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Goldsworthy Trilogy #3
Gospel and Wisdom: Israel's Wisdom Literature in the Christian Life
Book by Graeme Goldsworthy
202 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
Graeme Goldsworthy
40 books79 followersGraeme Goldsworthy is an Australian Anglican and Old Testament scholar. Now retired, Goldsworthy was formerly lecturer in Old Testament, biblical theology and hermeneutics at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of "According to Plan" (IVP, 1991), "Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture" (Eerdmans, 2000) and "Proverbs: The Tree of Life" (CEP, 1993). Goldsworthy has an MA from Cambridge University and a ThM and PhD from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.
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October 24, 2012
Graeme Goldsworthy examines the way Old Testament wisdom theology relates to the gospel. Because Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes are very practical and direct and don't seem to have much in common with the rest of Old Testament history, it's difficult to figure out how they relate to the rest of the Bible. Can we just apply Old Testament proverbs to life today without connecting them to Jesus? Goldsworthy does a great job of linking OT wisdom to the overall flow of the Old Testament and then explaining how it finds it's fulfillment in Jesus. Here's the 1000 word review I wrote for my Old Testament class...
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The Old Testament Wisdom books, with their lack of reference to salvation history and their direct and practical nature, can be difficult to relate to the broad sweep of biblical revelation. Should we attempt to read them in the context of the Old Testament covenant, or in light of the coming of the Messiah Jesus – or do they form a special category which speaks directly to our daily life without needing to be informed by the rest of the Bible? Graeme Goldsworthy is a well known Australian scholar in the field of biblical theology, the study of the overarching themes of the Bible (see for example his other books 'Gospel and Wisdom' and 'According to Plan'), which makes him well suited to address these questions. In Gospel and Wisdom Goldsworthy’s aim is “to apply the method of biblical theology in order to place the wisdom literature in its Christian context” (page 334). Chapters 1-3 begin with the New Testament concept of wisdom, chapters 4-10 are a thorough introduction to wisdom in the Old Testament and chapters 11-12 deal with Christ as the fulfilment of Old Testament wisdom.
Goldsworthy succeeded in writing a book “with as few technicalities as possible” (334) – the style of book is quite accessible to an interested non-theologian. None the less the book is theological in nature, and the wisdom literature can be quite foreign to modern readers, so a high degree of concentration is required. While Goldsworthy does include discussions about decision making in the Christian life, the book focuses on the task of interpreting the wisdom literature rather than immediate application for daily living. The summary paragraphs at the start of each chapter are a great feature.
In Chapter One, Goldsworthy introduces his topic by relating wisdom to the everyday task of making decisions. A Christian needs wisdom, he says, because “God gave us minds and he expects us to use them” (339). Goldsworthy initially approaches the topic from the view point of a New Testament believer – “we must think of Christian wisdom as a conforming of the mind to the gospel” (341). The helpful clarity offered by the biblical theology perspective is evident as he discusses Christ in relation to Old Testament wisdom. Christ fulfils Old Testament wisdom, so he alone can help us understand it, yet the New Testament presupposes and builds on the Old and so cannot be understood with it! Goldsworthy resolves the impasse by observing that since our personal beginning point is meeting Christ, he also should be the starting point for our study of the Bible.
Thus Chapters Two and Three briefly outline a New Testament theology of wisdom, with 1 Cor 1:30 (Christ “has become for us wisdom from God”) as the centre point. Particularly helpful in these chapters is the distinction Goldsworthy highlights between worldly wisdom and the wisdom of God, a contrast which is drawn on later in the book.
Chapter Four commences the best section in the book, the extended discussion of wisdom in the Old Testament. Goldsworthy defines wisdom as the way Israel “interpreted reality in the light of the revelation of God” (381). He develops this theme from the early chapters of Genesis and convincingly builds the case that the wisdom literature is fundamentally set in the context of God’s covenant with Israel, despite the relative lack of covenant references in the wisdom books. Chapter Five examines Solomon’s role as the patron of wisdom, including a comparison of Israelite wisdom with other Ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature. Goldsworthy acknowledges similarities in form and content, but draws a fundamental distinction due the centrality of ‘the fear of God’ in Israelite wisdom.
