For a long time, the fulfillment of the wisdom of God was a concept I had not fully realized.  I believed Jesus was that fulfillment, but to see how He did so in such a practical manner when applied to the book of Proverbs is breathtaking.  The Gospel of Jesus has become even more vividly clear when seen through that book’s fulfillment.  I had only vaguely heard about such an OT appropriation from a seminarian professor who sarcastically told me about Origen’s comparison between the arks’ wooden floor boards and Jesus’ saving power.  I feel I must make something clear, I didn’t read ahead and prepare what we would talk about before our time together.  We would pray and invite the Holy Spirit to fill us and our home and open our eyes as we read.  It was a simple prayer, but has become filled with excitement as the Holy Spirit would show up and answer us every time.

 

Again, I didn’t research or prep myself in any way.  We would simply read the proverb, then I’d ask my kids what it meant.  We’d talk about it and Betsy and I would answer any questions, or look up stuff in case we couldn’t.  For this one, we looked at it from the perspective of farmers, which we are not.  The proverb showed that they have an order to their work, and we spoke about the wisdom of it.  If we finished our outdoor work, and got the fields ready, then built our house, the fields would grow as we would build.  Then harvest time and a finished house would converge!  If we did it the other way and built our house first before we got the fields ready we’d miss the window by not planting the crops in time.  It’s probably much more practical than this and is about money.  Sell the harvest then build because now you can afford it.

 

Then, I asked the question, “How did Jesus fulfill this proverb to make us into new creations?”  That is when this proverb got interesting.  My kids each took their turn seeing this as Jesus’ master plan.  “Finish your outdoor work” could be applied to His ministry among the disciples.  “Get your fields ready” could be applied in a similar way as Jesus’ statement in John 4:35, “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest.”, or as He said in Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”  His work of guiding His followers to a better way through his teachings by parables helped to clear the fields so they could receive His message. Miracles, signs, and wonders also helped to plant the seeds of His Kingdom.  “Build your house” could be seen as in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”  And as said in 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”  Hebrews 13:14 also states, “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”