K-Dramas and What I've Learned From Them

Thanks to your friendly neighbourhood streaming service I've been getting into K-Dramas lately. "K-Dramas?" you ask?

K-Dramas or Korean Dramas are Korean soap opera TV shows. Why would they appeal? Well friend, for a few reasons; they are over the top dramatic! I am learning about another culture which is similar but so different from my own and there is always a couple of bodily function jokes thrown in there (I'm not too mature for some scatological humour).

I found a series recently named "Falling Into Your Smile" which was not a K-Drama technically because it was made in China but it fits into the category thematically as it has the same elements as your typical K-Drama; a group of impossibly attractive young people thrown together by fate, two unlikely members of the group find themselves attracted to one another despite the odds, important moments of romantic tension shot from multiple angles and played one after another so you really DO NOT miss this turning point in their relationship. All that good stuff.

However what intrigued me most about this series was the many and varied subtle ways in which Chinese culture differs from my own [white bread New Zealander]. Each personal interaction between characters was marked by a social etiquette, hierarchy and spiritual background that was, for lack of a better word, alien to me. It reminded me of the other series from China I absolutely recommend: "Flavourful Origins", which explores food in different areas of China. Traditional Chinese food differs so wildly from my own culture's traditions of preparing and eating that I marveled at the way cultures can evolve over thousands of years to be almost parallel universes of the same world we humans live in. We are all the same, and yet, so different...

The main characters in "Falling Into Your Smile" often quote Chinese proverbs to one another to explain their thoughts or feelings. It's hard for me to see how the proverb gets the point across but for the people in the situation the meaning is clear and they carry on their discussion seamlessly. I see in that moment that I need some background or immersion in their way of thinking to fully understand what is happening.

Which finally brings me to my musings on the Word of God *Segway alert!* If I live in a world which at this very moment has cultures that have frameworks of thinking which differ so vastly from my own, how can I be so presumptuous to think that I can read an ancient text from a culture not my own and think that I can get the meaning out of it easily? Wouldn't I need to do even a little work to try to understand their way of thinking before I jump in with a conclusion?

Fortunately we live in an age which has an abundance of work already done for us in this area so that it's not too hard to find out the basics to get us started on our Bible understanding journey. Old Testament scholar Dr John Walton and his work in the OT has been very helpful to me lately in getting me out of myself and into the shoes of the Ancient Israelite living in the Promised Land. From what I have learned so far the Ancient Israelite way of thinking seems to be more similar to the Chinese way of thinking; hierarchy brings order (God given or otherwise), the spiritual is never far from the material, and symbolic imagery holds more meaning than clinical reasoning, not to mention a little scatological humour (1 Kings 18:27).

I still don't understand all of the times Jesus or the Apostles dropped in an OT quote or saying to explain themselves but I have had a whole world opened up to me. This older framework of thinking has helped me become excited and intrigued with the older parts of the Bible and gain a much deeper understanding of them. So now instead of asking myself WWJD* I can ask myself WWMT? (What Would Moses Think?) and because Moses pained himself to point us forward to the much needed Messiah using the God given imagery and symbolism in the Torah we can see and understand clearer each day the greatest love shown to all: WDJD? - What Did Jesus Do [for us]? The Bible even shoots it from four angles.

*What Would Jesus Do?

Some further reading:

Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Dr John Walton)

God's Big Picture (Vaughan Roberts)

The Unfolding Mystery (Edmund Clowney)

Road To Revelation: The Prophets - Jeremiah Pt 2: Lamentations

From the man who brought you the invasion of Babylon and the destruction of the temple comes another book of equally depressing content; Lamentations.

If we learn anything by living long enough, it’s that “life is pain highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something” (the man in black). Jeremiah strongly agrees and writes an epic, tragic poem of the fall of Jerusalem and it’s complete destruction; of the suffering of the people because of their rebellion against the Lord and he doesn't pull any punches. One of the most heartbreaking stanzas to me is in chapter 2:13-14

 What can I say for you, to compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is vast as the sea:
Who can heal you?

