The Book of Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon
How to Negotiate Life
Ray of Hope Christian Church
May 15, 2012
Proverbs 8:1-36
“spoken three thousand proverbs
and written 1005 songs”
I Kings 4:32
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Songs of Solomon
The Song of Songs
O daughters of Jerusalem,
I charge you – if you find my lover,
what will you tell him?
Tell him I am faint with love.
Song of Songs 5:8
Song of Songs 7:1-9
Ecclesiastes, comes from the Latin
form of the Greek word, “Ecclesia”,
which means “assembly.” The one
who stands before the assembly is
the preacher or the teacher.
1:1,12,16,2:9 and 12:9
Life is really worth living?
Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the
Teacher. Utterly Meaningless!
Everything is meaningless. What
does man gain from all his labor at
which he labors under the sun?
Ecc. 1:2
Human life is insignificant compared
to everything else and short.
1:3-11, v. 8 “What does a man gain
from all his labor at which he
toils under the sun?”
We can never understand it all.
Is it reasonable to live if you
do not understand?
1:12-18
Even pleasures are meaningless.
2:1-11
Jesus himself says that a human’s
life does not consist in the abundance
of things. Luke 12:12-21
Death ends it all
All of us must die, young and old,
rich and poor, wise and foolish
2:16
Ecc. 2:24-26
3:12-21; 5:18-6:7; 8:15
Since life is short and everything we
strive for is meaningless, we should
do three things:
• Live by faith – 11:1-6
• Know that life will end so therefore live
for God. Remember your Creator in the
days of your youth, don’t waste your life
11:1-7; chapter 12
• Trust God and always obey him – 12:8-14
Life for Solomon is a chasing
after the wind when one does
not know and fear God.
Wisdom is the theme, the key word in
the book of Proverbs.
The English word Proverbs comes
from two Latin words, Pro
“instead of” and verba
words “instead of many words.”
A proverb is a sentence that is
given instead of many words. It is
a short statement that summarizes
a wise principle.
The Hebrew word for proverbs
means “comparison.”
• Synonymous Parallelism – Proverbs 19:29 –
where the second clause restates the first
• Contrast Parallelism – Proverbs 13:9 – where a
truth is stated in the first clause and is made
stronger in the second by using contrast.
• Synthetic or Completive Parallelism – 20:2 The
second clause develops the thought of the first.
Life for Solomon is
all about choices.
“wisdom is the ability to use
knowledge in the right way to
make decisions and choices.”
There is a wisdom that comes
from God, knowing God, from
being in relationship with God.
Proverbs 9:10
“the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge, and
knowledge of the Holy One is
understanding.
Jesus Christ is the wisdom
of God for believers
I Corinthians 1:24, 30; Col. 2:3
Wisdom in the book of Proverbs is
portrayed as a godly woman who
calls persons to life and to God, into
a life of blessing and success.
•Wisdom’s first call–Proverbs 1:20-33
•Wisdom’s second call is to wealth.
8:1-31
•Wisdom’s third call – 9:1-12
Folly or foolishness is portrayed
as a seductive woman,
an adulteress who tempts the
foolish and leads them to hell.
Proverbs 5:1-10
•You can lose your reputation – 5:9
•Lose your possessions – 5:10
•Lose your health – 5:11
•Lose your life – 5:22-23
There are three persons in Proverbs
who need wisdom
1:22
The fool is dense, careless, sluggish,
lazy and self satisfied
I Samuel 25
The Fool
• hates instruction 1:7, 22
• is self confident – 12:15
• thinks he or she knows everything – 18:2
• talks without thinking – 29:11
• mocks at sin – 14:9
The Fool
• gives full vent to his anger – what comes up,
comes out!
• is hotheaded and reckless – 18:6-7
• lacks discernment
• The fool says in his heart, there is no God!
Psalms 14:1
The simple person
• believes anything and everything they are told –
14:15
• are easily led astray and lack understanding – 7:7
• cannot see ahead to know what is coming – 22:3
so they are repeatedly getting into trouble
The Scorner
• mocks at God’s wisdom because it is
too high for him or her – 14:6
• would never admit it because they
know everything- 21:24
• Is arrogant and prideful
The Hebrew word for mocker or
scorner literally means to
“make a mouth.”
9:7-8, 13:1
will one day be judged – 19:29
But the wise man or woman, the
one who fears the Lord
• Listens to instruction 1:5
• Obeys what they hear – 10:8
• Stores up what they learn – 10:14
• Shares what they learn-win others to the
Lord – 11:30
But the wise man or woman, the
one who fears the Lord
• Flees from sin – 14:16
• Trusts in the Lord with all their heart – 3:5-6
• Guards their heart – 4:23 – for out of the
heart flow the issues of life
• Watches their tongue – 16:23
The tongue can be a source of
blessing and cursing. This should
not be as the writer James says
3:1-12
The tongue should always be
an object of blessing
10:20; 15:4; 18:20
The tongue is so powerful that we
have to watch how we use it
Proverbs 18:21,
“Life and death are in the power of
the tongue.”
With the tongue we are to
give wise reproof - 25:1
Deliver souls from death – 11:9
Teach people the things of God
15:7
Carry the good news of Christ
25:25
• Lying – 12:17-23;12:18; God hates a
lying tongue – 6:16-17
• Bearing tales – 18:8. We tell stuff that
does not need to be told – 11:13,
destroying friendships and other
relationships – 17:9
• Talking too much 12:13, 18:6-7 and get into
trouble. 10:19. A guarded tongue leads to a
safe life. 13:3. A person of few words is a
person of knowledge.
• Talking to soon without listening to people –
18:13, 17. James 1:19. Let everyone be swift
to hear and slow to speak.
•Flattering – a form of lying when
the motives are wrong. 26:28, 29:5
•Proverbs 5:1-9; 26:25
• Quarreling – 12:16, 18, 27:15; 15:1
• Being able to control one’s tongue is the
way to rule an empire – 16:32, 14:17