What does Proverbs 8:22 mean? Does it mean that Jesus was created, or is it about wisdom?
This chapter does indeed speak about WISDOM. If we were to quote verses 1-21, we would see God appealing to all men (and women) to desire wisdom above all else. Of course, this is NOT speaking of the “wisdom of this world” which is contrary to “God’s wisdom which is from above” (see 1st Corinthians 1:18-25 along with James 3:13-18). In these precious verses WISDOM is “personified”; that is, it is looked upon as an actual PERSON calling out to mankind to seek her and to treasure her more than gold, silver, or rubies.
In verses 22-26, wisdom is seen to have existed BEFORE God created the world. We do well to read that precious portion. “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, BEFORE His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, BEFORE there was ever an earth. When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no fountains with water. BEFORE the mountains were settled, BEFORE the hills, I was brought forth; while as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, or the primeval dust of the world.” We know from many other scriptures that God is OMNISCIENT (all-knowing) but we see from this passage that God is ALL-WISE. It is one of His “eternal attributes.”
In verses 27-31 we see that God’s WISDOM was working with Him in the creation of the heaven and the earth. In other words, God was using His infinite wisdom as a “master craftsman” to bring about the perfect design and home for mankind. Again, we do well to quote this passage. “When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.”
Some Bible commentators stop at this point and refuse to apply any of these verses to the Lord Jesus Christ. Others, including me, believe there is a definite application to Christ throughout the chapter. Wisdom is not just an attribute of God that can be “personified,” but wisdom is found throughout the New Testament to refer to the PERSON OF CHRIST! (I would encourage you to read the following passages which refer to Christ as WISDOM: Matthew 11:19; 1st Corinthians 1:24, 30; Colossians 2:3). Here are some of the applications we can make to Christ in this chapter:
1) His “eternal existence” is manifested in verse 22-26. The Son of God is speaking, and He says, “the LORD possessed me at the beginning of the way, BEFORE His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, BEFORE there was ever an earth” (verses 22-23). We have this same truth of His pre-existence in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
2) His “presence and work in creation” are seen in verses 27-30a. The fact is the Son of God was indeed the “master craftsman” for “all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). See also Colossians 1:16 and Hebrews 1:2 where Christ, the Son of God, is seen as the Creator of all things.
3) His “place in the heart of God” is seen in verse 30b, “And I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” God has always “loved His Son” and found His supreme delight in Him, even while they were creating the heavens and the earth. Yet in love and grace for sinners, God was willing to send His Son to this earth to become a Man so He could take man’s place in death and judgment for their salvation (see John 3:16; 1st John 4:9-10). His willingness to come also brought “delight to the Father’s heart” as we see in Matthew 3:17, “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I was well pleased.”
4) His “delight with the sons of men” is seen in verse 31, “Rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.” Being “all-knowing,” He knew the “sons of men” would become guilty sinners in need of salvation, but He delighted in them anyway. And He proved His love for them by leaving heaven and becoming a Man and a Servant so He could redeem sinners and bring them to heaven to live with Him forever. See Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 2:9, 14-17; John 14:1-3; and 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18. (DO) (580.5)