Each Wisdom literature book has a sense of wrestling with big questions about how to live wisely in God’s world, what the good life really is and how God works in our lives. Each book has a particular perspective on these questions, but really you should read them all to get the full breadth of wisdom that they offer.

The Wisdom books are represented below The Bible Course storyline because, while they are part of the collection of Bible books, they don’t directly further the story. They’re more of a detour to explore a specific set of issues and questions about life, God, suffering and hope, all within the worldview of the big story of the Bible.

A brief overview of each of the wisdom books:

Job

The book of Job famously asks why bad things happen to good people, and perhaps even more importantly, how a good person ought to respond.

The opening chapters are framed as a conversation between God and ‘Satan’, or ‘the accuser’, about whether Job would still be faithful to God if everything he had were taken away – and accordingly he loses everything he has.

The chapters that follow take the form of a conversation between Job and his three friends about why all this has happened. The exchange ends with God appearing to Job and revealing his power and glory to him – but not answering his questions. The story concludes with an account of Job’s good fortune being restored.

Top tips:

Job raises one of the trickiest questions of all – why do good people suffer?

We all encounter suffering in our lives. Use your reading of Job as an opportunity to reflect on what you might have said if you were Job and what you might have said if you were one of Job’s friends. What words would you use to respond to suffering?

Psalms

The book of Psalms (also known as the Psalter) is a collection of 150 poems, prayers, hymns and meditations. It consists of five collections of Psalms (1—41; 42—72; 73—89; 90—106; 107—150) which were evidently gathered together at different times.

All of the psalms are addressed to God, whether they are giving thanks for what he has done or begging for help in a time of crisis. The psalms give us an insight into the life and spirituality of God’s people and have been used continually in both Jewish and Christian worship ever since they were written. Because the psalms are so personal and portray such genuine human emotion, they remain as powerful today as they always were.

Top tips:

Notice the relationship between God and his people in Psalms. Even in times of absolute despair the people spoke to God, cried out to him and asked him for help. It sometimes feels as though there is nothing that they felt they could not say

Psalms is one of the few books in the Bible that was not designed to be read as one book – it’s an anthology. But what you get when you read it as a book is a sense of the breadth of the emotions it portrays and the clever way in which Psalms has been put together

Proverbs

The book of Proverbs is a collection of poems, longer teachings and very short sayings that communicate the wisdom of ancient Israel. It contains wisdom of all sorts – from folk sayings that would have been relevant to everyone’s life, to wisdom for people in the royal court.

Top tips:

Proverbs is one of the few books of the Bible not really designed to be read in one go. It’s better savoured over a long period of time, saying by saying

Some proverbs featuring women aren't the sort of thing we might say today

Nowadays we need wise advice just as much as the people of Solomon’s day did. As you read, ask yourself what out of this advice applies most easily to our lives today

Ecclesiastes

The book of Ecclesiastes asks the question, 'How can we live a meaningful life?' The author expresses frustration that work, pleasure and even philosophical investigation bring little satisfaction and feel empty.

He concludes that in life there are problems that are impossible to surmount or comprehend, but it can be worthwhile if you concentrate on everyday joys: time spent with friends and family and in the worship of God.

Top tips:

Much of the book of Ecclesiastes can feel depressing and hopeless; the author looks at the world with an unflinching realism. It’s important to read chapters 9—12 in order to realise that the book is not wholly bleak!

The author of Ecclesiastes is content to say human beings do not and cannot understand the world, so we might as well get on with living. Reflect on this theme as you read – do you find it convincing?

Song of Solomon

This is a book of poetry on the theme of human love, featuring the developing feelings of two young people. The lovers talk to each other but the woman also addresses her friends, the ‘daughters of Jerusalem’.

You can take this simply as an erotic love poem or, as people have done throughout history, read it as an allegory describing God’s love for Israel or Christ’s love for the Church. It is one of the most unusual books in the Bible and people often shy away from it because of its explicit language.

Top tips:

It’s a book of love poems, and maybe also an allegory of the relationship between God and his people

The different voices speaking in the text make it quite difficult to keep up with who is saying what. Keep alert for the different people speaking (don’t worry, there is no ‘right answer’ here) and see if you can work out who might be speaking at any one moment

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