Chapters Six, Seven and Eight are clear and helpful introductions to understanding the books of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes, helped particularly by the groundwork laid in previous chapters. Proverbs (‘The Perception of Order’, 409), Goldsworthy says, describes the cause-and-effect manner in which life usually operates. He helpfully warns against treating the general statements of Proverbs as laws or commands instead of the life lessons they are meant to be. This lays a foundation for the discussion of the book of Job in the next chapter (‘The Hiddenness of Order’, 428) which is a critique of wisdom when applied in an unyielding cause-and-effect manner. In Chapter Eight Goldsworthy turns to Ecclesiastes (‘The Confusion of Order’, 448), similarly describing it as a critique of rigid cause-and-effect wisdom which does not allow for life’s mysteries.
Chapter Nine briefly considers the elements of wisdom literature elsewhere in the Old Testament before Chapter Ten “draws together the threads” (477) to discuss the place of wisdom in Old Testament theology. This is another helpful chapter, and in particular Goldsworthy is able to locate Old Testament wisdom in its broader biblical context by discussing key concepts shared by wisdom and covenant such as righteousness (484) and the fear of the Lord (486).
Chapter Eleven returns to Christ (‘The Perfection of Order’, 497) and considers his continuity with and fulfilment of Old Testament wisdom. Jesus spoke often in wisdom forms such as parables and proverbial sayings (503ff), and continued the Old Testament critique of overly rigid wisdom in his confrontation with the Pharisees (500). Most significantly, Christ fulfilled the goal of the wisdom literature by bringing God, humanity and creation into perfect relationship (521). Chapter Twelve examines the way Christians can live and read the wisdom literature today.
Gospel and Wisdom is a helpful and clarifying treatment of the biblical topic of wisdom. As a stand alone book it forms an excellent basic introduction to the genre of wisdom literature. Goldsworthy’s greatest contribution however is the biblical theology framework he applies to wisdom. He succeeds in relating the wisdom literature to Old Testament salvation history and to the gospel as fully revealed in Jesus Christ. The most memorable passage in the book is in the final chapter where Goldsworthy discusses the task of interpreting Old Testament wisdom as first “finding out what the text meant in its original biblical context” before second understanding “how it relates to the gospel” (526). Goldsworthy emphasises the second step – “as tempting as it is to rush from the texts of Proverbs to an application in our Christian life, we must discipline ourselves to relate our texts first of all to their fulfilment in Christ” (530). I found this emphasis helpful in personally understanding the wisdom books and also in considering the challenge of preaching Old Testament wisdom to a modern Christian audience. Gospel and Wisdom is a readable and challenging book which provides a helpful and clarifying foundation for the study of the Old Testament wisdom literature.
*************
The Old Testament Wisdom books, with their lack of reference to salvation history and their direct and practical nature, can be difficult to relate to the broad sweep of biblical revelation. Should we attempt to read them in the context of the Old Testament covenant, or in light of the coming of the Messiah Jesus – or do they form a special category which speaks directly to our daily life without needing to be informed by the rest of the Bible? Graeme Goldsworthy is a well known Australian scholar in the field of biblical theology, the study of the overarching themes of the Bible (see for example his other books 'Gospel and Wisdom' and 'According to Plan'), which makes him well suited to address these questions. In Gospel and Wisdom Goldsworthy’s aim is “to apply the method of biblical theology in order to place the wisdom literature in its Christian context” (page 334). Chapters 1-3 begin with the New Testament concept of wisdom, chapters 4-10 are a thorough introduction to wisdom in the Old Testament and chapters 11-12 deal with Christ as the fulfilment of Old Testament wisdom.
Goldsworthy succeeded in writing a book “with as few technicalities as possible” (334) – the style of book is quite accessible to an interested non-theologian. None the less the book is theological in nature, and the wisdom literature can be quite foreign to modern readers, so a high degree of concentration is required. While Goldsworthy does include discussions about decision making in the Christian life, the book focuses on the task of interpreting the wisdom literature rather than immediate application for daily living. The summary paragraphs at the start of each chapter are a great feature.
