PROVERBS ECCLESIASTES SONG OF SONGS

PROVERBSECCLESIASTESSONG OF SONGS

Biblical Poetic Books • 5 poetic books: • Job, • Psalms, • Proverbs, • Ecclesiastes, • Song of Solomon • King Solomon wrote 3 (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon) • King David wrote approximately 70 of the 151 Psalms

Biblical Poetic Books • Hebrew is a Semitic language • it doesn't rhyme • poetry uses parallelism • 3 forms • Synonymous parallelism • An idea is repeated (or paralleled) • Psalm 119:105 • "Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path." • lamp and light both refer to the same entity, the figurative illumination of the word of God

Biblical Poetic Books • Antithetical parallelism • An idea is contrasted • Proverbs 12:5 • “The thoughts of the righteous are right,But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.” • "thoughts" and "counsels" are synonymously parallel, but "righteous" and "wicked" are contrasted

Biblical Poetic Books • Synthetic parallelism • An idea is developed in several lines • Psalm 104: • 5 You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. • The idea of God’s laying of the foundation of the earth is developed over several verses that follow.

Biblical Poetic Books • Job - Why do the righteous suffer? • Psalms - Even a man after the Lord's own heart can sin • Proverbs – Attain wisdom to live • Ecclesiastes – All is vanity! • Song of Solomon - a love story • “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Book of Proverbs

Psalms vs. Proverbs

Theme • “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (1:7) • Knowledge of God • Instructions for everyday wisdom leads to uprightness before God • Willingness to learn • God’s law is part of life, is a duty, and requires obedience. • This kind of obedience is the fear of the Lord.

Christ in Proverbs • Christ is Wisdom: Wisdom has built her house • “Wisdom (Christ) has built her house (Church) and hewn out her seven pillars (Sacraments)” (9:1) • “She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine” (9:2): What Christ did on Holy Thursday • “She has sent forth her maidens (Priests and Ministers) : she cries upon the highest places of the city … Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.” (9:3-5) • Christ did not wait for the people to seek Him; instead, He is the One who prepared the feast and called them to come

Christ in Proverbs • Christ (Wisdom) exists since the beginning: • 12 “ I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion. 22 “ The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23 I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. • "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth... All things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:15-16)

Outline • I The Purpose of Proverbs 1:1–7 • II Proverbs to the Youth 1:8–9:18 • Obey Parents 1:8–9 Avoid Bad Company 1:10–19 Seek Wisdom 1:20–2:22 Benefits of Wisdom 3:1–26 Be Kind to Others 3:27–35 Father Says Get Wisdom 4:1–13 Avoid the Wicked 4:14–22 Keep Your Heart 4:23–27 Do Not Commit Adultery 5:1–14 Be Faithful to Your Spouse 5:15–23

Outline • Avoid Surety 6:1–5Do Not Be Lazy 6:6–19Do Not Commit Adultery 6:20–7:27Praise of Wisdom 8:1–9:12The Foolish Woman 9:13–18 • III Proverbs of Solomon 10:1–24:34 • Contrasting the Godly and the Wicked 10:1–15:33Encouraging Godly Lives 16:1–22:16Concerning Various Situations 22:17–24:34

Outline • IV Proverbs of Solomon Copied by Hezekiah’s Men 25:1–29:27 • Relationships with Kings 25:1–7Relationships with Neighbors 25:8–20Relationships with Enemies 25:21–24Relationships with Yourself 25:25–28Relationships with Fools 26:1–12Relationships with Sluggards 26:13–16Relationships with Gossips 26:17–28Proverbs Regulating Various Activities 27:1–29:27

Famous Proverbs • “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. ”Prov. 1:7 • “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. ”Prov. 3:5–6 • “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. ”Prov. 11:14 • “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. ”Prov. 16:18

Famous Proverbs • “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. ”Prov. 18:24 • “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”Prov. 22:6 • “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. ”Prov. 31:10

Book of Ecclesiastes

Title • In the Hebrew Bible, the book is called "Qoheleth" (Koheleth) which means "preacher" . • The term suggests one who speaks to an assembly. • The translators of the Septuagint called it "Ekklesiastes", which also means "preacher". • The word is derived from "ekklesia", meaning "assembly".

Theme • 2 “ Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “ Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3 What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? • What value or purpose is there for living? • What is the meaning of life? • Having been blessed with great material resources and wisdom, the Preacher was able to explore all avenues in his search. • He share with us the results of his own investigation.

