The Books of Poetry and

WisdomChapter 6: You Sure Have a Way with Words

Memory Verse

Psalm 117: 1-21Praise the LORD, all you nations;    extol him, all you peoples.2 For great is his love toward us,    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.Praise the LORD.

Heart and Soul• The first 17 books of the Old Testament are historical in

nature.• The history of the Old Testament ends in Nehemiah with the

building of the wall around Jerusalem by the Jewish remnant. (What’s a remnant again?)

• The last 17 books of the Old Testament are prophetic in nature.

• Between those two groupings are 5 poetic and wisdom books. They form the heart of the Old Testament in more ways than one.• They are in the middle.• They deal with the issues of God’s people as they lived in the presence of

God and His prophets.• They will speak to your heart as you relate to God.

They were Poets and Didn’t Know It

• Books of poetry and wisdom were written over a period of more than 1,000 years by a group of distinguished writers.

• Job was written by an unknown author (possibly Job himself) in about 2000 BC, which would make it the oldest book in the Bible.

• Various writers, including Moses, David, Asaph, and Solomon, penned the Psalms.

• Solomon wrote or collected most of the Proverbs.• Solomon also wrote the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.

Themes of the 5 Books of Poetry and WisdomBook Theme Illustration

Job Suffering and faith

Psalms Our dependence on God for help, forgiveness, praise, and thanksgiving

Proverbs Practical consequences of wisdom and foolishness

Ecclesiastes The meaning of life

Song of Songs/Solomon

The beauty and power of love

Job: A Faithful Servant

• According to God Himself, Job was “the finest man in all the earth—a man of complete integrity” (Job 1:8).

• The book of Job begins with a rare glimpse into the heavenlies, where we observe as Satan and God make a deal.

• God allowed Satan to “test” his “faithful servant” Job first by destroying all his possessions, then his children, and then by taking away his health. It’s an amazing series of events which leaves Job in a state of suffering “too great for words.”

Job’s “Friends”

• His wife…• Tells him things are so bad he should just curse God and die.

• His three “friends”…• Come alongside and tell him he has offended God with his sin and

arrogance, and that God is punishing him.

• Job’s response?• He tells his friends he can’t believe God would go around punishing

people for no reason. • He certainly isn’t about to curse God.

The Takeaway…

HE IS BEYOND HUMAN UNDERSTANDING. HE IS WORTHY OF OUR WORSHIP DESPITE OUR

CIRCUMSTANCES, GOOD OR BAD.Remember, we serve a MULTI-dimensional God.

Small Group Discussion

Watch clip: Why do bad things happen to good people? 1. How can God permit suffering without causing it? 2. Give an example of a bad choice that leads to suffering. 3. Give an example of suffering that has nothing to do with

choices. 4. Why might people tend to blame God for much of the

suffering and evil in the world?

The Problem of Evil (Why Would a Good, Strong God Allow It?)

So where does suffering come from? There are three primary sources:1. Satan and his forces

2. We bring much of the hardship we experience on ourselves through bad choices.

3. A “Principle of Evil” in the world because of sin

So…What Happened?

The Lord makes him prosperous again and gives him twice as much as he had before, including seven sons and three daughters.

Memory Verse

Psalm 117: 1-21Praise the LORD, all you nations;    extol him, all you peoples.2 For great is his love toward us,    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.Praise the LORD.

Memory Verse

Psalm : 1-1Praise the  , all you nations;     him, all you .2 For is his love toward us,    and the of the LORD  forever.Praise the  .

Memory Verse

: 1-1 the  , all you ;     him, all you .2 For is his  toward us,    and the of the   endures .

the  .

P147- Themes of the 5 Books of Poetry and WisdomBook Theme Illustration

Job Suffering and faith

Psalms Our dependence on God for help, forgiveness, praise, and thanksgiving

Proverbs Practical consequences of wisdom and foolishness

Ecclesiastes The meaning of life

Song of Songs/Solomon

The beauty and power of love

Psalms Trivia1. Which psalm begins with this line: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want”?

a. Psalm 23b. Psalm 15

c. Psalm 1d. Psalm 100

2. Which psalm contains this line: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise”?

a. Psalm 150b. Psalm 45c. Psalm 23d. Psalm 100

Psalms Trivia3. How many psalms are in the book of Psalms?

a. 100b. 123c. 150d. 151

4. Which psalm is the longest?a. Psalm 22b. Psalm 117c. Psalm 119d. Psalm 137

Psalms Trivia5. Fill in the blank: “But his delight is in the of the Lord.”

a. Lawb. Hopec. Salvationd. Will

6. Which psalm is the shortest psalm?a. Psalm 22b. Psalm 117c. Psalm 119d. Psalm 137

Psalms Trivia7. How many verses does it have?

a. 2b. 3c. 4d. 5

8. Which of these men was not an author of at least one of the chapters in the book of Psalms?

a. Mosesb. Davidc. Joshuad. Solomon

Psalms Trivia9. How many books is the Book of Psalms divided into?

a. 4b. 5c. 6d. 7

10. Which is the last verse of Psalms?a. “The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.”b. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”c. “Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.”d. “Give thanks to the Lord of heaven, His love endures forever.”

