The books of wisdom—Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon—are among the more neglected books of the Bible, especially at the congregational level. Two of them—Job and Ecclesiastes—are the most perplexing and difficult books of the Bible. Proverbs is often taken as little more than holy self-help advice. And while Song of Solomon is quite intriguing, most preachers and teachers don’t quite know what to do with Spirit-inspired Scripture that celebrates romance, intimacy, and sex. But the Bible’s wisdom books are important because they teach us how to live in the real world. Not the “world” of mass media, militant secularism, or pop culture, but the world as God created it. This world is a creation that God invested with his own beauty, harmony, and purity. Yet, it is also a world that is fallen, in which men and women and history and sometimes nature do not work in accord with the way things ought to be and were originally meant to be (and someday will be again). Wisdom takes all of this into account and shows us how we might put our feet on the path that leads us in the direction of that original beauty, harmony, and purity, even though, in this lifetime, we may only partially realize and embrace them.
