Week 3 Intro
Day 15: The Books of Solomon
What is biblical wisdom literature? Technically, this term can describe the entire
Hebrew Bible (see Psalm 119:98-99; 2 Timothy 3:15), but wisdom literature also
refers to a specific group of books connected to two things:
1. King Solomon
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)
2. The themes of wisdom, the “good life,” and the fear of the Lord
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Job
Though biblical wisdom literature is connected to these specific themes and the
work of King Solomon, the main ideas are rooted in the narratives of Genesis and,
specifically, in the garden of Eden in Genesis 1-3 and the story of Abraham. These
stories introduce and unpack the core concepts of good and bad, blessing and
curse, death and life, and the fear of Yahweh.
The wisest king of Israel, King Solomon, is associated with three books of the Bible:
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Each book offers a unique
perspective on how humans can rule with wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
Each of these books takes Solomon’s story as a universal paradigm, an Adam and
Eve story, so that his failure reenacts all humanity’s experience. These books focus
on universal questions like:
- How can humans access the good life of Eden that comes as a gift from God?
- How can humans learn to live by the wisdom and the fear of Yahweh in all of life’s
diverse seasons and circumstances?
- How can we process the failure of wisdom, the limits of mortality, and God’s
inscrutability in our search for wisdom and life?
- Is there any hope for humanity to truly embrace God’s wisdom and live by it?
In today’s video, we’ll briefly explore how the message of each book fits into the
overall story of the Bible.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-14
1Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days
come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
2before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the
clouds return after the rain, 3in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and
the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those
who look through the windows are dimmed, 4and the doors on the street are shut—
when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and
all the daughters of song are brought low— 5they are afraid also of what is high, and
terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself
along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners
go about the streets— 6before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is
broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the
cistern, 7and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God
who gave it. 8Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
9Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge,
weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10The Preacher
sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the
collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12My son, beware of anything
beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a
weariness of the flesh.
into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Song of Solomon 4:1-16
Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty
He
1Behold, you are beautiful, my love,
behold, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
2Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them has lost its young.
3Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
4Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in rows of stone;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
5Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that graze among the lilies.
6Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
7You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Depart from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.
9You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11Your lips drip nectar, my bride;
12A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a spring locked, a fountain sealed.
13Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all choice spices—
15a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.
16Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
let its spices flow.
Together in the Garden of Love
Let my beloved come to his garden,
and eat its choicest fruits.
Proverbs 1
1The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
5Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners
8Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
9for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.
10My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
11If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
15my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
16for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
17For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
18but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
19Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
20Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
23If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24Because I have called and you refused to listen,
and would have none of my reproof,
26I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
31therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
32For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”