Your prophets have seen for you
False and deceptive visions;
They have not exposed your iniquity
To restore your fortunes,
But have seen for you oracles
That are false and misleading.

The people are like sheep who have been lead astray by their "not paid enough to care" shepherds. They listened to the wrong people [false prophets and priests] and now they are suffering as a consequence. And what comfort can people give them now? There is no good in their lives that they can lean on to help in this time of distress… is there? It makes me feel so angry and helpless to read this (especially knowing about all the nonsense preached about Jesus in many churches in this day…).

Not only does Jeremiah feel all the feelings of pity and sadness for his people; he also feels them for himself. We marvelled at his perseverance under trials of many kinds in his larger book (Jeremiah) and now we get to glimpse behind the curtain of his outward stubbornness. In chapter 3 he reveals now he felt while he was going through all the persecution from the leaders of God’s people. In a nutshell he felt crushed by the Lord and his anger “my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say ‘my endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”

If Jeremiah had laid down his pen at that point this would truly be the most depressing book of all time. Your nihilist college professor would be proud. But fortunately for Jeremiah and all his readers he remembers something… “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.” Hope? Hope? Please tell us more!!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness.

“the Lord is my portion’” says my soul

“therefore I will hope in him.”

(sung to the tune of OG worship song writer Michael W. Smith's epic hit)

In the depths of their suffering; those who have placed their hope in the Lord will be comforted. They DO have something good to lean on to help in a time of distress [the love of the Lord of the universe]. Even if that distress has been brought on by their own sin and rebellion! There is always  mercy to be found from the Lord if we come back to him in repentance. He is always faithful to his promises to cleanse us from all unrighteousness through the work of his son, the Messiah, whom Jeremiah looked forward to and we look back to.

Although as Jeremiah goes through this anguish of the heart any good news seems fleeting, and he sinks back into his woes. Chapters 4 and 5 see him swing back to the suffering of the people and their seemingly endless punishment at the hands of the Lord.  But again he returns to the Lord’s promises at the last minute. A cry of desperation to not forget his people! So desperate that it seems that Jeremiah doubts the Lord’s willingness to restore and forgive his people. Feelings which we feel in our repentant state too but we also cry out, like Peter, and Jeremiah [inferred] before him:

'From that moment many of His disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. Therefore Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you? Simon Peter answered, "Lord, who will we go to? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that You are the Holy One of God!" ' (John 6: 67-69)

 

Road To Revelation: The Prophets - Jeremiah (Not the Bullfrog)

The next major prophet up to bat is Jeremiah “the weeper” *insert last name here*. He was a priest, like Isaiah, and he also loves the temple. He served the  Lord for 40years before Babylon invaded and for some years during and after the invasion.

Jeremiah; much like his predecessors Moses and Isaiah felt unworthy to serve the Lord (aren't we all??) but it doesn't matter! The Lord had chosen him! (aren’t we all??).

Jeremiah’s life was not an easy one. His lot in life was a classic case of “shoot the messenger”. He only had bad news for the people of Israel and Judah who had rejected the Lord in favour of their idols and therefore he was not warmly received shall we say... (see ch.2:5-6 and 13-14) He did his best in chapters 3-10 to warn the people and their leaders that their breaking of the covenant with their God would result in the invasion of Babylon an the destruction of the temple but it fell on deaf ears and they planned to kill him for his trouble (ch.11)

But being the stubborn man he was he continued to try. He used pictures (his belt ch.13, a potter’s house 18), pleading (ch 15-19) and strong warnings (16-18) but again, he was not listened to and instead left beaten and put in the stocks (20). His strongest words of rebuke were for the spiritual leaders of Israel and Judah. They had utterly failed in their job as spiritual caretakers of God’s people and Jeremiah warned them of their destruction. But finally, he brings some good news! (only had to wait 22 chapters…) There is another! God will not abandon his people and leave them without someone to lead them to himself; he will send a good leader, a good shepherd, a righteous branch (vs. 5-7).

