Introduction to
Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes
& Song of Solomon
27 April 2008
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Solomon
Son of David & Bathsheba
Lived around 1000 BC
Reigned 40 years, from about age 18-58
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Solomon’s Request for Wisdom
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream
by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
And Solomon said: “… Your servant is in the midst of
Your people who You have chosen, a great people, too
numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give
you Your servant an understanding heart to judge
Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.
For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
- 1 Kings 3:8,9 NKJV
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God’s Answer to Solomon
Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this
thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor
have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life
of your enemies, but have asked for yourself
understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done
according to your words; see, I have given you a wise
and understanding heart, so that there has not been
anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise
after you.”
- 1 Kings 3:11,12 NKJV
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Solomon’s Downfall
But King Solomon loved many foreign women …
from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the
children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with
them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away
your hearts after their gods.” … And he had seven
hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred
concubines … when Solomon was old … his wives
turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was
not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of
his father David.
– 1 Kings 11:1-4 NKJV
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Nehemiah’s Commentary
Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these
things? Yet among many nations there was no
king like him, who was beloved of his God; and
God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless
pagan women caused even him to sin.
– Nehemiah 13:26 NKJV
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God’s Response
So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his
heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had
appeared to him twice, Therefore the LORD said to
Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not
kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have
commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away
from you and give it to your servant. However I will not
tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to
your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the
sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
– 1 Kings 11:9,11,13 NKJV
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Solomon’s Writings
Young, romantic king
Song of Solomon
Middle-aged, wise king
Proverbs
Old, regretful king
Ecclesiastes
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Song of Solomon
 Historically
It’s about the courtship and marriage of
Solomon and a Shulamite shepherdess
 Practically
It was used as a manual by young Hebrew
newlyweds, to know how to properly feel
about sexuality (something God gave them)
 Allegorically / Symbolically
It’s about the courtship and marriage of
Christ and His people (OT: Israel; NT: Church)
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Song of Solomon Outline
 The beginning of love (1:1 - 5:1)
 Falling in love (1:1 - 3:5)
 Bride’s longing for affection
 Expressions of mutual love
 Visit of the king to the bride’s home
 Bride’s dream of separation
 United in love (3:6 - 5:1)
 Wedding procession
 Bride’s Beauty is praised
 The marriage is consummated
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Song of Solomon Outline
 Broadening of love (5:2-8:14)
 Struggling in love (5:2 – 7:10)
 Bride’s second dream of separation
 Bridegroom’s handsomeness is praised
 Bride’s beauty is praised
 Growing in love (7:11 – 8:14)
 Bride’s desire to visit her home
 Journey and homecoming
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Song of Solomon
 Aspects of the relationship
 Attraction
 Desire
 Companionship
 Pleasure
 Union
 Separation
 Faithfulness
 Praise
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Song of Solomon
 Drama
Written primarily from the point of view
of the Shulamite
 Characters / Speakers:
 The bride (Shulamite)
 The beloved / groom (Solomon)
 The chorus (daughters of Jerusalem)
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The Bride (Shulamite)
 A shepherdess
 Dark skin from working in the sun
 Perhaps woman # 141 of Solomon
“There are sixty queens and eighty concubines”
(S.S. 6:8)
 If most of Solomon’s wives and concubines
were political arrangements, then perhaps
this was his only pure romance up to that
point
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SS Application
1. View sexuality as God does – something good,
but designed to be used only within the
boundaries of marriage
2. Understand that men usually have a stronger
sexual drive than women, and without this,
few men would ever marry, and the human
race would probably die out. God planned it
this way.
3. The purpose of marriage from God’s point of
view is to produce godly offspring (Mal. 2:15)
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SS Application
4. Understand the seriousness of fornication
(any sexual relationship not approved by God,
including pre-marital sex, adultery and homosexuality)
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is
outside the body, but he who commits fornication
sins against his own body. (1 Cor. 6:18)
Fornication is idolatry and damages the
resurrected body of a believer – IF he / she is a
true believer – the willful sinner has no Biblical
basis for assurance of salvation!
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SS Application
5. Avoid music, TV shows and movies that excite
the passions.
Flee youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness,
faith, love, peace with those who call on the
Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Tim. 2:22 NKJV)
6. In 1 Cor. 7, Paul says that it’s better not to
marry, but if you can’t control yourself it’s not
sin to marry.
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SS Application
7. If you or your husband can’t control sexual
desires when you are apart from each other,
then unless he insists you be here, don’t live
apart from each other!
 Don’t gamble! You are only asking for
trouble, heartbreak, pain and regret.
 God will hold YOU partly responsible if he
commits adultery!
