths to the dead (those who are guilty of unrepentant adultery are on their way to the place of the dead). 2:16-18. 

2. All who go in to her do not return, nor do they take hold of the paths of life. 2:19.  The words describe more than the fatal persistency of the sinful habit when once formed. A resurrection from that world of the dead to “the paths of life” is all but impossible. Barnes Commentary.  

Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does it destroys his own soul. 6:32.  Once a person gets involved in that lifestyle he will never come back as the same man; that person is forever gone.

3. They do not despise a thief, if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; a thief will be forgiven if he steals food when he is in need, but even he, if he is caught must restore sevenfold. 6:30-31.  However, a man who "fools around" with his neighbor's wife will not be as easily forgiven by society; whoever touches her shall not be (pronounced) innocent. 6:29.

He who "fools around" with his neighbour's wife shall get a wound and dishonor; and his shame shall not be wiped away. 6:33. I have come to the brink of utter ruin, among the gathered assembly.” 5:14 World English Bible.    When I go to the synagogue, the mosque, the church, people now whisper about me and my neighbour's wife.

4. For jealousy is the rage of a man (the husband who was cheated on); therefore he will not spare (hold back retribution) in the day of vengeance. He will not take any ransom; nor will he be willing (to forgive) if you multiply the gifts. 6:33-35.   Money and gifts will not lessen his jealousy, soften his anger or mitigate his pain.  He will get even; murder in such cases is not uncommon.

Then you will say, How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised correction;  and I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor bowed down my ears to those who taught me! 5:12.  The ruined sinner vainly laments his neglect of warning and his sad fate in being brought to public disgrace. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Com.

5. If these reasons are not enough to keep you from straying to the bosom of a stranger, 5:20, think of this reason: the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah, and He watches all his paths.  Jehovah absolutely does not condone anyone "having sex" outside the marriage relationship.

For any who are guilty, there is hope, Jehovah is a forgiving God.  If the guilty repent of their actions, turn away from them, past sins can be forgiven.  There is a story in the life of Christ where a woman, guilty of adultery, was brought to Christ by the Jewish leaders.  After a reprimand to the accusers, Christ asked her, where are those men that accused you?  The woman said I don't know.  Christ made an end of the subject; He said,  Just like those that accused you, do not condemn you, publicly, I also do not condemn you, but don't you ever commit that sin again! John 8:11

104. The Path to Death

Proverbs 5-7

Proverbs chapters 5-7 enlarge on the difference between wisdom and foolishness and, according to the author of these chapters, the climax of foolishness is adultery; the first example is adultery with a harlot and the second is adultery with "the neighbour's wife".

For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice. I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding (foolish), passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house, (stay away from there) in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness. Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent. She is loud and defiant. Her feet don’t stay in her house. Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner. So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:  ... I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you (any man would have suited her purpose, these words were just flattery). 

Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning. Let’s solace ourselves with loving. For my husband isn’t at home. He has gone on a long journey. ...” With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him. He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose. Until an arrow strikes through his liver, the ancients thought of the liver as the seat of passion; we would use the word, heart, to express the same meaning. Pulpit Commentary.

Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth. Don’t let your heart turn to her ways. Don’t go astray in her paths, for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army. A mighty army of men has fallen victim at her bedside. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the rooms of death. 7:6-27 World English Bible.

For the commandment, the seventh commandment: You shall not commit adultery. Ex. 20:14, is a lamp; and the law (of Moses) is light; ... to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Prov.6:23-24

For the lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her palate is smoother than oil; 5:3  Wisdom ... and knowledge ... will deliver you from the strange woman, the stranger who flatters with her words. 2:9-10. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart; nor let her take you with her eyelids. 6:25.  Many a man has fallen victim to a sweet talker, especially if she is pretty; one who knows how to flatter.

For by means of a harlot a man comes to a piece of bread.  6:26.  that strangers not be filled with your strength, and your labors be in the house of a stranger; 5:10. Why would you spend your hard earned money on a prostitute so that she can share it with her friends; with those people who are strangers to you?

Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? 6:27.  The modern version of this is: You play with fire you're gonna get burned.  This was true in Solomon's day and it is just as true now.
   
but afterward she is as bitter as wormwood.  Wormwood is very bitter and is used to flavour the drink: absinthe.  For health reasons this drink is illegal in some countries.   But prostitutes who are as bitter as wormwood are allowed everywhere.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell, lest you should meditate on the path of life, (she certainly does not want you to think of taking the high moral path) her tracks are movable.  She will change her tactics if she feels she is losing her grasp on you.

Remove your ways far from her, and do not come near the door of her house. 5:3-8.  Do not even walk in "the red light district" just to see what it is like there.  The temptations there, for a young man, are just too strong.  Do you pray, lead me not into temptation?  Then, answer your own prayer and do not go there, because your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone he may devour; 1 Peter 5:8.  The devil will entice you into her house, and after that "one thing leads to another".

But he does not know that ... her guests are in the depths of hell. 9:18

and you moan when your end comes, when your flesh and muscle are eaten away, 5:11.  The woman who abandons herself to prostitution soon contracts, and generally communicates, that disease, which, above all others, signs the speediest and most effectual passport to the invisible world. Clarke.

103. Wisdom is the Main Thing

We have now come to the third book on the third shelf of our imaginary library; the Book of Proverbs. For a review of the setup of the Old Testament see:                           http://spaceshiptheology.blogspot.com/2014/10/38-old-testament-library.html

Proverbs 1

Are we willing to accept the words of Proverbs 1:1 as to its authorship: The proverbs of Solomon.  Not likely, considering Solomon's penchant for having many women, (He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, 1 Kings 11:3.  The contents of the first nine chapters of Proverbs do not fit his lifestyle.

Also, in 10:1 we find these words repeated: The proverbs of Solomon.  It is there that the proverbs actually start.  Many Bible students believe that the first nine chapters were written by someone else and that later they were attached to Solomon's list of proverbs.

Right at the start, the book tells us why it was composed:
1. to know wisdom and instruction; to recognize the words of understanding;
2. to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
3. to give sense to the simple, knowledge and judgment to the young man; the wise                   hears and increases learning; and understanding ones get wisdom;
4. to understand a proverb and its meaning; the words of the wise, and their acute sayings. 1:2-6

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 1:7.  The word, fear, is better translated as, respect, or reverence.  This certainly excludes blasphemy and deliberately living a life contrary to Jehovah's ideals.

1:10-19 tell the story of a young man who refuses to pay attention to his parent's advice, joins the wrong crowd and ends up dying young because of it. 

1:20-33 shows that a better course of life was available but it was ignored. The consequences were fatal, but repentance came too late.

Those who like to lurk in dark alleys and carouse in the streets to steal and kill still have no excuse for not knowing better, because Wisdom cries outside; she utters her voice in the streets; (Wisdom says) I called, and you refused; ... you have despised all my advice, and would have none of my warning. Instead they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of Jehovah. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own desires. For the turning away of the simple kills them, and the ease of fools destroys them. 1:20-32.

Jehovah is known. Psalm 9:16. Saint Paul repeats this thought: For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, ... because the thing which may be known of God is clearly revealed within them, for God revealed it to them. ... for them to be without excuse. Rom 1:18-20.  No one who is mentally balanced can murder, rape or otherwise wilfully harm another person, and in honesty claim, I did not know that I shouldn't do that. 

Proverbs 2

Perhaps a good way to sum up this chapter is like this: Diligence in hearing and praying for instruction must be used to secure the great principle of godliness, the fear of God. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Com. If you cry after knowledge and lift up your voice for understanding; then you shall understand the fear of Jehovah and find the knowledge of God. 2:3+5.

Proverbs 3

My son, forget not my law; but let your heart keep my commandments; for they shall add length of days, and long life, and peace to you. 3:1  At this point it is good to remember that we are now studying Proverbs.  Someone has said that the Book of Proverbs should be called the Book of Probablys.  It is the nature of a proverb to generally be right, but if it isn't, no one should be very surprised; 3:1 proves that point.   There are many who have lived an upright life and still have died young.  This does not invalidate the Scriptures; it merely shows that proverbs must not be taken as absolute proofs.

Proverbs 4

Wisdom is the main thing; get wisdom; and with all your getting get understanding. 4:7.  Don't settle for material riches when so much more is available.