Then more sort of good news… The captivity in Babylon will not be permanent. Only a mere 70 years people! And when it is over, so will their enemies be defeated... Babylon will fall too (25).

But it’s not what anyone in Judah wants to hear and so there are plots to kill Jeremiah and end his annoying reminders of their sins. They are almost successful (gasp!) but Jeremiah escapes to prophecy another day and tell King Zedekiah that sadly he will no longer rule Judah, but will serve Nebuchadnezzar; ruler of Babylon.

28 Then he beats the false prophet Hananiah in an epic “prophecy off”. KO!

All of us probably would have given up by now and gone to live a quiet life in the country, shaking the dust from out sandals as we left but not old Jere. He remains faithful to the Lord and writes a letter to the exiles in Babylon. This time he doesn’t rebuke them, but gives them words of comfort and hope; build houses, make lives for yourselves there, pray for your enemies, do not be afraid but stay faithful to the Lord and you will return to the land in 70years. He reminds the people that God keeps his promises and the land will be given back to his people. This is not the only thing Jeremiah wants them to look forward to though—he has even better news!! God is working on something new; a new covenant with his people; a better covenant; an eternal covenant; one not dependent on human works, but on the works of the Lord! One where their sins will not be merely covered over with the blood of animals, but will be completely washed away and forgiven! Forgiven!!!

31:31-34 Does this passage remind any of you of Hebrews 8? (it should, it quotes this passage haha) Or Jesus at the last supper? Just me?

32 And so with this good news in mind, Jeremiah buys himself a field. He puts his money where his mouth is so to speak.

Unfortunately Zedekiah is up to his old tricks and still refuses to listen to anything Jeremiah has to say. He burns the scroll Jeremiah gives him and puts him in prison. But he will not stop bugging the king about his sin so they throw him down a well. But God is with Jeremiah and rescues him from the well and takes him to Egypt (Jesus as a boy!) while Jerusalem crumbles and burns behind him as Nebuchadnezzar invades. (34-39)

Jeremiah has words to say to the surrounding nations too (40-49) for they too are under God’s law and welcome to receive God’s promises (if they repent). Then he turns to Babylon... (50)

Jeremiah’s last prophecy is in chapter 51 and the final chapter describes how Jerusalem fell. Not a happy day.

Takeaway: The law is good. It is the Lord's desire that none shall perish but that all shall come to repentance and escape judgement. The Lord didn't have to warn the people but he loved them and so he did. It is only when we realise that we are in grave danger that we cry out for rescue. God's law shows us our predicament [that we have offended our Holy Creator] so that we will cry out to him for rescue, and he has done it already himself! (See Jesus' death and Resurrection)

Jeremiah 52:12-27 / 2 Kings 24:14—In the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign the king burned down the temple, the palace and all Jerusalem’s important buildings. He exiled the rich and left the poor. He took the treasures from the temple and took the high priest and gatekeepers of the temple and killed them. Jeremiah wept.

And now we wait… 69 years, 364 days to go... 

 

Road To Revelation: The Prophets - Isaiah and the Power of Yet!

 As Assyria was knocking on Israels door in the North Isaiah started to preach the word of the Lord to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the South and continued his work right through to the last days of Judah in Hezekiah’s reign.

Isaiah’s prophecies are arranged roughly into two sections: The first is a book of judgement upon God’s people for rejecting their God and chasing after idols. The second are predominantly words of comfort from the Lord that they are His people and he will rescue them from their punishment. Or as the Lutherans would say: God’s two words of Law and Gospel. I say roughly because where there is law from the Lord, there is also gospel...

Out of all the prophets Isaiah is characterised by his hopefulness; he is looking forward centuries to God’s ultimate redemption of his people in the person of his Messiah; God himself in the flesh! Even his prophecies of judgement for God’s people are answered quickly with gospel (good news) Isaiah 1:18-20. In this New Testament time we live in (the Church age) we talk about the “now and not yet”.  It’s a short way of saying that God has promised so much for us but we don’t seem to have fully received it yet. We eagerly wait for these promises to be fully realised. We know they are true now… and yet… not yet! The power of yet!