In Chapter One, Goldsworthy introduces his topic by relating wisdom to the everyday task of making decisions. A Christian needs wisdom, he says, because “God gave us minds and he expects us to use them” (339). Goldsworthy initially approaches the topic from the view point of a New Testament believer – “we must think of Christian wisdom as a conforming of the mind to the gospel” (341). The helpful clarity offered by the biblical theology perspective is evident as he discusses Christ in relation to Old Testament wisdom. Christ fulfils Old Testament wisdom, so he alone can help us understand it, yet the New Testament presupposes and builds on the Old and so cannot be understood with it! Goldsworthy resolves the impasse by observing that since our personal beginning point is meeting Christ, he also should be the starting point for our study of the Bible.
Thus Chapters Two and Three briefly outline a New Testament theology of wisdom, with 1 Cor 1:30 (Christ “has become for us wisdom from God”) as the centre point. Particularly helpful in these chapters is the distinction Goldsworthy highlights between worldly wisdom and the wisdom of God, a contrast which is drawn on later in the book.
Chapter Four commences the best section in the book, the extended discussion of wisdom in the Old Testament. Goldsworthy defines wisdom as the way Israel “interpreted reality in the light of the revelation of God” (381). He develops this theme from the early chapters of Genesis and convincingly builds the case that the wisdom literature is fundamentally set in the context of God’s covenant with Israel, despite the relative lack of covenant references in the wisdom books. Chapter Five examines Solomon’s role as the patron of wisdom, including a comparison of Israelite wisdom with other Ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature. Goldsworthy acknowledges similarities in form and content, but draws a fundamental distinction due the centrality of ‘the fear of God’ in Israelite wisdom.
Chapters Six, Seven and Eight are clear and helpful introductions to understanding the books of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes, helped particularly by the groundwork laid in previous chapters. Proverbs (‘The Perception of Order’, 409), Goldsworthy says, describes the cause-and-effect manner in which life usually operates. He helpfully warns against treating the general statements of Proverbs as laws or commands instead of the life lessons they are meant to be. This lays a foundation for the discussion of the book of Job in the next chapter (‘The Hiddenness of Order’, 428) which is a critique of wisdom when applied in an unyielding cause-and-effect manner. In Chapter Eight Goldsworthy turns to Ecclesiastes (‘The Confusion of Order’, 448), similarly describing it as a critique of rigid cause-and-effect wisdom which does not allow for life’s mysteries.
Chapter Nine briefly considers the elements of wisdom literature elsewhere in the Old Testament before Chapter Ten “draws together the threads” (477) to discuss the place of wisdom in Old Testament theology. This is another helpful chapter, and in particular Goldsworthy is able to locate Old Testament wisdom in its broader biblical context by discussing key concepts shared by wisdom and covenant such as righteousness (484) and the fear of the Lord (486).
Chapter Eleven returns to Christ (‘The Perfection of Order’, 497) and considers his continuity with and fulfilment of Old Testament wisdom. Jesus spoke often in wisdom forms such as parables and proverbial sayings (503ff), and continued the Old Testament critique of overly rigid wisdom in his confrontation with the Pharisees (500). Most significantly, Christ fulfilled the goal of the wisdom literature by bringing God, humanity and creation into perfect relationship (521). Chapter Twelve examines the way Christians can live and read the wisdom literature today.
Gospel and Wisdom is a helpful and clarifying treatment of the biblical topic of wisdom. As a stand alone book it forms an excellent basic introduction to the genre of wisdom literature. Goldsworthy’s greatest contribution however is the biblical theology framework he applies to wisdom. He succeeds in relating the wisdom literature to Old Testament salvation history and to the gospel as fully revealed in Jesus Christ. The most memorable passage in the book is in the final chapter where Goldsworthy discusses the task of interpreting Old Testament wisdom as first “finding out what the text meant in its original biblical context” before second understanding “how it relates to the gospel” (526). Goldsworthy emphasises the second step – “as tempting as it is to rush from the texts of Proverbs to an application in our Christian life, we must discipline ourselves to relate our texts first of all to their fulfilment in Christ” (530). I found this emphasis helpful in personally understanding the wisdom books and also in considering the challenge of preaching Old Testament wisdom to a modern Christian audience. Gospel and Wisdom is a readable and challenging book which provides a helpful and clarifying foundation for the study of the Old Testament wisdom literature.
