Day 182. Proverbs 1-3

When I was kid growing up in the Lutheran church, lessons from the Book of Proverbs showed up much more often in the Sunday readings than they do today. They were often heard in the summer months during those endless Sundays after Pentecost. The wisdom of Proverbs made pleasant, light "summer reading," and summer seemed like a good time to consider how to live a peaceful, fruitful life. But these days the Book of Proverbs, like many other good things, has gone out of fashion in the church—which is too bad, in my opinion, considering its importance in the Bible. Wisdom literature was never regarded in Israel as highly as the Law of Moses (the Torah), of course, but it continued to be very important, right down to New Testament times. You can clearly hear echoes of the Book of Proverbs in the teachings of Jesus, whom St. Paul calls "the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Wisdom is the form that philosophy took in the ancient Near East. Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle were interested in questions about the "being of being." What is the universe composed of? Why is there anything at all?—and knowledge—How do we know what we know? What can we prove—if anything—to be true? Wisdom literature--of which the Book of Proverbs is the prime example--is concerned with the much more practical question—What makes for a good life? What attitudes and actions promote success in the broadest sense? How do I relate to my neighbors, to society as a whole, to God?
Hebrew wisdom literature always presupposes the existence of a God, who reveals himself in history, and trust in that God is regarded as the foundation of wisdom. It is "the LORD who gives wisdom" (2:6). It is the greatest foolishness to "rely on your own insight," and the highest wisdom to "trust in the LORD with all your heart" (3:5). Even God used "wisdom" to create the earth and the heavens (3:19). "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge," the voice of Solomon says (1:7).
We will call the voice that speaks to us in the Book of Proverbs Solomon (1:1), and probably the some of the material in this book does indeed date back to the reign of that fabulous monarch. But this book is the sum of hundreds of years of the thought and experience, of countless sages and teachers of many cultures, and it did not reach its present form until the fourth century before the birth of Christ—long after Solomon's time. It is more ecumenical than any other part of the Old Testament. The Law of Moses is unique and particular to Israel alone, revealed to the chosen people by the God who claims them as his own among all peoples. But wisdom literature is a river that flows from many sources—from Egypt and Mesopotamia and perhaps from further off still. It is part of a great body of received knowledge that was passed down from elders to children—especially to sons—intended to get keep them away from bad company and out of trouble (see
1:8-19) and shepherd them into a happy marriage and a long and respectable life (see 2:16-19).
Those good things come to those whose hearts are open to the teachings of wisdom, who is personified in Proverbs as a woman. She is Lady Wisdom, and those who are willing to learn from her "will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster" (1:33). "Long life is in her right hand," the voice of Solomon says. "In her left hand are riches and honor" (3:16). In the Proverbs 1:20-33 Lady Wisdom advertises her wares and asks, "How long, O Simple Ones, will you love being simple?" Lady Wisdom will have a long and illustrious life. She will later be identified with the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. But enough of this for now--tomorrow we will continue our pursuit of wisdom together.