Wisdom Literature

The Revelation of God’s Love

Part 1:Introduction, Job and Psalms Document#: TX004689

Wisdom Literature in General • Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the Ancient Near East. This genre is characterized by “wise sayings” intended to teach about divinity and virtue. • The key principle is that while techniques of traditional story-telling may be employed, wisdom literature also offers insight and wisdom about nature and reality. • Wisdom literature includes several books of the Old Testament and Jewish Apocrypha.

Wisdom Literature

 The Hebrew word for wisdom is translated “skill for living,” because the Jews regarded wisdom in very practical terms.

 Wisdom is defined as “knowledge and good judgment based on experience.”

 This literature provided guidance for moral behavior and everyday living. It helped people know how to cope with day-to-day living. Wisdom Literature

 Hebrew wisdom literature, as distinguished from the wisdom writings of other cultures, was centered on God.

 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Prov. 1:7)

 “Solomon is revered in the Hebrew Bible as the father of the wisdom tradition.” Biblical Wisdom Literature Books

• Job • Psalms • Proverbs • Ecclesiastes • Song of Songs • Wisdom of Solomon • Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sirach)

Universal Truth • The wisdom books focus on everyday life. • They support our quest to glean wisdom from human emotion and struggle. • God, the source of wisdom, is at the center of all our human experience. © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Types of Wisdom Literature

The Old Testament Contains three types of Wisdom literature:

• Popular proverbs that express practical truths.

• Riddles or parables with a spiritual meaning.

• Discussions of the problems of life. Types of Wisdom Teachings Practical Wisdom:

1) Proverbs – short, easily remembered saying with one main point.

2) Fable – Story with a moral giving human qualities to animals or plants.

3) Short poetic discourses – longer proverbs with one main point. JOB • Date: the story takes place during the period of the patriarchs; various suggestions have been offered regarding the composition itself.

• Content: a brilliant wrestling with the issue of suffering of the righteous and the justice of God, while also speaking to the larger question, “Where is wisdom found?” • Job is a classic examination of the problems of evil and human suffering. (1:8-12; 38:1 – 39:30; 42:1-6) • The book of Job examines the question: “Can God be trusted?”

Job - Emphases

• wisdom is ultimately found in God alone; human wisdom cannot fathom the ways of God; undeserved suffering has no easy answer; God is not obliged to explain all things; • Job comes to understand that wisdom is ultimately found in God alone, and human wisdom cannot on its own fathom the ways of God. • The fear of the Lord is the path to true wisdom.

Outline of the Book of Job • 1-2 Prologue • 3-26 Three Cycles of Speeches • (Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar) • 27-28 Conclusion and Discourse on Wisdom • (Job) • 29-37 Job and Elihu • 38-42:6 Two Cycles of Speeches • (Yahweh and Job) • 42:7-17 Epilogue

The Contributors – Job’s Friends • Job 2:11-13 introduce Job’s friends. • Job’s friends address him from the orthodox view of traditional wisdom which provides no comfort. • They came to sympathise, but (unfortunately) stayed to give their advice. • Through the ensuing speeches, we are being drawn into a debate on the very nature of suffering with each participant in the debate bringing a different (but inadequate) perspective.

Job • The Book of Job asks, Why do good people suffer and wicked people prosper? • Job, a good man, endures the loss of family, land, home, and health. • A core belief of the time was that God rewards the righteous and punishes the unjust.

© ihartcreations / iSockphoto.com God Does Not Cause Suffering • God has allowed Satan to test Job through a series of losses. • God has not directly caused Job’s suffering. • God knows that Job can withstand any trial because of his deep faith.

• Suffering is not a punishment for sin. • God does not want his people to suffer. • Patience in our sufferings leads to growth in our relationship with God.

• God deserves our love © abd / Shutterstock.com even when life takes a turn for the worse. The Psalms • The Psalms is the hymnbook of God’s people. • The Hebrew title of the book means “praises” or “hymns of praise to God.” • The collection of 150 poems, the psalms is also known as the Psalter. • Psalms are part of Israel’s worship.