April 26, 2021
This is my second read in Goldsworthy's Gospel trilogy. I really love his writing and insights, and this book was really thought provoking for me. Generally the wisdom literature is seen as
moral rules to apply to life, but Goldsworthy shows us how to interpret them in light of the gospel. I came away with a lot of takeaways and new perspectives to think on. If you like biblical theology, his trilogy is a wonderful resource (Gospel and Kingdom, Gospel and Wisdom, Gospel and Revelation).
moral rules to apply to life, but Goldsworthy shows us how to interpret them in light of the gospel. I came away with a lot of takeaways and new perspectives to think on. If you like biblical theology, his trilogy is a wonderful resource (Gospel and Kingdom, Gospel and Wisdom, Gospel and Revelation).
July 27, 2015
A thoughtful explanation of the Bible's wisdom literature and the theme of wisdom theme throughout the Bible. I found the discussions on the absence of salvation history references in the wisdom literature, the reconciling of Proverbs with Ecclesiastes and Job, and the focus on 'order' as the key to wisdom really interesting.
July 26, 2013
Excellent book. It takes the wisdom literature of the Old Testament and other wisdom sayings out of the whole canon of Scripture and uses it to point to the ultimate source of wisdom - CHRIST!
January 13, 2015
An academic exposition of the wisdom bookx
6 September 2012
I must admit that I actually found this book to be quite dry and boring. It is not because I find the topic boring, but rather that by looking at the Bible, particularly the easier parts of the Bible (which include the books of wisdom), and in particular Proverbs, in an academic fashion has the habit of destroying the life and the spark that I get from the Bible. Secondly, much of what he says in this book does little to add to add to our understanding of the Bible, and in a way seems to have little real practical application. I guess, when I approach the wisdom books, I am looking for practical application, but in the end, the application is not just already there, but for those of us who go to church of a Sunday, we tend to hear it anyway. However, it does not necessarily mean that it is a bad book, and there are some interesting aspects to it, however I found that it was too long and seemed to drag on a lot to the point that I was glad to get to that final page.
While Goldsworthy is right in pointing out that the Bible warns us against worldly wisdom, however Goldsworthy warns us against treating anything that does not come from the Bible as being worldly wisdom and thus to be ignored. For instance, technical skills are not mentioned in the Bible, nor does the Bible teach us technical skills, however that does not mean that we should not learn technical skills. What the Bible is warning us against is the basis upon which the wisdom is built. What the Bible says is that wisdom that comes from a biblical foundation is far more reliable than wisdom that is built upon a foundation of atheism or paganism. Once again, I do not believe that means that we should ignore the ancient texts, particularly since the texts that have survived have survived for a reason, but rather when we read then we need to be aware of the foundations of these texts. Basically, simply because the wisdom is spoken by a human does not mean that it should be ignored. There are many wise humans out there that say some very wise things that do not necessarily come from the Bible, but what it is saying is that we need to be aware that there is a form of wisdom that seeks to remove God from the picture so as to create a foundation upon which we can justify their own selfish desires. Even the apostle Paul, who condemns the teachings of the Roman Philosophers, leaned upon the teachings of some of the earlier Greek philosophers in his discourses. Further, we are also told that Moses was trained in all of the wisdom of the Egyptians, but did not necessarily say that he discarded his learning.
We see this problem arising today from two modern camps, that of the Athiests and that of the Fundamentalists. To me, both approaches are fraught with danger. The Athiest's reject God and try to establish a morality on a basis of what they consider to be right or wrong, however there is no objective foundation upon which they can establish that morality, and as such endless debates as to what is right and what is wrong comes about. As such, we get strange ideas being proposed such as 'Greed is Good' which in turn sends the world into economic chaos. On the other hand we have the Fundamentalist's rejecting reason to the point where they claim that because Jesus did not like divorce, they condemn women who leave abusive relationships as sinners, or make absurd claims that if a woman becomes pregnant because of rape or incest, then they must have enjoyed it.
