The wisdom books of the Old Testament - Job, Pslams, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

1. Wisdom in Full Color
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon

2. 5 Wisdom Books
in the Bible
•Job
•Psalms
•Proverbs
•Ecclesiastes
•Song of Solomon
They complement
each other

3. The book of Job
How to suffer
Job complements the book of Proverbs
Job appears to do everything a wise man
would do yet suffers terribly

4. The book of Job
How to suffer
Job is called the servant of God at start and end
and in the deepest darkest part of his suffering,
God’s suffering servant intercedes for his friends
and then God raises Job up

5. The book of Job
How to suffer
A purpose of suffering that goes
beyond being punitive
Job 36:15
He delivers the afflicted by their affliction
and opens their ear by adversity.

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7. The Book of Psalms
How to pray
The song book of the Bible is the Psalms
There actually are 5 books in the Psalms
and they poetically tend to match the
5 books of Moses
The title suggests praise and in the long run are
but most are laments

8. The Book of Psalms
How to pray
Psalms is the song of the blessed man
and the blessed God
Surprisingly also the song of the blessed poor man
the poor man almost always pointing to Jesus in the Psalms
‘He became poor that we might become rich’
says Corinthians

9. The Book of Psalms
How to pray
Interesting examples of how the apostles
might understand the Psalms are in the books of
Romans and Hebrews
Hebrews draws from Psalms in the first chapters Psalms 2,
45, 102 making arguments that Jesus is better than the
angels
Romans quotes the short Psalm 117 twice, an invitation to the
nations to come join the covenant people of God.
Romans also quotes a psalm on Persecution, Psalm 44,
which is followed by the wedding psalm quoted in Hebrews

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11. The book of Proverbs
How to be savvy yet godly
The way of wisdom is contrasted with the way of folly
Some proverbs will have apparent contradictions
but a wise person looks at them closer

12. All the world is seen as starting ‘simple’
and both Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly call
and the wise will choose to ‘Marry wisdom!’
The book of Proverbs
How to be savvy yet godly

13. In the Jewish Bible, Proverbs 31 is followed
by the story of Ruth. God creates the Proverbs 31
woman out of an unlikely gentile, giving her
the ultimate ‘uncircumsized heart.’
The book of Proverbs
How to be savvy yet godly

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15. Song of Solomon
How to Love
Solomon may have written 1005 songs
but this claims to be the ‘song of songs.

16. Song of Solomon
How to Love
Here is a shepherd king
His smoke rises out of the wilderness
His robes covered with myrrh
A ideal human love story pointing to a greater love story

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18. Ecclesiastes
How to be happy
A lament on grief
but also a happiness that goes beyond the grief

19. Ecclesiastes
How to be happy
5 stanzas of lament
Written in a complex artistic manner.
They break down in the last two as one
might break down in grief
The center stanza highlights hope and a joy beyond the
suffering.

20. Ecclesiastes
How to be happy
By some Jewish traditions the celebrations of ‘the feast
of booths’ are paired with reading of the solemnity of
Ecclesiastes
Go ahead and enjoy, but Ecclesiastes reminds us of
things to keep in mind as you enjoy life

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22. The Wisdom Books
fin’
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon