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A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS
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A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS The scribes would find in the royal library at Jerusalem many writings for the good of the nation, and among them some of the best utterances of Solomon, as well as of his father David, who was likewise a great patron of literature. The things said about kings are what might well be expected from one who was himself the occupant of a throne (25:2-7).
In order to a proper understanding of “the Words of the Wise”, it is needful to bear in mind the following facts: -
A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS
As the Divine intention was that Israel should be separate from the nations of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6 compare Ezekiel 20:32), it follows that the consorting with “strange women” implied contempt of the covenant purpose of God in regard to the elect family of Abraham. There were, moreover, other consequences. In the event of the transgressor being of the seed royal, such acts would bring confusion, and would imperil the dynasty of David, the king of Jehovah’s choice; while all such offenders in Israel were thereby liable to be led into idolatry (Exodus 34:16). Through misinterpretation of Proverbs 2:17, 18 “Who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God. For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead;” some have held that the “strange woman” was an adulteress of the house of Israel, and this had excluded from view the aspect which has thus far been presented. Careful examination of the passage, however, finds in the word “god,” or gods, of the “alien woman.” In this verse the teacher would emphasize the audacity of the flatterer: “she forsakes the guide of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her god.” That is, leaving her own people in Philistia, Edom, Moab, or Egypt, she has assumed the part of an adventuress, and come among a community of whose God she knows nothing.
“But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites – from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall NOT INTERMARRY WITH THEM, or they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his WIVES TURNED AWAY HIS HEART.” 1 Kings 11:1-3 Note: because of David, God did not bring judgment on Solomon, but after he died, the kingdom was divided into two sections, and sin ran rampant in the land, until finally both kingdoms of Judah and Israel went into captivity to Assyria and Babylon. A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS Another ground for the contention that the “strange woman” merely means an Israelite of evil reputation has been found by some in Proverbs 7:19-22. This however, proves nothing against the position taken up in the analysis now presented to you the student of Scripture. In fact, it may be assumed that, the days of Solomon (as ever since) female corrupters of men, alien or otherwise, included some who had the protection of HUSBANDS, or men who sustained such a relation, in our day called pimps. Thus we find “the Words of the Wise” to have been addressed by teachers to Solomon the prince, teachers whose desire it was to instruct him in the ways of his father’s God [Yehovah –YHVH who we now call Yeshua [Jesus see John 5:37]. In fact, both parents are mentioned (1:8; 6:20 – law of your father, and law of your mother). Accordingly, these sections of the book deal with the domestic politics of Israel. After the opening verse there is no mention of the nation in specific terms; but the fear of the Lord, the pious service of Jehovah [there is no (J) in the Hebrew alphabet] is inculcated as fundamental. The “Words” or “Sayings”, as the title of the book intimates, treat of “discretion” and “wise dealing,” as these are shown to relate to “the fear of the Lord.” Moreover, the “Words” range themselves in classes that were distinctly anticipated in the Pentateuch [5 books of Moses] as proper subjects for the consideration of rulers in Israel. This fact has an important bearing upon the age of the book, and also upon the age of other portions of the Old Testament. For instance: in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 it is stipulated that, if, on settlement in the Land of Canaan, the People should desire a king, then in such matter they should have regard to the Divine choice, which would be, not to put responsibility upon a foreigner, but upon “one from among thy brethren.” The stipulations are continued thus:
Moreover, in Deuteronomy 7:2-5 (compare Exodus 34:12; and Joshua 23:12, 13) it is laid down that the Israelites should destroy the Canaanites and their symbols of worship; should make no covenant with them, and should guard against intermarriage with them. A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS BECAUSE OF THESE WORDS IN THE PENTATUCH AND JOSHUA GIVES THE REASON FOR THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. The Proverbs of Solomon, strictly so called, as found in sections 3 and 5 of the book, are quite distinct from “The Words of the Wise,” as given in sections 1, 2, 4, and 6, and addressed to “my son.” The prince was, in these latter, diligently fortified against practices that would bring about religious apostasy, and eventuate in dynastic disaster. Hence, in these divisions of the book, we find instruction which answers with precision to the stipulations given in the Pentateuch, thus:
