3. Silence? Not! Sounds of Laughter During Creation
3. Silence? Not! Sounds of Laughter During Creation.
“From eternity past, I (Lady Wisdom) was established, well before the world began. Yahweh possessed me before earth got its start. When He staked out earth’s foundation and set in place its pillars, I was right there with him, anointed from the beginning, making sure everything fit. Day after day I was there at His side as His master craftsman, joyfully applauding His efforts. He was filled with delight in me as I playfully rejoiced (“sashaq”) before Him, enjoying His company. I laughed and played, delighted with the created world of things and creatures, so happy with what He had made, joyfully celebrating (“sashaq”) the human family and finding my delight in the children of men.” (Proverbs 8:23, 29-31).
“Sashaq” = A Hebrew term for rejoicing which means joyfully playing, laughing, making merry, celebrating with music, singing, and dance.
Group Project. The creation of the world was an act of perfect cooperation between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Creation was a joyful enterprise between them, and all took part. Yahweh’s part in this collaboration is not surprising. But it wouldn’t hurt to think about the role of Jesus in creation, and the part of the Holy Spirit as well. The Holy Trinity was in full operation during creation, Three acting as One in concert with each other. It is mind-boggling to think about the idea that during creation, the universal was resounding with the belly laughs of Jesus, the Co-Creator, laughing merrily, celebrating in song and dance as He delights in creating the world, especially as He participates in creating humanity.
Pure Poetry. In the poetic version of creation as seen in Proverbs 8 above and below, we see the vital role of wisdom, or as it reads, “Lady Wisdom.” This was a poetic device in the Hebrew Bible that anticipated the attribute of wisdom being completed in the form of an actual Person. Wisdom as poetically seen as a person was completed in the New Testament in the real Person, Jesus Christ. What was an attribute of God in the Old Testament came to be accepted as a picture of God Himself, Jesus the Son of God, “Christ, who is the Wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24. We do believe that God and Wisdom created the world. From all eternity, Jesus was God’s wisdom, even before the Triune God created the world. That’s why Wisdom is a title of Christ, not merely a description of Christ. It is important to remember that early Christian tradition maintains that Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible is messianic, an anticipation of the person of Christ. (St. Justin, 150 AD). Ever since the early Church Fathers, when one reads about Wisdom personified in Jewish Scriptures, Christian believers can simply understand Christ as Wisdom. That’s the Christian tradition. Secondly, it is very clear that Christ was a co-creator of the world. He participated in creation with the Triune God. As the Orthodox Church puts it, “The Father made the world through the Son in the Spirit.” St. Paul put it this way, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things exist.” (Col 1:16-17). And St. John declared it to be true in the famous first chapter of his gospel, “Through Him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through Him.”” (John 1:3).
[I have decided to weave together various translations and paraphrases to produce the following version of this remarkable passage that gives us a behind the scenes glimpse of the creation story in Proverbs 8:22-31, including The New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, the Passion Translation, the New King James Bible, The Message, the Amplified Bible, the Tanakh, the Revised Standard Version, and The New American Bible.]
“Lord Yahweh possessed me, Lady Wisdom, at the beginning of His work. I was the first-fruits of His fashioning, long before His deeds of old. I was appointed from eternity, firmly set in place from the beginning, established ages ago. I was poured forth, poured and anointed, before He created the universe, before there was even an earth, before the world began.” (vs. 22-23).
“I was brought forth before the ocean depths were poured out, before there were any springs with their abounding waters, before there were any glorious fountains overflowing with water. Before mountains were sculpted and settled into place, before the hills took shape, I was already there.” (vs. 24-25).
“Before He had made the earth, its fields, the countryside, before He made its first elements, the primal dust of the earth, the world’s first clumps of clay; Before He set the heavens in place, fixing the sky firm, I was already there. When He drew a circle on the surface of the deep, marking out the horizon of the earth, I was there.” (vs. 26-27).
“When He thickened the clouds above, setting the heavens in place; when the fountains of the deep swelled and gushed forth; when he assigned the sea its boundaries, commanding the waters so that they will not encroach on the shore; when he traced the foundations of the earth, fixing its pillars; I was right there with Him, making sure everything fit.” (vs. 28-29).
“I was there with Him, the master craftsman at His side, right beside Him as His artist and confidant. I was filled with delight day after day, enjoying His company, joyfully laughing in His presence, playfully rejoicing before Him. I celebrated as I played on the surface of the earth, so happy with what He had made. I delighted in mankind, happily celebrating the human family.” (vs. 30-31).
There is an overwhelming sense of noisy celebration and delight in Proverbs 8 as the Holy Trinity works together on the creation project. There is a joyful playfulness in the heart of God as the Three-in-One cooperate in creating the world. Creation certainly wasn’t accomplished in sober silence. Creation was more of a party than anything else, complete with singing and dancing. Isn’t it wonderful to know that God’s process of creation brought Him pleasure, and that our existence, the existence of the world, brings Him pleasure as well?
“Yahweh Lord takes pleasure in all He has made!” (Ps. 104:31).