Tuesday, 21 April 2020

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!

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