Wisdom, then and now Chapter 12 Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes & Song of Solomon

BOOKS OF WISDOM WISDOM IS THE ABILITY TO MAKE GODLY CHOICES IN LIFE – How we think and live directs our destiny – Not a matter of skill or IQ, but of the heart – “…the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..” (Prov 9:10) – Wisdom starts with knowing God

BOOKS OF WISDOM OT WISDOM BOOKS ARE OFTEN MISREAD – Taken out of context, the terminology is easily confused, illogical interpretations are made – Proverbs is the book of wisdom mostly abused ie., Proverbs 14:7 says, “Stay away from the foolish, for you will not not find knowledge on their lips.” – This does not mean to avoid ungodly people in our daily lives, but don’t go to them for wisdom or advice about our personal life decisons

BOOKS OF WISDOM TEACHERS OF WISDOM – A class of wise men and women existed since 1000 B.C., and taught their pupils as “my son” – Styles Proverbial wisdom (Proverbs) Speculative wisdom (Ecclesiastes, Job) Lyric wisdom (Song of Solomon) – Their wisdom was expressed in dialogue Monologue in Ecclesiastes Dialogue in Job, Song of Solomon, Proverbs

BOOKS OF WISDOM USE OF POETRY TO TEACH WISDOM Poetry kept wisdom simple and easy to memorize – Ie., “Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.” (Prov 16:32, NIV ’84) Types of poetry used: parallelism, synonymous, antithetical, synthetic, acrostic, alliteration, numerical sequences, figurative language, riddle – You will need to revisit poetry terms to study the books of wisdom They are not theological books, but they are intended to point us to the truth using poetry

PROVERBS: THE BIG ONE Parabolic: point to something beyond themselves Intensely practical, not theoretical Worded to be memorable, not technical Not designed to support materialistic behavior May need to be translated into modern cultural context Not guaranteed promises of God, but poetic guidelines for good behavior – ie, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” (Prov 16:3) God does not bless plans outside his will, or foolish and hasty plans

JOB: WISDOM & LITERATURE Dialogue and storyline of Job, his suffering, and his friends’ unsound advice God’s ways are above our ways and he allows suffering though it is not his will Like Job’s friends, many Christians wrongly think that their suffering is the result of their sin The Book of Job teaches us that we live in a sinful world dominated by Satan who causes us suffering Contrasts worldly wisdom with godly wisdom, which leads us to build confidence in God’s sovereignty and righteousness

ECCLECIASTES: THE HARD ONE Two main interpretations of Ecclesiastes by two best friends (Even the experts don’t know and can’t agree!) – Longman: cynical wisdom to show a life to be avoided – Provan: positively learn to enjoy life until we die Meaningless (vapor, mist) used 37 times – Does this apply to the teacher? Life in general? Both? 4 main teachings: – God is the Creator who gives all things – We are limited to understand God’s ways (IDK) – Life doesn’t always add up – The great equalizer is death

SONG OF SOLOMON: ROMANCE! Historically, it was interpreted (wrongly?) as an allegory of our love relationship with Christ More recently, it is interpreted as a love poem, teaching that romance not just precedes marriage but characterizes it Celebrates how we can respond faithfully to our partner and fulfill their needs in marriage Spoken in hyperbole – sets the tone of being crazy in love