Proverbs 8:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The wise individual recognizes and responds to the call of Wisdom herself. She proclaims her message to all humanity from elevated and bustling places, and acknowledging the significance of her abundant truths, she expresses her divine characteristics and actions as the incarnate Wisdom. She grants her followers strength, fortune, and success, while serving as a co-creator alongside God, the Creator, and jointly shaping the world. She extends an invitation for all to heed her teachings, assuring them of newfound wisdom and joy. The Lord established me as the beginning of His pathways, in His works (v. 22).

Divine Wisdom, speaking of herself as possessing wealth and glory, echoes the sentiments of the righteous Anna who, after the miraculous birth of her son Samuel, praises the Lord with these words: ‘The Lord makes poor and rich, humbles and exalts. He raises up from the earth the wretched, and from the ash heap lifts the needy to set them among princes, and to make them inherit a throne of glory’ (1 Sam. 2:7-8). This declaration of having an abundance of goodness and righteousness conveys the truth that the outcomes of God's justice are revealed in the way individuals are blessed with material wealth. At times, those who are unworthy are granted an abundance of temporal possessions; however, this does not imply that God acts unjustly toward them. Rather, it is an invitation for them to turn to God in repentance, out of appreciation for His grace and generosity.