Isaiah fully lives in this paradigm. He truly understands that he lives in the “now and not yet”. He seems to be able to grasp what is happening with God’s people at the time of his life and what will happen in the future (the coming of Jesus) in both hands and then smoosh them together like time is not as relevant as we all think it should be. Chapter 7 of Isaiah is a wonderful example of this. He begins with the account of Israel fighting Judah! Oh no! civil war among God’s people! The Lord sends Isaiah to comfort the king of Judah and the comfort he brings to him is that  “the virgin shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” and then tells him that the two kings coming to fight him will be swept away by a larger army who will destroy the land. But lest the king lose all hope again he tells the king more about this Immanuel child in chapter 9. “His name shall be Wonderful Counsellor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over all his kingdom…” Isaiah understands and wants his reader to understand that the most important problem in this world that needs solving is man’s sin before a holy God; all other problems must be looked at with this perspective in mind.

It is a very similar format to the way the prophet to the new testament people of God speaks; the prophet John in the book of Revelation. He cycles around and around from God’s people suffering in this time and place to God’s eternal kingdom reigning over it all until his people are granted everlasting peace and joy in his kingdom forever when he finally returns.

“In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious” Isaiah 11:10

But before all those promises are fulfilled, God’s people must go through trials and tribulations. Isaiah warns the people that after Assyria will come Babylon. Babylon will destroy Judah, Assyria, Moab, Damascus, Cush AND Egypt. Yowsa. That seems like an un-defeatable kingdom BUT (ch21) Babylon will also fall. Jerusalem will be judged by the Lord using Babylon as his tool BUT the Lord is a refuge for the poor and a shelter from the storm (ch 25). The Lord will deliver his people in the end BUT not the obstinate and rebellious (ch 27). DO NOT rely on Egypt or other earthly kingdoms to save you, rely on the king of righteousness (ch 31-32).

Chapters 36-39 depart from the rest of the book in that they are not prophecies per say but an account of Sennacherib threatening Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah. Hezekiah receives words of comfort and warning from the Lord but again, Isaiah comforts his reader with the promises that ultimately God’s servant saviour will come! Yes, God’s people will be rescued from Babylon BUT it is better to look to their eternal salvation, their eternal rest which only the Messiah can accomplish. How will he do it? By suffering on behalf of his people.

Chapters 51-55 are the clearest and most detailed prophecies regarding the coming of Christ which we have seen in the Old Testament so far. We can see that God’s promised offspring who would bless the nations will do it not by military might, but by sacrifice. And not only will he bless Abraham’s seed but he will bless ALL the nations! The foreigners too! (ch 56) Everyone is welcome. Isaiah urges his readers: does peace with god and forgiveness of sins sound good to you? Then you come! You come! Everyone come!”Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near!”

And for those who believe I will give them rest. The final chapters of Isaiah are very similar to the final chapter of the Bible (revelation 22). Its easy for all of us to get caught up in the here and now, the weeds of our lives but God has a greater plan for his people than a temporary respite from their sufferings and enemies; he is planning through the work of his son to destroy all their worst enemies—sin, death, the devil—once and forever and to give them all their Sabbaths for all time, in his time. Reader—today your Messiah has come! You can cling to his  promises NOW… but you won’t see them all fully realised quite YET. The power of yet. 

 

 

Road to Revelation: 1 + 2 Kings and 1 + 2 Chronicles - The Divided Kingdom

Oooooooh! A fancy chart!! Looks like things are getting pretty serious.  Deadly serious. Well not yet anyway.  Solomon is still reigning in peace but there is trouble brewing.  A young man named Jeroboam is faithfully working away for Solomon when he gets a visit from a prophet.  The message? He is to become the next king, wow!  Well... not over all Israel, just over 10 of the tribes.  But still, wow!

