“For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness [is] an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth [are] in righteousness; [there is] nothing froward or perverse in them.” (Pr 8:7-8 AV)
Chapter eight of proverbs is the only chapter in the word of God that strikes me as odd. The reason is wisdom, an abstract noun, is personified and speaks as an animate object. Wisdom and God are synonymous in the sense that wisdom is one of God’s attributes. This is why wisdom, in chapter eight of proverbs, can speak as being eternal. What jumped out at me this morning was the very last phrase of our passage. There is nothing forward or perverse in the words of God’s wisdom. Froward and perverse, both mean twisted. The first answers to motive, while the latter describes the nature. Froward is the intent of twisting, while perverse is the nature of being twisted. The wisdom of God is holy and right. Wisdom does not exist as a self-serving attribute. The wisdom of God and God is one and the same. To that end, His wisdom is holy, right, and good. More than that, His wisdom does not exist for nefarious reasons. Right is not right because it suits Him best. Right is not right because if it wasn’t, He wouldn’t benefit from it. Wisdom is not wisdom because He has chosen it to be so that He might rule over creation as a tyrant, serving His own glory. Wisdom is wisdom because God is wisdom. He, by nature, is a benevolent God. He loves those whom He creates. Therefore, there is no ulterior motive for His wisdom and the requirement all follow His wisdom.
I am intrigued by the ability of apologists to defend the truth. Not so much their brilliance or their ability to dissect and argument so that rebuttal can ensue, but their patience with those with whom they debate. I watch one gentleman who debates college students at secular colleges. He is amazing. Not that I agree with everything he says or the answers he offers, but the patience he has with arrogant young adults is astounding. The questions offered to the apologist are characteristic of the assertion above. They are trying to find some perverse or froward nature to a truth regarding God. One young man posited a question that went something like this: How is God fair if he never gave me a choice to exist, yet demands I love Him and trust Him, then punishing me if I don’t? Sounds rather profound. Until you realize that the question itself is a non-starter. It actually is a ridiculous and foolish question. How can God ask your permission to exist without creating you first? Duh! What was this young man trying to do? He was trying to find a froward or perverse example of God’s wisdom. He was trying to prove that God is not who He claims to be. In the end, he simply proved how foolish and ignorant in his rebellion he was.
That example aside, we tend to do this when we doubt God’s wisdom. When we fail to exercise faith in a principle of God’s word, then we assume there might be a less than pure motive in what God reveals to us. When we doubt that God’s word would require of us wise actions, we are charging God with being froward or perverse. This is our nature. This is what Eve did. Satan posited that God’s instruction not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge was given by froward intentions. He suggested God told them not to eat so they could never truly enjoy the fullness of their existence. In other words, God tells you what to do or not do simply to deprive you of a better life. Not so! There is nothing froward or perverse in the commandments of God. The wisdom of God is first pure. It is given so that we can have the best life possible. The commandments and wisdom of God is given because God is good. The wisdom of God comes from above and given to all who seek it so that we can be blessed beyond measure. It is the immature heart that charges God with being froward or perverse. Those who walk humbly with God realize otherwise.
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