Goldsworthy spends most of the book looking at this idea of how wisdom developed throughout the Bible, and to be honest, I do not necessarily agree with him. Granted, we have books which looks at the development of Greek Philosophy from the Seven Sages to Socrates, however much of this is based upon fragmented documents and speculation. The same is the case with Goldsworthy's thesis that Wisdom and understanding was developing and evolving from the fall right up unto Jesus Christ. Granted, Jesus is the representative of the evolved man, however it is my position that up until Christ, humanity was devolving, and it was the appearance of Christ on Earth, and his death and resurrection, that turned humanity around. However, even then, the wisdom of the Bible, and the wisdom that was pronounced by Christ, was once again hijacked, manipulated, and twisted to wicked men's own evil purposes. However, he is correct when he points out that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not denying knowledge, but rather it was saying that we do not need to know evil, because all we needed to know was that obedience was the good life, and not to obey was evil. What the tree did was opened our eyes to what exactly was evil, and in a sense, it was an understanding and a knowing that living for oneself was beneficial to one self. What the tree was not doing, was denying us knowledge of philosophy, literature, or scientific research.
This is the same with the Deuteronomic Law, and that was that it set boundaries, but it did not deny us knowledge. It allowed us to express ourselves artistically, but warned us against worshipping this art. It allowed up to explore ideas of animal husbandry, but set boundaries on where we to go. However, it also opened up ideas of justice, but was once again a means of which we could measure our decisions, as opposed to creating a strict means of living life. In a way, the law operated like the civil law countries of Europe, where each case is decided on its own merits and is guided by the legal code that governs the nation.
I guess his conclusions are modelled on this understanding of the law, because by the time we get to Solomon, while the law is still in place, we have a greater understanding of how we are to live and how we are to conduct ourselves in society. This is how the book of Proverbs is constructed. It is advice on how to live the good life and warnings against traps we might fall into. He does hammer on about the idea of the fear of God for too long, but I guess I have understood that the notion of fear in this context has more to do with respect and acknowledgement of authority that it has to do with being scared and living in terror. I guess the idea that he is concluding with also evolves around the issue of guidance. Guidance is one of those topics that we all want to know about, and I guess we understand that there are things we do not do (such as murder, rape, or theft) but there are other things that God is strangely silent on (who should we marry, what job should we do). The answer to that is, that is your choice. God never wanted to make us robots, and that is why he gave us choice. How we go about it may be a different story, but many of us fear choice, and that is why we hang on to that false notion of seeking guidance from God. Look at the book of Proverbs, in fact look at the whole Bible, and understand the boundaries that have been set, and the make our own choices. Of course, maintain your relationship with God, but remember, he gave you choice, use it, explore it, and remember, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.
I want to finish off though with something he said about the book of Job. Now in a way the whole book seems to be allegorical in context, though I still hold the opinion that it was based on a real man and real events. However, the allegorical aspect suggests that Job is the faithful godly man who simply has a run of bad luck and is trying to work out what it happened to him. Of the characters that enters the picture, we can see that they represent types of people. We have the wife who is the type of person who encourages you to blame others for your misfortunes and simply wallow in your misery (curse God and die). Then we have the man who is a very spiritual person, who suggests that because God is incapable of inflicting suffering on people for the pleasure of it, it them must have something to do with a Karmic backlash. The next friend falls back on the traditional approach while the third is simply the one of little faith. However, all of them point their fingers at Job and indicate that he must have done something to deserve it. God does not see it that way, but further, does not actually provide him with any answers. Despite this, Job maintains his faith and is rewarded.
The allegorical aspect reflects the life of the righteous man, in that he will suffer in life, but by living through that suffering, which includes having to deal with a bunch of morons who cannot understand that suffering comes about because of the world we live in, and that it is not necessarily some concept of karma biting us back, that those who persevere, in the end, will survive, and come upon much more wealth, in the form of eternal life.
6 September 2012
I must admit that I actually found this book to be quite dry and boring. It is not because I find the topic boring, but rather that by looking at the Bible, particularly the easier parts of the Bible (which include the books of wisdom), and in particular Proverbs, in an academic fashion has the habit of destroying the life and the spark that I get from the Bible. Secondly, much of what he says in this book does little to add to add to our understanding of the Bible, and in a way seems to have little real practical application. I guess, when I approach the wisdom books, I am looking for practical application, but in the end, the application is not just already there, but for those of us who go to church of a Sunday, we tend to hear it anyway. However, it does not necessarily mean that it is a bad book, and there are some interesting aspects to it, however I found that it was too long and seemed to drag on a lot to the point that I was glad to get to that final page.
