wisdom
Few people can say they “had it all.” The writer of Ecclesiastes could. But looking back, he gives wisdom that only someone who had it all can provide. Spoiler alert: having everything this world offers can’t fulfill you. You need something greater than that.
The height of wisdom literature, the preacher/teacher of Ecclesiastes is giving lessons learned from a long life. The first, which is really the theme of the book, is that none of the good things of life can provide the ultimate meaning we seek and need. Outside of that, it all comes to futility. It is a vain chasing after the wind.
Two back-to-back verses sound like they are in direct contradiction. What is the meaning of this? Should we answer a fool according to his folly, or should we not? This message argues that the answer is both.
Proverbs personifies wisdom as a woman calling out for people to listen & learn from her. But there is another woman calling out to people – the personification of foolishness. This lady of folly sits in prominent places, we are told, and has a loud voice. Beware this alluring voice, which leads you to misery and death.
Truth has as it main competitors things like popular opinion, subjective personal feelings, various forms of power, and individual preferences. But as strong as these are in their pull and influence, wisdom calls out and reminds us that TRUTH matters more than these things.
When it comes to the phrase “Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise,” most people want just the first two. Some preachers promise the first two (health & wealth) with little regard to the third. According to one of the wisest people in history, this is a foolish but seductive misordering of priorities. Wisdom is more valuable than any riches or possessions. Why? This message offers the wise man’s explanation and defense of that claim.
Faith is a concept so central to the Bible that it seems too obvious to miss or mistake. But what is it really? The wise writer of Proverbs, without using the word, defines and describes it well. He teaches us that true faith is the essence of wisdom.
The great king who ruled Israel at its height of wealth, power & influence had as his most important asset his great wisdom. In his Proverbs we get inspired schooling on life, ethics, knowledge, discernment, etc. The first chapter establishes the key to loving God with all our minds, which is the root and essence of true wisdom.