The Beginning of Wisdom

Intro to Wisdom Literature

Welcome

All of the wisdom literature is written in poetic style, so I’m going to start by going over how biblical poetry works.

The Bible is 30% poetry

This is ancient Hebrew poetry

Not all of this poetry will make sense

It does not have rhyme or meter like our poetry today

It rhymes in lines, not words

Complete, deepen, contrast

Proverbs 9:10–12 HCSB

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by Wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for your own benefit; if you mock, you alone will bear the consequences.”

Proverbs

The book of proverbs is a favorite among many people because of it’s easy to read style. Just pick it up and find some wisdom in the quippy couplet poetry of Solomon. It is easy to find good wisdom in these one liners. But what is the bigger picture of proverbs?

This book is comprised mostly of short sayings that are contributed to Solomon, the king of Israel, and was written for the sons of Israel to gain wisdom.

Chapters 1-9 is written from the perspective of a father to his sons encouraging them to stay on the path of wisdom and avoid foolishness.

Chapters 10-29 is made up of the couplets of wisdom.

Proverbs 15:1 HCSB

A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

Proverbs 16:18 HCSB

Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 27:17 HCSB

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Chapters 30 and 31 are poems attributed to men named Agur and Lemuel.

One thing to keep in mind when reading proverbs is that the advice that is given does not always work. There are many sayings in this book about how to live according to the “Fear of the Lord”, having to do with money, relationships, alcohol, sex, work, parenting, etc., and it promises that if you follow the advice given you will reap the benefits! But we all know that it doesn’t always work out that way. We know that even when we follow wise advice and do the right thing, sometimes we still get the short end of the stick. That’s where Ecclesiastes comes in.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes is a very different book. This book has often been attributed to Solomon himself, but it is likely that it was written by an unnamed Hebrew poet from the perspective of Solomon. In Ecclesiastes we find a different perspective on wisdom than we find in proverbs.

The sayings of proverbs promise that if you gain wisdom and do what is right, blessing and prosperity will follow, and if you despise wisdom and act like a fool, you are sure to be ruined. Ecclesiastes comes along to point out that even though that is how it should be, it doesn’t always go that way.

Job

The book of Job is a story of a wise man who feared God and prospered, but one day, everything was taken away from him.

Chapters 1 and 2 tell the story of Job losing everything.

Chapters 3-37 is a series of poetic conversations between Job and his friends as they argue about why bad things happen to good people.

Chapters 38-42 is God speaking to Job and his friends.

The book ends with Job gaining everything he lost and more.

Throughout Job, you can find the same perspectives of wisdom that is found in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes spoken by Job and his friends as they try to explain how God judges the people and blesses or curses accordingly. However, in the end, the conclusion is that the world does not work by human wisdom, and things don’t always work out the way we might think they should. But rather, the world is run by God’s wisdom, and that when circumstances seem unjust or unfair, we can trust God.

What is Wisdom

Can you think of some of the wise advice that has been given to you over the years? Throughout your entire life, I’m sure, people have been giving you advice with the intention of you following it to make your life just that much better, or easier, or prosperous.

Much of the “wise” advice I have been given so far in my life has to do with money, or work, marriage and children, etc.

It is a good thing to listen to the advice from wise people. But as Christians, we are called to seek a greater wisdom; godly wisdom

But where do we get godly wisdom? Here is something that I find interesting. In the book of proverbs, wisdom is equated to “a tree of life”. Where have we seen a tree of life before in the Bible? Genesis 3:1-6

Genesis 3:1–6 HCSB

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

They ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they wanted to become wise. That doesn’t sound like a bad thing does it? where did they go wrong? They were trying to gain wisdom apart from God’s plan. Now, I don’t think that God wanted Adam and Eve to never have wisdom. I’m sure that if they didn’t take from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and continued to walk with God and take part in the tree of life, they would have gained godly wisdom. But the problem is that they chose to try and gain wisdom on their own term from the wrong place.

