"Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him
Rejoicing in the world His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men"
These are interesting verses because they talk clearly and specifically about what the world was like in its interaction with God before sin and the curse.
We have a tendency to believe that the way we experience the world is the way that it has always been. But that is not the case. Our world is a broken world – a world that shows the evidence of what it once was like when God created it. But it is not what it once was.
This proverb tells us more about that phrase that appears in Genesis where God says that He saw what He had created and it was very good. This proverb expands our understanding of those times. It says that the wisdom of the universe that God was building was so astounding that it was like wisdom and God were playing. Wisdom was every day a delight to God. What He was doing in actual space-time dimensions was so powerfully superb and intricate that it can only be described as rejoicing or playing.
master workman
This is the Hebrew word amon which means master, artisan, master worker. It has the idea of a fully-trained, gifted worker who creates beautiful work that displays a level of skill and artistry that are not easy to come by. The image here that Solomon is trying to paint is that wisdom was at God's side as He was creating the universe. This wonderful thing called wisdom that looks for the choice that brings God glory, the group a win, and the individual a win was "informing" the Lord about which of all the possible options which presented themselves to His infinite mind He should choose to actualize.
Realize that God could have chosen to create a different world than the one that He created but because of the guidance of His infinite knowledge and wisdom, He chose to actualize this one. All of the underlying structures, interactions, mechanisms, and life were designed by God. Think through the wonder of the world that God created even in our damaged broken version of it and marvel at the wonder of it: DNA, planetary orbits and distances, seasons, cellular structures, properties of water, unique forms of life from plants, to bacterial, to animal, to aquatic, instincts, communication, climate, various metals and many more. All of these testify to the brilliance of the wisdom of God.
rejoicing
This is the Hebrew word sachaq which means to laugh, to amuse, to play, to celebrate, to rejoice. Wisdom and God were rejoicing at the actual application of wisdom to the creation of the world. There is a wonderful difference between planning something and having that plan come together in actuality. It is this kind of joy to which Solomon is referring. God had that kind of joy in the creation process.
We are only now coming to understand, through science, the incredible fine-tuning of the universe that allows for life on this planet – some 180+ perimeters and values that needed to be set within very small ranges in order to have life be able to survive. It is quite thrilling to realize the degree to which God fine-tuned the universe for us.
When you and I embrace wisdom and apply knowledge to bring about an actual result that causes God to rejoice, others to win, and us to win, there is a release of joy. This is why we search for wisdom. This is why we dig past the easy, selfish answer and push past the martyrdom answer and keep seeking until we find the wise answer. Wisdom brings about rejoicing.
daily
This is the Hebrew word yom which means day. The idea here is a clear reference to the six days of creation. On each day God brought out more evidence of His incredible wisdom. Each day was a master stroke in the progressive development of our world. Each day was a testament to the wisdom of God. Solomon pictures wisdom being amazed and delighted with how God solved the myriad problems, challenges, and possibilities that creating our space-time dimensional existence created. It is almost like wisdom is standing back saying, “Oh, that is the way you choose to solve that... wonderful. And you used that to get around this issue... brilliant.” Every place I look I find more of the astounding use of wisdom by God.
sons of men
Ben is the typical Hebrew word for son and men. The interesting thing here is that we would have expected sons of God or angels here, not sons of men. Often when creation is referred to it is the angels that are seen rejoicing with God over the unfolding panorama. But in this case it is the sons of men that draw the delight by wisdom.
The idea here is that wisdom found a focus to its involvement in the sons of men. The focus of creation is clearly humanity. We are the crowning achievement of creation and the preeminent focus of God and, therefore, where wisdom is seeking to focus.
The proverb could be saying that wisdom found such delight in the creation of humanity – in terms of its spirit, soul, and body interaction – or it could be that the choices of mankind during the initial stages of the creation were absolutely delightful.
We, of all the creatures, were made to be able to embrace wisdom and live it out so that we would be a glory to God. Today live wisely and reflect the glory of God in your decisions.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz