Week 2: The Wisdom Tradition – Key Themes
OT Prophetic and Wisdom Literature • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 21:40
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The wisdom found in Proverbs is about the art of successful living. The appeal of these insights is that they touch on universal problems and issues that affect human behavior in us all.
Several major themes are present in these godly sayings of God’s servant Solomon:
Key themes
Key themes
Fear of the Lord
Fear of the Lord
Vocab: Fear of the Lord – A deep respect and awe for God, which leads to wisdom.
The concept of the "fear of the Lord" is introduced as the foundation of knowledge and the beginning of wisdom[4][5]. This fear is described as a wholesome awe and respect for God, expressing itself in obedience, reliance on God, and deliberate avoidance of evil[5].
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Wise and Fool, Righteous and Wicked
Wise and Fool, Righteous and Wicked
One of the central themes is the contrast between wisdom and folly.
Wisdom is described as living by God's standards and keeping to what is right, leading to life and all that is good.
Wisdom is described as living by God's standards and keeping to what is right, leading to life and all that is good.
The wise person possesses God’s revelation-knowledge and living-understanding. Therefore, he is prudent, shrewd, insightful, and does what is right because he is righteous, a God-lover. This lover of God is just, peaceful, upright, blameless, good, trustworthy, and kind.
Lady Wisdom
Lady Wisdom
Throughout Proverbs wisdom is personified with the metaphor of Lady Wisdom, who dispenses revelation-knowledge and living-understanding. Lady Wisdom is a figure of speech for God and his divine wisdom, who invites us to receive the best way to live, the excellent and noble way of life.
She is personified as a guide (6:22),
a beloved sister or bride (7:4),
and a hostess who generously invites people to “come and dine at my table and drink of my wine” (9:1–6).
In Proverbs, wisdom is inseparable from knowledge and understanding, which is not received independent of God’s revelation. We are invited to in 9:10
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
in order to receive what Lady Wisdom has to offer.
For God promises that revelation-knowledge will flow to the one who hungers for her gift of understanding Pro14:6
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands.
Vocab: Folly (Kesil) – Foolishness; rejecting wisdom and God’s ways.
Vocab: Folly (Kesil) – Foolishness; rejecting wisdom and God’s ways.
Folly is portrayed as man willfully going his own way, resulting in a pseudo-life that ends in death[3].
The wicked or foolish person is greedy, violent, deceitful, cruel, and speaks perversely.
It’s no surprise that
9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves him who follows righteousness.
A foolish person is described as being gullible, an idiot, self-sufficient, a mocker, lazy, senseless, and he rejects revelation-knowledge and living-understanding.
1 The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.
Many of Solomon’s wise sayings relate to these two kinds of people, teaching us how to avoid being a wicked fool and instead live as God intends us to live, as his wise, righteous lovers.
Righteous living is another prominent theme
Righteous Living
Righteous Living
Describing the life of integrity and the blessings it brings to both individuals and communities.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
The righteous are said to be loved and
protected by God, while the wicked are subject to His wrath[3].
LOOK AT
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, And it comes to the wicked instead.
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8 The wise in heart will receive commands, But a prating fool will fall.
7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.
The book emphasizes that while the wicked may prosper temporarily, they are ultimately heading for destruction[3][4].
[1] Rhodes, Ron. Bite-Size BibleTM Handbook: A Lot of Info in a Little Book. Harvest House Publishers, 2012, p. 53.
[2] Rhodes, Ron. Bite-Size Bible Library: 4-in-1 Ebook Bundle. Harvest House Publishers, 2022.
[3] Lewis, Brent, editor. “Christianity Magazine Theme Editorial: Proverbs Speaks on Life.” Christianity Magazine, vol. 5, no. 3, Christianity Magazine, 1988, p. 11.
[4] MacArthur, John. 1 Kings 1-11, Proverbs & Ecclesiastes: The Rise and Fall of Solomon. Thomas Nelson, 2016, p. x.
[5] Alexander, Pat, and David Alexander. The Lion Handbook to the Bible Fifth Edition. Lion Books, 2021, p. 394.
God’s Transcendence and Immanence
God’s Transcendence and Immanence
Proverbs teaches that God is both the author of (transcendent) and actor within (immanent) our human story.
First, God is above and outside the world: as Creator “he broke open the hidden fountains of the deep, bringing secret springs to the surface”
20 By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew.
God sees everything you do and his eyes are wide open as he observes every single habit you have
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21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths.
he is sovereign and steers “a king’s heart for his purposes as it is for him to direct the course of a stream
1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.
Second, God is involved with the world
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2 The rich and the poor have this in common, The Lord is the maker of them all.
“The Lord champions the widow’s cause”
25 The Lord will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.
he “will rise to plead [the poor’s] case”
23 For the Lord will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.
Proverbs teaches that God is all-powerful and transcendent while also ACTIVELY WORKING in our human story as our defender and protector.
ANOTHER THEME
Wealth and Poverty
Wealth and Poverty
As with many of Solomon’s wise sayings, we cannot take one thought on wealth and poverty and apply it to every situation.
Instead, Solomon teaches us seven major things about having wealth and being poor, and how wisdom and foolishness affect them both:
The righteous are blessed with wealth by God himself
The righteous are blessed with wealth by God himself
22 The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.
Laziness leads to poverty
Laziness leads to poverty
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
4 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Fools who have wealth will soon lose it
Fools who have wealth will soon lose it
28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage.
Poverty results from injustice and oppression
Poverty results from injustice and oppression
8 One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for him who will pity the poor.
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you.
10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.
11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;
14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord has blessed you with, you shall give to him.
The wealthy are called to be generous with their wealth
The wealthy are called to be generous with their wealth
17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
27 He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.
Gaining Wisdom is far better than Gaining Wealth
Gaining Wisdom is far better than Gaining Wealth
13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;
14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
The Value of Wealth is Limited
The Value of Wealth is Limited
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.
Jesus and the Church
Jesus and the Church
As with the rest of the Old Testament, we are called to read Proverbs in light of Jesus and his ministry. Throughout the gospels Jesus associates himself with wisdom. For instance, in Matt. 11:18–19 Jesus claims his actions represent Lady Wisdom herself. Where he is identified with Lady Wisdom in the New Testament, it is a powerful way of saying that Jesus is the full, entire embodiment of wisdom. In many ways Col. 1:15–17 mirrors Prov. 8.
Likewise, the preface to John’s gospel resonates with this same chapter when Jesus is associated with the Word, another personification of wisdom.
Jesus stands at the center of Scripture; he can be found throughout Scripture, not just in the New Testament. So as you read these important words of wisdom, consider how they point to the one who perfectly embodied and is our wisdom.
Discussion Questions:
1. How does Proverbs define wisdom?
2. What role do discipline and instruction play in gaining wisdom?
Assignment
Identify three proverbs that are most relevant to modern life. Explain why they are meaningful in today’s world.