Outline • Introduction And Prologue (1:1-3) • I. The Preacher's Search For Meaning In Life (1:4-2:26) • Ii. The Preacher's Observations From Life (3:1-6:12) • Iii. The Preacher's Counsel For Life (7:1-12:7) • Epilogue And Conclusion (12:8-14)

"All is vanity" • The vanity of pleasure - 2:1 • The vanity of industry (labor) - 2:11,22-23; 4:4 • The vanity of human wisdom - 2:15 • The vanity of all life - 2:17 • The vanity of leaving an inheritance - 2:18-21 • The vanity of earthly existence - 3:19-21 • The vanity of acquiring riches over family - 4:7-8 • The vanity of political popularity - 4:16 • The vanity of many dreams and many words - 5:7 • The vanity of loving abundance - 5:10 • The vanity of wealth without the gift of God to enjoy it - 6:2 • The vanity of wandering desire - 6:9 • The vanity of foolish laughter - 7:6 • The vanity of injustice in this life - 8:14 • The vanity of the days of darkness - 11:8 • The vanity of childhood and youth - 11:10

Vanity • Laughter and Mirth: • "I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure"; but surely, this also [was] vanity. I said of laughter-"Madness!" and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?" " (Ecc 2:1-2) • Drinking: • "I searched in my heart [how] to gratify my flesh with wine." (Ecc 2:3)

Vanity • Ultimate pleasure: • 4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments[a] of all kinds. 9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor.

Vanity • The result: • "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun." (2:11)

"under the sun" • Vanity is true when one looks at life purely from an earthly perspective. • Leave God and the afterlife out of the equation, and life is truly vanity! • "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (12:13)

Song of Songsof Solomon

Introduction • The Writer: King Solomon. • He had written many songs: “He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five”. (1Kin 4:32) • However, this book is the “song of songs” • The entire book is one beautiful poem. • The Song of Songs is a dialog between two main characters: • the Shulamite (A Palestinian young girl) and the Beloved. • The Shulamite represents the human soul or the Church as a whole; the Beloved represents Christ.

Characteristics • This book is very deep. • It unveils for us the depth of the God's Philanthropy (love of mankind). • It portrays how much God searches for man's soul to offer Himself to him. • It is a commune between the Lord and His bride; between the Beloved and His Church; between Christ and the human soul.

Characteristics • It is a symbol of the true prayer • no routine or customary words, but rather a deep communion between God and the soul, without “veils” or “rituals”. • God revels Himself to her, and also revels her. • He speaks openly to her, and she to Him. • She converses her love to Him, communes His love and her longing for Him, informs Him about her "blackness" and her unworthiness for Him, and about her pains and sufferings. • A private dialogue between two betrothed lovers speaking openly about all that is in their hearts. • The true understanding of prayer and worship.

Books of Solomon • “The Holy of Hollies of the Holy Bible”; • Difficult to be understood by the beginners. • The books of Solomon gradually lifts the spirit from the earthly matters to the Heavenly: • The Book of Proverbs is presented to the “toddlers” in faith: • they may understand their need to attain Wisdom (The Lord Jesus Christ) in this life, lest they go astray: “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity.” (Prov 1:2-3)

Books of Solomon • In The Book of Ecclesiastes, after the believer seeks wisdom, he discovers the one single truth about the pettiness of the world: “All is vanity and grasping for the wind.” (Ecc 1:14) • In the Song of Songs, the believer realizes that it is not sufficient to reject the world and rid the heart of its desires, but he must now fill it with Christ: “My beloved is mine, and I am His.” (Song 2:16)

Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised. (Song of Solomon 8: 6-7)

Four Spiritual Stages

Outline • Power of Love (1:2-8:4) • A. The quality and depth of love (1:2-4)B. The lovers talk (1:5-2:7)C. The expectant desire for the lovers (2:8-17)D. The lost and found lover (3:1-5)E. King Solomon's procession (3:6-11)F. The woman's beauty (4:1-8)G. The lovers talk (4:9-5:1)H. The woman describes her lover to other women (5:2-6:3)I. The woman's beauty (6:4-10)J. The desire for love (6:11-13)K. The woman's beauty (7:1-9)L. Lovers united (7:10-8:4)

Outline • Concluding Comments (8:5-13) • A. The lovers approach from the desert (8:5)B. Inseparable, undying love (8:6-7)C. The brothers versus their sister (8:8-10)D. The man prizes his beloved (8:11-12)E. The lovers talk (8:13-14)

Christ in Song of Songs • 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand. 11 His head is like the finest gold; His locks are wavy, And black as a raven. 12 His eyes are like doves By the rivers of waters, Washed with milk, And fitly set. 13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices, Banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies, Dripping liquid myrrh. 14 His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl. His body is carved ivory Inlaid with sapphires. 15 His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend…

Christ’s Call and Our Response • 5:2 It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying,“ Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.” 3 I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them? 4 My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door,And my heart yearned for him… 6 I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

Christ’s Description of Us • 4:1 Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats, Going down from Mount Gilead. 7 You are all fair, my love, And there is no spot in you. 10 How fair is your love, My sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love, And the scent of your perfumes Than all spices! 11 Your lips, O my spouse, Drip as the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments Is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 12 A garden enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed.

Our Desire for Christ • 8:6 Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love isas strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised.

PROVERBS ECCLESIASTES SONG OF SONGS