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Proverbs
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Proverbs
 Mashal in Hebrew – means
“comparison, similar, parallel”
 Basic principles for living
 Teach wisdom (skillful living),
especially in human relationships
 Truths without obligation
(principles, not commands, of God)
 Easily memorized, but can take a
lifetime to learn / implement
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Proverbs Outline
 Words of Solomon
 1:1 - 7 Purpose and theme
 1:8 - 9:18 Exhortations to youth
 10:1 - 29:27 Proverbs for all
(some recorded by Solomon and some
by godly men in Hezekiah’s time)
 Words of Agur (30:1:-33)
 Words of Lemuel (31:1-31)
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Proverbs’ Purpose
1. Help the reader know wisdom and
instruction (rather than foolishness and
ignorance) – 1:2a
2. Help the reader perceive the words of
understanding (rather than not
understand) – 1:2b
3. Help the reader receive the instruction of
wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity
(rather than stubbornly keep acting like a
child, not understanding justice, judgment
and fairness) – 1:3
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Proverbs’ Purpose
4. Help simple / immature people gain
prudence (rather than saying and doing
stupid things all the time) – 1:4a
5. Help young men gain knowledge and
discretion (rather than waste their time,
money and strength on meaningless, fun
activities that benefit no one) – 1:4b
6. To help a wise man increase his ability to
learn (so he can maximize his potential to
help others) – 1:5a
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Proverbs’ Purpose
7. To help a man of understanding gather wise
counsel or accountability (rather than go
through life learning lessons the hard way
or perhaps falling into sin due to lack of
anyone to warn or rebuke him) – 1:5b
8. To help the reader understand truths that
are hidden from most people but reserved
only for the wise (rather than being
satisfied to know only the information
spoon-fed by TV, radio and gossip) – 1:6
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Skill & Discipline
 Wisdom (hokhmah) means “skill,”
so it is something that takes time and
practice
 Instruction (musar) means “discipline,”
so it is something that requires sacrifice,
focus, and hard work. Mentoring from
someone older is also helpful.
 The ultimate goal is a righteous life –
to help solve the problems around you
instead of adding to the problems
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Wisdom & Fearing God
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and
instruction.” – Pr. 1:7 NKJV
 Respect or reverence is on your terms and
only requires agreement, not submission
 Fear is on God’s terms and requires obedient
submission to His commands
 So a desire to obey God’s commands is a
prerequisite to gaining spiritual knowledge
 Ignoring God’s commands (and those who
teach God’s commands) means you retain
your natural foolishness
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Wisdom & Fearing God
 The object of fear is God’s judgment
(Law of the Harvest)
Do not be deceived. God is not mocked.
A man reaps what he sows. – Gal. 6:7
 So fearing God requires an expectation
that temporal behavior will have eternal
consequences
 Grace means that the prodigal son gets to sit
at his father’s table
 The Law of the Harvest means that the
prodigal son suffers loss and can’t get back
the inheritance he squandered.
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Fools
 Fools are not mentally retarded people
 Fools are are self-sufficient, ordering their
lives as if there were no God, no Judgment
and/or no Law of the Harvest
 In Proverbs and elsewhere in the Old
Testament, a fool often denoted someone
who was morally deficient, i.e., ethically
and/or sexually immoral
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Worldly Vs. Divine Wisdom
Who is wise and understanding among you?
Let him show by good conduct that his works
are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if
you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your
hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
This wisdom does not descend from above,
but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where
envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and
every evil thing are there.
– James 3:13-16 NKJV
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Worldly Vs. Divine Wisdom
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of
mercy and good fruits, without partiality and
without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of
righteousness is sown in peace by those who
make peace.
– James 3:17,18 NKJV
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Proverbs Application
1. Develop a healthy fear of God. Remember,
respect is on your terms and does not
require submission; fear is on God’s terms
and requires obedient submission to His
commands
2. As you read through Proverbs, write down
and memorize the ones that speak most to
your own personal need and pray for God’s
help to change your bad habits
3. Be willing to take correction rather than
resent it
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Ecclesiastes
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Ecclesiastes
 Written by Solomon at the end of his life,
looking back
 It expresses Solomon’s regret for his folly
and wasted time due to carnality and
idolatry
“I had it all; I tried it all; it doesn’t satisfy;
I sinned; don’t make my mistakes!”
 Basic principles for living
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Ecclesiastes
 Written especially for young people
who still have time to change their
course in life
Remember now your Creator in the days
of your youth, before the difficult days
come … when you lose your strength,
lose your hearing, lose your good
eyesight, lose your courage, lose your
sexual desire … (Ecc. 12:1-5)
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Ecclesiastes Outline
 Thesis:
“All is Vanity” (1:1 - 11 )
 Proof:
“Life is Vain” (1:12-6:12)
 Counsel:
“Fear God and keep His
commandments” (7:1-12:14)
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Ecclesiastes Truths
 We all must die; life is short
 All the work of man’s hand is vanity
 Man’s importance is not determined
by success but by God’s declaration
 Significance is not found in
achievement or accumulation of
things but in serving people
 The words of God are intended to
move us toward action
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Ecclesiastes Application
1. Don’t give all your time, money and strength
to things that will not last. Be sure to invest
time in the Word of God, building your
relationship with Jesus and serving
whomever God puts into your life, especially
your husband and children.
2. Memorize some to remind you of sober
truths about life
3. Visit old people to learn from their lives and
and imagine what you might be like when
you grow old – to keep life in perspective
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Bibliography
Special thanks goes to the following:
 Bruce Wilkinson & Kenneth Boa for their
information in Talk Thru the Bible
 Walt Henrichsen for his wisdom and insight
shared during Bible studies he has led and in
books, articles and e-mails he has written
 Edward Reese for his chronology and dating
in The Reese Chronological Bible
The End
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