Solomon dies (end ch 11) and the kingdom passes to his son Rehoboam who is blissfully unaware of the prophecy to Jeroboam.  Rehoboam is not a wise king and turns the people against him and straight into Jeroboam's lap; all the tribes but the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (ch 12).  But Jeroboam is not a good king and he leads the people into idolatry by setting up two golden calves in the northern kingdom [Israel] for them to worship. The Lord sends two prophets to warn Jeroboam of the consequences of his idolatry but he does not listen and increases his idol worship even at the expense of his first born son (ch 13-4).

Meanwhile Rehoboam in the southern kingdom [Judah] isn't doing much better.  He follows his father's idolatry and as a consequence Egypt, a former ally, attacks and steals all the fine decorations in the temple.  Well, that didn't last long...

For the rest of the book we can refer to the chart above.  In Judah there are times of faithful kings (above the line) and times of idolatrous kings (below the line) and times of compromised kings (on the line; they worshipped the Lord but did not stamp out idolatry amongst the people).  But sadly the kings and people of Israel followed in the sin of Jeroboam and did not worship the Lord but worshipped idols.  Jehu is about the closest king to consider the Lord.

BUT the Lord had not rejected his people or left them.  He sent them many prophets to try to bring them back to himself, with mixed results.  The most famous of these prophets were Elijah and Elisha who were sent to the northern kingdom of Israel.  Their ministries would be considered unsuccessful overall by who study these things (because the kings did not repent) but God does not look at the outward appearances.  In fact the Lord encourages Elijah that he has kept a remnant in Israel who are faithful to him (1 Kings 19:18).  They are un-named and unknown save Obadiah (a servant in Ahab’s palace and Elisha; Elijah’s successor).

The Lord tried again and again to keep his people trusting in him and used many means to get their attention during this time: prophets, miracles, famines and war.  Sometimes they listened but often they rebelled.  Eventually the Lord’s patience ran out with the 10 northern tribes [Israel] and the Assyrians attacked! (2 Kings 17)  The Lord lists their sins against him in chapter 17: 7-23. “They worshipped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced...the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: ‘Turn from your evil ways…’ ...But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord their God…”  This is known as the first exile of Israel and the land of the 10 northern tribes was populated with a mix of Assyrians and Israelites and became known as Samaria.  Over time the nations intermarried and became known as the “Samaritans”.  The prophets Micah, Hosea, Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied to the people at this time.

While this was all going on in the north Hezekiah was reigning over Judah and Benjamin in the south. Hezekiah was faithful to the Lord but it was too late, for the patience of the Lord was running out with Judah too...Hezekiah enjoys mostly a time of peace but has some trouble from a new player in town; Babylon.  The Lord uses Babylon to warn Hezekiah and people of Judah that the kingdom is coming to an end due to centuries of idolatry and lawlessness in the land.  A later king Josiah has a similar reign.  Josiah does his best to reform Judah back to worshipping the Lord but it is again too late “Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke him to anger” (2 Kings 23:26)

The kings after Josiah dive right back into idolatry and despise his prophets (thus justifying the Lord’s anger) and Babylon invades.  The Babylonians take all but the poorest Israelites (whom he leaves to tend the land for him), destroy the wall of Jerusalem and remove every scrap of precious metal and stones from the temple.  The people are exiled from the land for 70 years until Persia overthrows the Babylonians and the land has had the full number of Sabbath rests [which the people failed to give it while under the reign of the kings] (2 Chron 36:15-21)  The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nabum, Obadiah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah prophesied at this time.

But there is hope in this time of darkness and exile; the people will return to the land and Jerusalem will be rebuilt (2 Chron 36:22-23)!  They just have to wait 70 long years…

Takeaway: The people thought that by having a king to rule over them they would prosper and become powerful and peaceful. Alas their trust was mis-placed. We learn from the history of the kings of God’s people that it is as Jesus will say “Can a blind man lead a blind man?  Will they not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39) The leaders of God’s people were often as blind as the people when it came to spiritual matters.  Overall the kings did not put their trust in the Lord and follow his laws and desires, but followed their own foolish desires and led the people down with them.  Even the wisest of them [Solomon] let his heart wander from the truth to idols. The problem was not with having a ruler but who the ruler needed to be.  They needed to look to their ultimate ruler!  The true king of God’s people!  God himself!