These several points agree with the stipulations of Deuteronomy 17, as we have indicated them, in the light of Deuteronomy 7. Further, as the ruler was not to make covenant with the nations, so also we find denunciations of alliance with “sinners” and “strangers,” as distinct from women (1:10-15), “come with us…one purse” (6:1; compare 20:26); also counsels against following the ways of the nations in regard to war (1:10-18; 3:30, 31; 4:14-17). The lessons were of the utmost gravity; but, as we know, they were not, in their entirely, taken to heart by the young prince. TIME FOR A LIFE-CHOICE When, at length, Solomon was called upon to make his life-choice, he rightly prayed for wisdom rather than wealth; and, as we know from Scripture, was given, “a wise and understanding heart,” also, in addition, that which he did not request, “both riches and honor” (1 Kings 3:9-13). Hence, in his own Proverbs, Solomon spoke in praise of wisdom (13:1; 14:1), and accorded a secondary place to riches (11:28; 13:7, 8; 14:24; 15:6, 16; 16:16; 18:11). That teaching however, which was of the greatest moments, he did not receive and hold fast. A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS Accordingly, we peruse his Proverbs in vain for any warnings against the “strange woman.” Clearly this lesson was not learnt. Hence, in the record of his life (1 Kings 11) see Page 18 of this study. The words “concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel” will take us back to the book of Exodus 34:16, and Deuteronomy 7:3, 4. The thing that was apprehended took place, we read further”- It came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives TURNED AWAY HIS HEART after other gods: and his heart was NOT PERFECT WITH THE LORD HIS GOD, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon DID EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, and WENT NOT FULLY AFTER THE LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods (4-8) In further contempt of the will of the Lord for his kingdom, Solomon introduced horses from Egypt (1 Kings 10:26-29 compare 9:19). The result was terrible. THE HISTORY OF JUDGMENT FROM THE LORD UNTO ISRAEL The kingdom was divided, in execution of the purpose set forth in 1 Kings 11:11-13, and the ten tribes taken from under Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, of whom we read the significant (and repeated) words: “His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess” (1 Kings 14:21, 31). And primarily this evil came from the folly in consorting with foreign women; in defiance of the instructions of teachers whose words have come down to us is “the Words of the Wise” Such conduct was a breach of the Divine covenant. The serious view which was taken of all such proceedings by the pious Israelite may be gathered from the words and deeds of Ezra the Scribe, at the time of the Return (Ezra 9, 10 compare also Nehemiah 13:23.
Having thus discriminated the Proverbs, and seen that, while some were written by Solomon, others were written for him, we suggest that the instruction which was given to the young prince shows an intimate acquaintance with Israelitish policy, as divinely ordained, and set out in the Book of Deuteronomy. This is to say, in the tenth century B.C., the cautions and warning given in Deuteronomy 7 and 17 were developed in detail by those who were charged with the education of him who was to succeed King David on the throne of Israel. Paul the Learner THE WISDOM OF GOD In Isaiah 55:8, 9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” We have been looking at the wisdom of mankind and now we will look at the wisdom of God while He walked on this earth in His Son Jesus who as the Messiah of Israel came unto His own and was rejected by them.
“Therefore pray in this manner: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven so on earth. 11 Give us bread for our needs from day to day. 12 And forgive us our offences, as we have forgiven our offenders. 13 And do not let us enter into temptation, but deliver us from evil [wrong, wickedness, error]. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Syriac Peshitta 100 A.D. This text is in the language of Jesus and the apostles, it is the earliest text that we have in existence, and all of the Greek texts are from the 3rd to the 5th centuries A.D.
Paul the Learner THE WISDOM OF GOD “And when you pray, do not repeat your words like the pagans, for they think that because of much talking they will be heard.” Matthew 6:7 Peshitta text We find that in the prayers of Jesus, recorded in the Gospels, are quite short. On the other hand those same Gospels relate that occasionally Jesus prayed all night.
