Day 20 – Thursday -- The Book of Proverbs

Day 20 – Thursday

The Book of Proverbs

This book is part of the Wisdom Literature of the Bible, which includes some of the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Job, Song of Songs; and in the Apocrypha, the Books of Wisdom and Sirach.

There are three reasons to read the Book of Proverbs. First, its presentation of Wisdom has theological implications. Second, we learn about the religious culture of that time. Third, we can selectively choose some of the sayings as guides for our own ethical and psychological style of life.

The sayings of Proverbs were collected over an extensive period of time. The editing was probably done during and after the Exile. King Solomon’s name is attached to part of the book.

In Proverbs, Wisdom is personified as a woman. Chapters 8 & 9 present a sophisticated theology of Wisdom. She is depicted as being a playful companion of God at the creation. She is there at the very beginning, helping God plan and build the world. Here is the way the Common English Bible translates Prov. 8.30-31:

I was beside [God] as a master of crafts. I was having fun, smiling before him all the time, frolicking with his inhabited earth and delighting in the human race.

The concepts of divine Word and divine Wisdom begin to merge in philosophical thought during the time between the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures (New Testament). The beginning of John’s Gospel may have in mind Lady Wisdom (Sophia in Greek) as synonymous with the divine Word (Logos) as he writes, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …All things came into being through him. Word and Wisdom seems to have coalesced.  Sophia and Logos have become one.

Other parts of the New Testament draw on the Wisdom Tradition. Colossians 1.15-20 depicts Christ as Wisdom. And Paul states in the first chapter of First Corinthians that Christ is the Wisdom of God. Matthew 11.25-27 and Luke 10.21-22 are passages which derive their father-son language from the Wisdom Tradition. Parts of the Letter of James sound like the Book of Proverbs.

The understanding of parenting reflected in Proverbs is one still held by some people in our culture, but most, I think, have moved on to a more progressive and psychologically healthy method. The old adage, Spare the rod and spoil the child, is straight from Proverbs:

Those who spare the rod hate their children,
    but those who love them are diligent to discipline them (13.24).

Today, the use of physical punishment, as in hitting or beating a child, is frowned upon for good reason. Violence begets violence. Abused children frequently grow up to be abusers.

Another parental saying can be retrieved as a positive one: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (22.6, KJV) I have heard middle-aged parents complain that this verse is lying; it didn’t work for them. They raised their child right, but he turned out bad. That’s when you have to explain that these sayings are proverbs, not promises.

Misogynist sayings pop up occasionally, such as:

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without good sense (11.22).

You’ve heard this one: A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (15.1). Here is one on trust: Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established (16.3). Here is a famous one: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (16.18). Here is a good one for Facebook posts: Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, who will only despise the wisdom of your words (23.9). You may have heard this one too: A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver (25.11).

Other examples of helpful maxims:
• It is the glory of God to conceal things (25.2).
• Argue your case with your neighbor directly (25.9).
• Hope deferred makes the heart sick (13.12). [Didn’t someone write a poem about that?]
• A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh (14.30).
• Gray hair is a crown of glory (16.31).
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways    
  acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (3.5-6).
• Whoever belittles another lacks sense (11.12).
• The righteous know the needs of their animals (12.10).
• A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity (17.17).

The concern for social justice is also a theme in Proverbs:
• Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord (19.17).
• Those who mock the poor insult their Maker (17.5).
• To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice (21.3).
• If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat (25.21). [Quoted by Paul]
• A ruler who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food (28.3).
• If a king judges the poor with equity, his throne will be established forever (29.14).
• The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but maintains the widow’s boundaries (15.25).

This book says: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight (9.10). What does it mean to “fear” the Lord? To be afraid? To have existential dread? To have reverence for the sacred? To be in awe of life? To be frightened at the prospect of divine punishment? To be scared of living a wasted life? Think about this: a consistent statement throughout the Bible is: “Do not be afraid.”

Lady Wisdom invites us to her house. She says: Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity and live, and walk in the way of insight (9.5-6). Sounds like Lord’s Supper to me—served by Mother Jesus.

Finish this: I know I have the fear of the Lord in me when….