But there is hope… their true king was coming… and Jeremiah told the people of Judah that when he came he would be able to do something that none of their previous kings had been able to do.  He would be able to change their hearts so they would desire to seek and serve their true and ultimate king alone “The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers… because they broke my covenant… I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people… I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Further Reading: The law has no power to save us for we will not keep it.  Only the forgiveness of our sins and the righteousness of another can save us!  And this has come to pass in Jesus the king of the Jews [and gentiles *plot spoilers*].  Read Hebrews 9-10:18 which explains how the Old Covenant could only cover the sin of the people for a time but could not change them, yet Christ’s blood cleanses us fully and transforms us!

 

Road To Revelation: The Songs of God's People - The Psalms

Theology is all good and all but sometimes you just feel all the feelings about your life and about God and you need a way to express those feelings.  Well my friend, you have come to the right place!  God has not just shown us his love for us in sending us His son but he shows his love for us in that he desires to hear from us; his beloved children (Luke 11:11-12). So he gave us the Psalms which are a collection of the many times God’s people have cried out to him in times of trouble and in times of peace (but mostly trouble lets be honest).

 The Psalms are 150 poems gathered by God’s people over their history and arranged in [probably] the time of their exile in Babylon.  It’s not the entire collection of Hebrew poetry but a select few  edited and arranged in a poetic way to also tell a story—they are many poems within a giant poem!!! See also Bible Project You-Tube video.

 The overarching poem takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride from the introductory two psalms which echo the themes of Solomon’s collections of proverbs (true wisdom is found in seeking after the Lord, through mostly  feelings of despair/lament) to more feelings of praise, hope and thankfulness to the Lord, to the conclusion that the Lord is over all creation and worthy to be praised for his goodness to his people and his ultimate justice toward sin.  Much like our own spiritual journeys really… lamenting this broken world and taking it to the Lord, then praising Him for his faithfulness to us in his love and forgiveness and the fact that one day he will make everything right once again. His Love Endures Forever!

 This journey of faith reminds me of Hebrews 11, that God’s people often don’t see God working in this world and many times it seems like God is not powerful and evil is winning but when we fix our eyes on the cross and God’s promise of his eternal kingdom we are able to see beyond our current sorrows to the hope we have in Him. Our faith is hope in works of God we cannot see now, but hope to see in the future; even if that future comes about after our deaths. 

I love that there are several Psalms which tell the history of God's people (36, 78, 105, 106, 119) simply because important things are always easier to remember when set to poetry and better yet, songs.  See Colin Buchanan's catalog of scriptures to song if you want to nail some bible verses in your head for life!

 The Psalmists use many images and symbols to talk about the Lord, many of which are repeated in the New Testament.  Jesus and John are two stand out users of the imagery from the Psalms so keep an eye out for them in the Gospel writings and the book of Revelation. Some examples: Psalm 2:12 and Luke 12:57-59, the final two Psalms and Revelation 21. Romans 8:18-27 speaks of creation groaning as we do…

 Some examples of the imagery of God which jump out to me:

God on his throne: Psalm 11, 102, 111 and the book of Revelation

The Mount of the Lord: Psalms 24, 99, 125

God as a Rock: Psalm 62

God’s people as plants (vines, trees, a harvest): Psalms 1, 80, 92, 128 and Romans 11

People as chaff and fire as judgement: Psalm 83 and Luke 3

God as living water, a spring: Psalm 23, 84 and Revelation 22, John 4

God as a house/gates/refuge/sanctuary: Psalms 24, 100, 118, 127

The poor loved by God: Psalms 82, 112, 113 and the beatitudes Luke 6

God as shepherd: Psalms 23, 28 and 1 Peter 5, Matthew 2:6

 Takeaway: It is a true gift of God that no matter how sad, angry or frustrated we are God wants us to pour it all out to him. He shows us in these poems that is has always been a valid practice of God’s people to cry out to him and also to remind him of his promises to his people in prayer. Our doubts, snotty noses and despair do not shock him but rather are treasured prayers in his sight “Cast all your cares upon the Lord for he cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7