Question – did prayer for Jesus include long periods of Spirit-filled communion with God that was beyond the need for words? Isaac the Syrian speaking about “stillness,” [7th century] This of course is only a summary “a deliberate denial of the gift of words for the sake of achieving inner silence, in the midst of which a person can HEAR the presence of God. It is standing unceasingly, silent, and prayerfully before God.” [Reference Helarion Alfeyev, P. 77]
Paul the Learner JESUS THROUGH MIDDLE EASTERN EYES by Kenneth E. Bailey The first request of the Lord’s Prayer flashes across the sky like the opening burst of thunder in a summer storm. Our Father who is in heaven, let it be hallowed your name. (My translation)
Jesus lived in a world where the public reading of the Bible was only in Hebrew, and prayers had to be offered in that language. When Jesus took the giant step of endorsing Aramaic as an acceptable language for prayer and worship, he opened the door for the New Testament to be written in Greek (not Hebrew) and then translated into other languages. The long term result is a global church of more than two billion people, almost all of whom have the Bible available in their own language. Believers are thereby able to break into God’s presence using the language of the heart. To be sure, Christians are adopted into the great family and thereby these names have rich meanings for all believers in Jesus Christ. At the same time, when Jesus taught his disciples to pray “Abba,” (Father) Jesus affirmed a vision of a family of faith [all nations] that went beyond the community of those who claimed a racial tie to Abraham [‘we have Abraham to our father’] well so do the sons of Katura and Hagar have a right as well. By contrast every human being, of any tribe or nation has a father. Thereby if God is “Our Father,” all people who are born again (John 3) are able to address Him equally as Father. “And they sang new praise saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by your blood out of EVERY TRIBE and TONGUE and PEOPLE and NATION;” Revelation 5:9 Peshitta text The church is made up of three sections:
In the Old Testament, the word father is used a dozen times in connection with God. Sometimes it is a simile (i.e. “this is like that;” see Psalms 103:13) and occasionally it is used as a metaphor (i.e. “this is that,” see Isaiah 63:16; 64:8), but it is never as a direct address. In Jewish writings between the Old and New Testaments (known as the Apocrypha), the word Father does occur (in Greek) as a direct address to God (Wisdom of Solomon 14:3) although it is rare. In the Old Testament, father is used to describe what God is like. Jesus used it, in Aramaic, as a title. THE WISDOM OF GOD In the famous parable of the prodigal son, Jesus is best understood to be defining the word father for the use he intends to make of it. In that story Jesus breaks all bounds of human patriarchy and presents an image of a father that goes beyond anything his culture expected from any human father, as we will see. He was not describing fathers as he knew them but rather creating a new image [wisdom of God] that he intended to use as a model for God. Jesus starting point was Hosea 11:1-9, where the prophet describes God as a compassionate father to Israel who cries out in agony: I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come to destroy. Hosea 11:9 In the verses prior to this text Hosea presents God as a tender, loving father with a much-loved rebellious child. The father (God) has the right to respond with anger and punishment, but instead chooses to respond with love. Jesus inherited this understanding of the nature of His divine father from the prophet Hosea, and it is easy to assume that he began with Hosea 11, expanded its image of God as Father and created the well-known parable. GOD: MALE AND FEMALE METAPHORS The Bible describes God using both male and female images. On the one hand, he is given the title Father, a male image. At the same time, believers are told that we are “born of God” (1 John 3:9). If God gives birth, then God acts like a female. These two are brought together in the book of Deuteronomy 32:18; “You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, / and you forgot the God who gave you birth.” Jesus describes himself as a “mother hen” and as a woman who find her lost coin. The apostle Paul uses the language of human birth by longing that “Christ might be formed in you.” Furthermore the devil is always male in the New Testament. We can all rejoice that the Scriptures use both male and female metaphors to enrich the reader’s understanding of God who is Spirit and thereby neither male nor female. Yet God’s image contains both male and female in that both are created from that image (Genesis 1:27). Abba of born again believers is indeed near and yet far away; while He dwells in heaven, He also dwells inside of every believer. Abba is the Creator who we call Yeshua [Jesus as the Word of God see John 1; Colossians 1; and Hebrews 1 for reference]. Jesus tells us in John 5:37 “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither HEARD HIS VOICE at any time, or SEEN HIS FORM.” That means every time we see or hear God it is the Word of God. Paul the Learner Download 316 Kb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham:
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