Proverbs A COMMENTARY AND CONTEMPLATIONS OF THE EARLY FATHERS The Book of PROVERBS 1997 FR. TADROS Y. MALATY St. Marina’s Coptic Orthodox Church South Orange County - California USA 1 Introduction In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - one God. Amen Title: ThebookofProverbs. Author: Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. Edition: 1997. St. Marina's Coptic Orthodox Church, S. Orange County, California, USA. by: Published 2 Proverbs THE BOOK OF PROVERBS AND THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH One can consider the Book of Proverbs to have had significant value in the Early Church. However, one might have been mislead into thinking that the Book of Proverbs did not bring about the unification of church faith and life. Though the Book of Proverbs does not concentrate primarily on the church dogmas, it does focus on the pious behavior which in turn, relates to the faith. It is this pious behavior, in the Early Church’s view, that is a practical translation of the living faith and the fellowship with God. St. Clement of Alexandria, who was a philosopher didn’t separate philosophy, knowledge, faith and daily life. Thus, he was interested in the Book of Proverbs. With the same spirit St. Athanasius of Alexandria assures the close relation between faith and godliness, saying: "For faith and godliness are allied to each other, and are sister. He who believes in Him is godly, and he also who is godly, believes the more1." A contemporary believer finds in this book a divine guide to translate his faith into life. Fr. Tadros Y.Malaty 1 Paschal Epist. 11: 9. 3 Introduction Introduction to the book of PROVERBS THE SAPIENTIAL OR WISDOM BOOKS2 There are two types of wisdom writings in the Old Testament. The first type is comprised of practical, effective sayings on how a believer lives a spiritual and social life that grants him a satisfaction, and a kind of rewarding. It is this kind of wisdom that makes up much of the Book of Proverbs. The second type of wisdom writings deals with wrestling with the ambiguities of life. It explores such questions as: Does life as we know it make any sense? Can we arrive at any rational conclusions as to the meaning of life? How are we to respond to the contradictions of life in a real world? It is this type of wisdom writings that we find in the Book of Ecclesiastes, as well as in the Book of Job. Among the books of the wisdom group are the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, which are attributed to the King Solomon. The three books are rich in the use of metaphors. Proverbs presents simple assurances and firm warnings. Moral questions are answered in clearness and firmness. It never accept the half way, but often distinguishes between black and white, shade so far away. Ecclesiastes acknowledges that things are not often as they seem. Learning, riches, fame, and satisfaction are not always signs of God’s blessings, they can be empty and meaningless. Ecclesiastes incites us with its questions, making us probe deeper . The Song of Songs sanctifies love, and matrimony courtship as a shadow of the supernatural unity between Christ and His Church, or between Him and the human soul.. The focus of each of these books is different. Proverbs aims at the holy will, Ecclesiastes is directed at the holy mind, and the Song of Songs is written to the holy heart. According to the Jewish tradition, King Solomon wrote these books at different ages of life. The Song of Songs was composed in his youth, Proverbs was a product of his middle years, and Ecclesiastes was written in the disillusionment of his old age. However, there are some important features that each of these have in common. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are both classic examples of a class of literature that probably appeared on the scene during Solomon’s reign and continued to flourish after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile. Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs share distinction of being known as festal scrolls. According to the Jewish tradition they are two of five scrolls that were read at the annual feasts. The other three scrolls were Ruth, Esther, and Lamentations. Solomon as a “sage” and had a great experience of life, an important message for all of us. It is simply this: Life, if we look at it long and hard, is not without meaning and accurate plan. There is a deep satisfaction in a life that we receive from God and is committed to His divine hands. He is a God of justice (Proverbs) and love (Song of Songs), and it is He alone that makes sense of life (Ecclesiastes). Because this is true, we can follow 2 Cf. The Guideposts Bible Study Program, Discovering Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, 1989, Publisher’s Introduction, and Preface. 4 Proverbs with confidence the advice of the wisdom writer, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6)3. THE LANGUAGE OF EXPERIENCES Some scholars see that Book of Proverbs as a book that contains a collection of human experiences presented in a form of proverbs, to be a guide for a believer in his present life, to practice piety, and to be successful in all aspects of life. This we can’t ignore, but we should know that it is a practical book that touches our faith, inspired by the Holy Spirit, using the language of human experiences. In other words, God in His love, wants to speak with us, and instruct us by many means, so that we may meet Him, and share His life, in order to grow up, and be successful in this world, and be glorified in the world to come. We can say that God used the following means of speech to teach us: 1.The divine commandments, as God did with Adam and Eve. Truly God loved us at first, but we are in need to find the chance to express his love towards God practically by obeying Him. Through the commandments, man tastes the mutual love between him and God. As the first parents broke the divine commandment, God grants man natural law or commandments, then He gave the commandments to Moses, the first leader of His people, written on stone tablets by the fingers of God. 2.The nature:: Man became in need to learn from irrational creatures, plants, animals, and insects, even from an ant (Prov. 6:6). 3.The written word of God: According to St. John Chrysostom, before the fall man was not in need of the written word to hear the divine voice, because He used to speak with Him face to face. Because of the fall and weakness of man, there was a need of the written word. 4.The visions and dreams: God spoke with the patriarchs and prophets through visions and dreams as divine revelations. The majority of them were a shadow and preparation of the incarnation of the Word Himself, as it happened when Moses beheld the burning bush (Exodus 3:2). 5.The language of Hymns: Through hymns mentioned in the Bible, God teaches us that the aim of His commandment is the joy of the heart, by establishing the joyful inner kingdom of God, and attaining the pledge of heaven. The book of the Song of Songs is a unique example of the divine speech to us through hymns. The Coptic Orthodox Church uses this method of speech, as she changed worship into a kind of hymns contain joyful and rejoicing divine teachings. In the Coptic Orthodox liturgies, the readings from the Bible, are not only read, but also sung as hymns with various tunes, looking to the whole Bible as a book of hymns. 6.The divine parables: The Old and New Testaments are full of the parables, which explain the divine mysteries in a very simple way. For example, the Church is figuratively referred to as a vine in Isaiah 5. 3 Cf. The Guideposts Bible Study Program, Discovering Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, 1989, Publisher’s Introduction, and Preface. 5 Introduction 7.The allegories: When the human languages can’t express the heavenly realities God uses allegories, as in the Book of Revelation. The word "allegory," is derived from the Greek "alla," meaning "other," and "agoreuo," meaning "proclaim." It originally referred to a figure of speech that Cicero defined as a "continuous stream of metaphors4." According to St. Augustine, allegory is a mode of speech in which one thing is understood by another5. Some scholars distinguish "allegory," defined as a method in which earthly realities are interpreted symbolically to refer to heavenly realities, from "typology," in which historical reality is interpreted as foreshadowing another, especially the person and work of Christ6. The word “type,” in Greek has its basic meaning, ‘something struck out; a print, impression of a seal.’ The seal is the New Testament event, which has struck out a prophetic impression of itself in the pages of the Old Testament7. 8. The historical events: God speaks to us not only through the past events, especially what are recorded in the Old and New Testaments, but He also speaks to us through the contemporary events. He speaks with every one personally, through what happens to him, his relatives, friends, foreigners, and among the nations. 9. Proverbs. The Proverbs that express men’s experiences of practicing the divine commandments, or rejecting them, i.e.