The Bible (part 2)

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding (Proverbs 3:13).

Last time, I started a series about the books of the Bible. Today we finish talking about the poetic books, and also look briefly at wisdom literature.

The most famous poetry in the Bible is the Book of Psalms. The Psalms were written by several different composers over a period of centuries. The oldest Psalm was written by Moses to celebrate the escape from Egypt that culminated with the parting of the Red Sea. Most of the Psalms, however, were written by David when he was king of Israel. The Book of Psalms was Israel’s hymnbook. David wrote his Psalms to be sung; regrettably, no one today knows what the music sounded like. All we do know is that David liked a wide variety of instruments—strings, tambourines, and horns among them.

Reading the Psalms can be a very emotional experience. They express the full range of human experience. There are Psalms that celebrate good times. There are Psalms that ache with sadness and depression. Some ask God to punish enemies; others ask God why He allows suffering to go on. There are Psalms that ask God to forgive wrongdoing; others tell God how much He is loved and appreciated. No matter what you are feeling, there’s a Psalm that will speak to your heart.

The Psalms all have one thing in common—they express faith in the Lord. They give Him credit for the good times. They seek His aid when things are going badly. Even when the composer wrestles with doubts, he still believes that God is good and fair and loving. No matter what you are going through, the Psalms always lead you to God. You need the Lord’s forgiveness. You need His wisdom to deal with life’s questions. And you need to be reminded of His love so that you can be properly grateful for His care.

Like poetry, wisdom literature also speaks to all aspects of the human condition. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes illustrate the value of righteous living and the dangers of evil behavior. In Job, the afflicted man and his friends wrestle with the meaning of suffering, while the Song of Solomon illustrates how wonderful human love can be. However, these books remind us that true love and wisdom have their origins in God.