Search
-
May 2, 2019Many inspired books of Scripture follow these two paths
There is a lot of in-depth theology throughout the Holy Scriptures. This sometimes can feel overwhelming for the average reader of the Holy Bible, but there is some good news. There are many books that are very practical and beautiful.
Wisdom literature in the Bible can be found in the books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth), Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) and Wisdom. The word “wisdom” appears in these five books more than 300 times. The remaining 41 books of the Old Testament all together only mention “wisdom” about 100 more times.
Wisdom literature in the Bible doesn’t get involved in God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or any of the covenant promises established with them. The books incorporate important characters who are not even Hebrew.
These divinely inspired writings focus on advice to can help each one of us achieve a good long and prosperous life in the here and now. The secret to this highly desirous goal is very simple, a deep loving relationship with God.
When this loving relationship is matured and true, breaking or even harming the relationship must be out of the question. If our love of God is so weak or non-existent that we knowingly and willingly disrespect our good and loving God, we have failed God and harmed our own well-being as well. Our life has ceased to be prosperous, good and joyful. Our life has become empty of true, long-lasting love.
True wisdom begins when we realize we should fear ever doing such a thing as offending God and breaking our loving relationship with him. See Proverbs 1:7, 9:10; Job 28:28; Sirach 1:16. Here you will find the secret to true wisdom. Here, is the secret to a good long and prosperous life in the here and now and also in the hereafter. This is the secret to a life of true love.
Some avid readers of sacred Scripture also might be searching for sacred literature that is a bit less intensively theological or practical. Many readers who are hungry for the Word of God are sometimes searching for beauty in God’s Word. To satiate that hunger, God has gifted us with two books of poetic beauty that go straight to our hearts.
The two poetic books of the Bible are Psalms and Song of Songs. The exquisiteness of lyrical poetry from God, and to God, is characterized by the rhythmical repetition of key ideas as a way of expressing their importance when referencing God, one of his attributes or something having to do with our relationship with God. While many of the rhymes are lost in translation the rhythm usually is not.
The Psalms, our songbook, have many styles such as hymns of praise, laments, royal psalms, wisdom psalms, liturgical psalms and historical psalms. All of them highlight various aspects of God, such as creator, savior, refuge, justice, righteousness, love and mercy.
Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is romantic poetry that at times becomes very passionate and sensual. This has been seen throughout the ages as an expression of the love between God and his people, or for us Christians the love between Christ and his Church. Divine love and human love are not meant to be separated. Saint John Paul II mentions this key idea and connects it to his “Theology of the Body” during the Wednesday audience on May 23, 1984.
“Even a summary analysis of the text of the Song of Songs allows the language of the body to be heard, expressing itself in that mutual fascination. The point of departure as well as the point of arrival for this fascination, mutual wonder and admiration, are in fact the bride's femininity and the groom's masculinity, in the direct experience of their visibility.”
“The words of love uttered by both of them are therefore concentrated on the body, not only because in itself it constitutes the source of the mutual fascination. But, it also is, and above all, because on the body there lingers directly and immediately that attraction toward the other person, toward the other I, female or male, which in the interior impulse of the heart generates love. In addition, love unleashes a special experience of the beautiful, which focuses on what is visible, but at the same time involves the entire person. The experience of beauty gives rise to satisfaction, which is mutual.”