It is easy for us to look back on the story of Adam and Eve and be like “Well that was stupid, clearly you should have stuck with God and looked to him for wisdom rather than that stupid tree. But where do we go to become wise? It is easy to be tricked into thinking something is good advice. It may sound good, and it may even work well. But if it doesn’t line up with the Bible’s standards is it really wise? It’s not wrong to take someone else’s advice, or gain wisdom from media other than the Bible. But when we are looking for wisdom, as Christians we need to be looking through the lens of God’s word. When we follow Godly wisdom it is like taking hold of the tree of life; it will be a blessing to you.

Where does godly wisdom begin?

Proverbs 9:10 HCSB

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

You have likely heard this verse before, even if you haven’t been in church long. It is a popularly quoted verse in the church. But what does it mean?? How are we supposed to fear the Lord? And why does it make us wise?

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Fear of the Lord

A religious expression conveying either devotional piety or the dread of punishment.

Fearing God as devotion, in plain terms really just means being committed to following God’s commands. When someone is described as fearing God, it doesn’t mean they’re perfect, but that they are all in. Their relationship with God and devotion to His mission is first in their heart and mind! That means they treat others as they have been commanded; they do business with integrity; they act with justice; they serve the local church because it is God’s mission in their community and in the world. Fearing God: being devoted to God’s commands and mission means you will be living wisely

The other part of fearing God that we mentioned is the dread of punishment. And many people have a difficult time coping with this thought. People even say, “Why would you follow a God who hold’s punishment over you? It’s either do what I say or suffer forever”

Luke 12:4–5 HCSB

“And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear!

You see, we should fear God because he is the just and righteous judge, and we are sinful people. God will not be near sin, so he has the authority to cast us into hell, away from him for eternity. But look at what Jesus says next.

Luke 12:6–7 HCSB

Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!

Jesus was just saying that we should fear God, and now he says, “don’t be afraid”! How does that translate? God is the just and righteous judge, but he is also the God of love. He loves us and wants us to take on the righteousness of Christ and fear him by being devoted to him!

Romans 2:4 tells us that God is kind to us, and his kindness is supposed to lead us to repentance; lead us into relationship with him.

1 John 4:18 HCSB

There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love.

It is God’s perfect love that leads the believer out of the fear of punishment and into the commitment to follow his commands.

Now, we can look at Proverbs 9:10 and say, “Okay, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is wise to fear God because he is judge, and I am not. It is wise to fear God because by doing so (living by his commands) I will live my life well. But is that all that the author of proverbs is trying to portray?

Now, what I’m going to tell you is just my speculation. I don’t have a scholarly work to back me up on this. Pretty much, the Church all over the world agrees that the two things we have just gone over describe the fear of the Lord. But is that what the author of proverbs is really trying to get across here? or is it something a little more specific; a specific knowledge or understanding about God that when we respect Him in this way specific way we have in fact begun to understand real wisdom?

Reading the wisdom literature of the Bible, each of the three books has a different perspective on wisdom. Proverbs lists lots of ways to live wisely. Ecclesiastes reveals that even if you live by the wisdom of proverbs, prosperity is not a guarantee. And in the end the author says that his conclusion is that all people should fear God and keep his commands.

Job is a book about a man who feared God who had everything, and lost it all. Through the whole book, Job is questioning whether God is actually good and just, and in the end Job realizes something: he is not God.

I think that this is the puzzle piece that connects the three books together: Proverbs wisdom, Ecclesiastes dilemma, Job’s tragedy.

The Fear of the Lord that IS where wisdom begins is knowing that God is wiser and surrendering that to him

Human wisdom will only take a person so far. Biblical wisdom will lead a person down the right path. But true wisdom stems from understanding that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts are higher than our thought.

Surrendering to God, understanding that he is really the one in control can be uncomfortable. But take comfort in this

Romans 8:28 HCSB

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Even in the most trying times, when life seems unfair, and tragedy strikes, we can know that God has a plan for what he does, even if we can’t see it.

For us to begin to understand godly wisdom, we must understand that God is always wiser

So gain wisdom. Search the Word and follow its wisdom. Build your life on the wisdom of the Bible! But remember, even when you live wisely and things still go wrong, God knows what He is doing.

Communion

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.