Seeking Wisdom Beyond Easy Answers
By Dean Collins
There is great value in reading the entire Bible and not just parts of it. For more than 30 years, I have read the Bible all the way through. However, in the last decade I chose to use a reading plan that is more chronological and has both Old Testament passages, New Testament passages, and often a Psalm and/or passages from the wisdom books of Job, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs. I have learned that this approach helps me make connections that I never noticed reading cover-to-cover.
Currently I am 31 chapters into the book of Job, which I find to be one of the harder books of the Bible to read. I am also in Proverbs, which in my opinion is one of the easier books to read. Both Job and Proverbs are known as books of wisdom. The middle chapters of Proverbs are filled with verses that stand alone and offer practical advice on how to deal with work, finance, family, temptation, and several other topics. The book of Job, on the other hand, is filled with wisdom that only comes through suffering and clinging to God no matter what you may be hearing from anyone else, including friends and family.
It seems that Job’s friends had bits of wisdom, but they often misapplied it because of their preconceived ideas about God and how God worked in the world. We often see this tendency in others, but it is difficult to evaluate our own misconceptions of God and how he works in the world today. Our great temptation is to bend scripture to justify our beliefs instead of allowing scripture to help us understand God.
A large portion of the book of Job contains the back and forth arguing between Job and his friends, which does not prove helpful to Job in his suffering. Throughout these exchanges, Job struggles to the point of wishing he had never been born. Yet, as he struggles and is discouraged by his friends’ constant judgment, he clings to God, even as he admits he doesn’t understand God’s ways.
When considering Proverbs at the same time as reading Job, it seems that Job’s friends forget the first sections of Proverbs where lady wisdom gives broad guidelines to God’s wisdom and less simple quotes which we all tend to run to.
While we all wish we could just quote a Proverb and make the pain and suffering go away and see our situation improve, we can learn from Job that wisdom and enduring suffering is a deep well. And as we seek the treasures of God’s wisdom, we will find hope. May these words from Proverbs 2 bring direction and hope to us today:
“…if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.”
Father, we confess that in various struggles we want quick and easy answers. Teach us to trust you when we go through tough times. With Job we say that we know that our Redeemer lives and at last he will stand upon the earth. Come Lord Jesus, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Job 9:2-7, 10:1-22, 12:2-5, 12-13, 13:3-5, 15, 16:2-5, 19:25-27, 28:1-8, 12-20, 23-28; Proverbs 2:1-15 ESV
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