Psalms Trivia1. Which psalm begins with this line: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want”?

a. Psalm 23b. Psalm 15

c. Psalm 1d. Psalm 100

2. Which psalm contains this line: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise”?

a. Psalm 150b. Psalm 45c. Psalm 23d. Psalm 100

Psalms Trivia3. How many psalms are in the book of Psalms?

a. 100b. 123c. 150d. 151

4. Which psalm is the longest?a. Psalm 22b. Psalm 117c. Psalm 119d. Psalm 137

Psalms Trivia5. Fill in the blank: “But his delight is in the of the Lord.”

a. Lawb. Hopec. Salvationd. Will

6. Which psalm is the shortest psalm?a. Psalm 22b. Psalm 117c. Psalm 119d. Psalm 137

Psalms Trivia7. How many verses does it have?

a. 2b. 3c. 4d. 5

8. Which of these men was not an author of at least one of the chapters in the book of Psalms?

a. Mosesb. Davidc. Joshuad. Solomon

Psalms Trivia9. How many books is the Book of Psalms divided into?

a. 4b. 5c. 6d. 7

10. Which is the last verse of Psalms?a. “The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.”b. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”c. “Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.”d. “Give thanks to the Lord of heaven, His love endures forever.”

Psalms: Songs in the Key of Life

• Psalms is the middle of your Bible. It’s the heart of the Bible.• The Bible is God’s message to humanity; the Book of Psalms is

humanity’s response to God.

• Psalms were actually songs and prayers written in Hebrew style poetry.• Set to music• Collected in a kind of hymnbook (called a Psalter)• Sung by the Jewish people in the temple

The Divisions of Psalms• Book 1: Psalms 1-41: Emphasis is on God’s relationship to human beings and

vice versa. (Correspond with Genesis—creation, fall, redemption)• Book 2: Psalms 42-72: Emphasis is on God’s relationship to Israel.

(Correspond with Exodus—God’s rescue of His chosen nation)• Book 3: Psalms 73-89: Emphasis is on the sanctuary, or the church.

(Corresponds with Leviticus—Tabernacle and God’s holiness)• Book 4: Psalms 90-106: Emphasis is on the earth and all that is in it.

(Corresponds with Numbers—Israel’s relationship to surrounding nations)• Book 5: Psalms 107-150: Emphasis is on the Word of God. (Corresponds with

Deuteronomy—theme is God’s Word)

Different types of Psalms

• The two main types:• Laments (prayers in times of need) • Songs of praise (worship in times of joy).

• Less common types:• Songs of thanksgiving, wisdom psalms, royal

psalms, confessions of trust, temple entry liturgies, and pilgrim songs.

Class work time

• Doxology worksheet• Once you finish the Doxology worksheet you can start

working on you’re your Psalm project

Memory Verse Quiz: Oct 31,2013

Proverbs: Wisdom Is the Key

• The all-time greatest book of wisdom is the Book of Proverbs.

• Author: Solomon• Reasons:

• To teach people wisdom and discipline• To help them understand wise sayings

• What is a proverb? A proverb is a short poem intended to teach wisdom and common sense.

Ecclesiastes: Is That All There Is?

• Author: Solomon (Side Note: The word “Ecclesiastes” means preacher or teacher.)• Timing: After His glory years had passed and his kingdom was about to split in two.• Solomon had not lived up to his promise to serve God wholeheartedly. His life

became consumed with pleasure, political compromises, and idolatry.• The tone of the book shows the following:

• He now understands the skeptical side present in all people.• Sometimes the strongest faith comes out of great doubt.

• It’s about facing the truth and finding ultimate and lasting fulfillment in God. Compared to God, everything else really is meaningless!

¿Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes?

• Proverbs – we reap what we sow• Job – sometimes we reap what we didn’t sow• Ecclesiastes – it seems that reaping and sowing don’t

match up at all

• Why do these three books of wisdom literature all exist in the Bible?

Song of Songs: More Than Meets the Eye

The Song of Songs (also known as the Song of Solomon) is…

a. A beautiful story about the love between a husband and a wife

b. An allegory about he love of God for His people and the love of Jesus for His church.

c. The one Bible book that makes young men snicker in church.d. All of the Above