• Many of the Psalms address the feelings, understandings, and struggles of God’s people, which is reflection of the joys and sorrows of Israel’s journey of faith. © pastorscott / iStockphoto.com

Psalms – Expression of Israel’s Faith Journey • Many of the Psalms address the feelings, understandings, and struggles of God’s people, which is reflection of the joys and sorrows of Israel’s journey of faith. • Hence, they contain many emotions, including: love and adoration toward God, sorrow over sin, dependence on God in desperate circumstances, the battle of fear and trust, walking with God even when the way seems dark, thankfulness for God’s care, devotion to the word of God, and confidence in the eventual triumph of God’s purposes for the world.

Divisions of the Psalms

It is divided into five books: • Book 1 - Psalms 1-41 • Book 2 - Psalms 42-72 • Book 3 - Psalms 73-89 • Book 4 - Psalms 9-106 • Book 5 - Psalms 107-150

• At the end of each section (eg 41:13) the break is marked by a doxology – a formal expression of praise to God. Psalm 150 forms a doxology to the whole collection.

Classification of Psalms • There have been many attempts to classify the psalms, and they can be grouped in a number of ways, for example by theme. • There are psalms which plead with God and psalms which praise him; appeals for forgiveness, or the destruction of enemies; prayers for the king, or for the nation; “wisdom” psalms and psalms which probe life’s problem-areas; and psalms (such as 119) which celebrate the greatness of God’s law. • Many psalms are a blend of several of these common themes.

Grouping Psalms by Literary Type • Hymns, in praise of God’s character and deeds; praise extolling God as Creator of the earth and author of history (Ps 8; 19; 29). • Community Laments arising out of some national disaster (Ps 44; 74) • Royal Psalms, originating in some special occasion in the life of the reigning king (Ps 2; 18; 20; 45) • Individual laments - cries for God’s intervention in difficult situations. (Ps 3; 7; 13; 25; 51). • Individual thanksgiving. People composed hymns of thanksgiving to thank God for his amazing action in their lives. (Ps 30; 32; 34)

The Psalms - Mirror of the Soul • The emotions contained in the Psalms mirror universal human experience. • They are rooted in particular circumstances, yet they are timeless, and so among the best-loved, most-read, parts of the Bible. • They express the whole range of human feeling and experience, from dark depression to exuberant joy. • We find it easy to identify with them. We are stirred by the same emotions, puzzled over the same fundamental problems of life, cry out in need, or worship, to the same God, as the psalmists of old.

Mirror of the Soul • The Psalms express our inner longing for God, so that we too can be a people of prayer. • The Psalms were central to the teachings and prayers of Jesus.

© Tracy Whiteside / Shutterstock.com Psalms in the New Testament • The book of Psalms had an immense influence on New Testament writers. They quote liberally from several Old Testament books, but none more so than from Psalms. From the Psalms, they drew on the wealth of material that God had inspired pertaining to Jesus Christ. • When Peter and John had been ordered (unsuccessfully) by the Sanhedrin not to preach Jesus Christ (Acts 4:27), the fledgling New Testament church prayed to God for the continuing boldness of the apostles. In their prayer, they quoted Psalm 2:1-2 and applied it as a prophecy of what had happened to Jesus Christ.

Some References to Psalms in the New Testament • Psalm 2 Acts 4:26; 13:33 • Psalm 5 Romans 3:13 • Psalm 8 Matthew 21:16 • Psalm 10 Romans 3:14 • Psalm 14 Acts 3:12 • Psalm 16 Acts 2:28; 13:35 • Psalm 22 Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34 • Psalm 32 Romans 4:8 • Psalm 36 Romans 3:18 • Psalm 51 Romans 3:4 • Psalm 62 Rom 2:6 • Psalm 69 John 2:16; 15:25; Acts 1:20 • Psalm 78 Matthew 13:35 • Psalm 109 Acts 1:20 • Psalm 110 Matthew 22:44 • Psalm 118 Matthew 21:42; 23:39 • Psalm 140 Romans 3:13