 

Road To Revelation: The writings of Solomon: Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes

Solomon didn’t write all the Proverbs but he sure knew wisdom when he saw it and compiled for us a book of all the best wisdom you can find.  The book is addressed from a father to a son; like a lifetime of great parenting compressed into 31 chapters. The book of proverbs starts with a long section on the importance of trying to be wise, of figuring out what true wisdom is and pursuing it.  The father concludes this section with revealing to the son that true wisdom can only be found by following the Lord.  True wisdom comes from the Lord (ch 3).  Then the father moves into telling his son to listen to good advice and hits him with plenty of it!  Naturally this advice for life for a young man begins with how to avoid the wrong kind of woman (ch 4-5)!  It's not just that an immoral woman will bankrupt your morals and heart, but that she will literally bankrupt you my son. 
 
Chapter 6 gives general wisdom for everyday life before the father remembers more things to watch out for from those femme fatales (ch 7).  And then he reminds his son again for two more chapters to Listen!  Listen! Listen! to good advice and wisdom.  I'm sure parents of teenage boys are nodding their heads here and whispering "amen".  “The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  (Prov 9:10)

 Chapters 10-31 are a collection of wise sayings which Solomon compiled from the history of God's people.  He finishes chapter 31 with advice to a young man on how to find a good wife.  Now that’s something Solomon had plenty of personal experience with! Haha  The young man reading this now has all he needs to live a moral, godly, prosperous and wise life with a godly, loving and sensible wife.


Speaking of wives, Solomon's other notable wise writing in the Bible is the Song of Solomon, or Song of Songs.  It is a collection of epic love poems between a man and a woman.  Interestingly the main voice is the woman's and she has a message for her audience too.  Where proverbs is directed at a son (but is applicable to women for sure); the Song of Songs is directed at the daughters of Jerusalem.  The man and woman relish their attraction for one another but the woman warns several times "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you... do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time" (ch 2:7).  In other words don't jump into this marriage thing because your hormones are telling you you can't wait.  Pick a man who will look at you forever like "you are absolutely beautiful, my darling, with no imperfection in you" (ch 4:7).  And when you find that person, absolutely enjoy one another!!

The woman in the poem rejects Solomon's offer of marriage because she knows that she will become only one of many "beloveds" (ch 8:11-12) and will not be treasured as the only girl in the world, like her shepherd boy will do for her.  The ancient wisdom poetry given to a woman is that she is a person to be treasured and [if she so desires] to find a man who will treat her right, and will love her madly and deeply forever.  Many things have changed over the centuries and some may pooh pooh this wisdom as old fashioned but there are few pains in life as devastating to the heart as the betrayal of your loved one's desire for you fading then leaving you for someone else.  

The Song of Songs is also a reminder to us of the visceral power of desire and it is good to read it then read the Old Testament again.  It makes the times the Lord uses the imagery in love poetry that much more painful as he describes how betrayed He feels when his people leave him to chase after other gods.  This theme is carried on in the New Testament [although in MUCH drier language] when the Apostles remind their congregations to stay faithful to their saviour Jesus.

The Bible Project does a really good summary of the Song of Songs:
Bible Project: overview of the Song of Songs

Ecclesiastes is another book of wisdom but with a darker tone.  What conclusion does a man who has gained the whole world come to about life?  Ironically that “’Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!’” (Ecc 12:8).  However after more further consideration he concludes “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecc 12:13-14).  A scary thought to end on to be sure!  But this truly is the beginning of wisdom for all of us... That God knows all our thoughts should strike fear into our hearts!  But for us who have been given the mysteries of God [Jesus; hidden from Solomon] we know that God does not desire to destroy us, but to save us (1 Tim 3:16, Rom 16:25-26, 1 Cor 2:6-10).  Whew!