Sayings of the Wise
As we are nearing the end of what I term the Wisdom Challenge — together pondering how to practically apply biblical knowledge and truth to our everyday lives as a community of believers, I believe a recap will serve as well.
Throughout the book of Proverbs, life is divided into two parts, and thus, we find wisdom and folly, righteousness and wickedness, humility and pride, virtue and vice consistently contrasted. Under the topic of virtue, we discussed some themes in greater depth, like humility, fear of the Lord, good parenting, good management, generosity, gracious speech, and purity. But we also discussed qualities associated with vice, like laziness, injustice, unfaithfulness, and folly. Another theme is that our actions are linked to an appropriate consequence. For example, in Proverbs 22:8, we read that the wicked are punished—Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, while we read in the very next verse that the righteous are blessed — the generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
This week we looked at various proverbs from the section “The Thirty Sayings of the Wise. It is a separate collection of sayings from unknown authors, although Bible scholars tell us they closely resemble Egyptian literature of the same era. Most of them believe that these probably come from one of Solomon’s wives, Pharaoh’s daughter. It is important to note David Pawson reminds us that Solomon recognized that God had given wisdom to people outside the land of Israel. Therefore, he had no problem including it in his work once he put them into the framework of a life lived under God.
Another interesting observation is that these sayings are mostly advice not to do something, adding a reason or consequence to help the listener or reader heed the advice. For instance, Saying Two warns us not to exploit the poor because God will come to their defense, robbing those who rob them. (Proverbs 22: 23,24)
Yet, I want us to ponder Saying Six momentarily: Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank. (Prov 22:29) I was reminded of the story of Gladys Aylward, a housemaid from England who felt called to bring the gospel to the people in China. Without formal education or a missionary organization to back her, Gladys raised her own finances for the trip. In the face of seemingly hopeless circumstances and the Sino-Chinese war, her incredible adventure of faith and determination inspired the world. Eventually, a Hollywood movie with Ingrid Bergman in the lead, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, was produced! During a time of recovery in England and after successfully guiding 100 orphans over hundreds of kilometers to safety, she was invited to dine with Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Phillip. An unlikely hero indeed, and yet her obedient faith in God’s call on her life brought her face to face with royalty!
GRACE CHALLENGE: Despite all this fame, Gladys returned to China, where she continued to live a quiet life with joyful obedience and radical faith, for she truly believed that with God, all things are possible! If you have not seen the movie (not very accurate, by the way) or read any of the books about Gladys Aylward, let this be your gift to yourself this Christmas! You will never be the same again!
