Proverbs 8:1

This is the second of Solomon’s three great poems. Wisdom, like a woman, gives a speech to all the people.

In verse 1, there are not two women. Wisdom is one woman, but she has two names. Her names are Wisdom and Intelligence. This is because wisdom is the same thing as intelligence. Right decisions and accurate knowledge are also the same thing as wisdom.

All these things will be ours when we trust in God. They do not come immediately. We need to learn to be wise. This is a slow process. Each day, we should learn new lessons. God teaches us in different ways. Sometimes he teaches us from the Bible. Sometimes he uses other people to teach us. Sometimes he uses nature or other methods to teach us.

If we are teachers, then we must be patient. It takes many years to learn law or medicine. In the same way, many people are slow to learn wisdom. Even for true Christians, some lessons can take years to learn.

A church leader is a type of teacher. He teaches the people that he serves. Often, he must repeat the same lessons several times. The teacher must try to be a model for his people. He cares for them. He tries to advise them about the Bible. He prays for them. The teacher himself also needs to learn more. He knows that he is not perfect.