While Goldsworthy is right in pointing out that the Bible warns us against worldly wisdom, however Goldsworthy warns us against treating anything that does not come from the Bible as being worldly wisdom and thus to be ignored. For instance, technical skills are not mentioned in the Bible, nor does the Bible teach us technical skills, however that does not mean that we should not learn technical skills. What the Bible is warning us against is the basis upon which the wisdom is built. What the Bible says is that wisdom that comes from a biblical foundation is far more reliable than wisdom that is built upon a foundation of atheism or paganism. Once again, I do not believe that means that we should ignore the ancient texts, particularly since the texts that have survived have survived for a reason, but rather when we read then we need to be aware of the foundations of these texts. Basically, simply because the wisdom is spoken by a human does not mean that it should be ignored. There are many wise humans out there that say some very wise things that do not necessarily come from the Bible, but what it is saying is that we need to be aware that there is a form of wisdom that seeks to remove God from the picture so as to create a foundation upon which we can justify their own selfish desires. Even the apostle Paul, who condemns the teachings of the Roman Philosophers, leaned upon the teachings of some of the earlier Greek philosophers in his discourses. Further, we are also told that Moses was trained in all of the wisdom of the Egyptians, but did not necessarily say that he discarded his learning.
We see this problem arising today from two modern camps, that of the Athiests and that of the Fundamentalists. To me, both approaches are fraught with danger. The Athiest's reject God and try to establish a morality on a basis of what they consider to be right or wrong, however there is no objective foundation upon which they can establish that morality, and as such endless debates as to what is right and what is wrong comes about. As such, we get strange ideas being proposed such as 'Greed is Good' which in turn sends the world into economic chaos. On the other hand we have the Fundamentalist's rejecting reason to the point where they claim that because Jesus did not like divorce, they condemn women who leave abusive relationships as sinners, or make absurd claims that if a woman becomes pregnant because of rape or incest, then they must have enjoyed it.
Goldsworthy spends most of the book looking at this idea of how wisdom developed throughout the Bible, and to be honest, I do not necessarily agree with him. Granted, we have books which looks at the development of Greek Philosophy from the Seven Sages to Socrates, however much of this is based upon fragmented documents and speculation. The same is the case with Goldsworthy's thesis that Wisdom and understanding was developing and evolving from the fall right up unto Jesus Christ. Granted, Jesus is the representative of the evolved man, however it is my position that up until Christ, humanity was devolving, and it was the appearance of Christ on Earth, and his death and resurrection, that turned humanity around. However, even then, the wisdom of the Bible, and the wisdom that was pronounced by Christ, was once again hijacked, manipulated, and twisted to wicked men's own evil purposes. However, he is correct when he points out that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not denying knowledge, but rather it was saying that we do not need to know evil, because all we needed to know was that obedience was the good life, and not to obey was evil. What the tree did was opened our eyes to what exactly was evil, and in a sense, it was an understanding and a knowing that living for oneself was beneficial to one self. What the tree was not doing, was denying us knowledge of philosophy, literature, or scientific research.
This is the same with the Deuteronomic Law, and that was that it set boundaries, but it did not deny us knowledge. It allowed us to express ourselves artistically, but warned us against worshipping this art. It allowed up to explore ideas of animal husbandry, but set boundaries on where we to go. However, it also opened up ideas of justice, but was once again a means of which we could measure our decisions, as opposed to creating a strict means of living life. In a way, the law operated like the civil law countries of Europe, where each case is decided on its own merits and is guided by the legal code that governs the nation.
I guess his conclusions are modelled on this understanding of the law, because by the time we get to Solomon, while the law is still in place, we have a greater understanding of how we are to live and how we are to conduct ourselves in society. This is how the book of Proverbs is constructed. It is advice on how to live the good life and warnings against traps we might fall into. He does hammer on about the idea of the fear of God for too long, but I guess I have understood that the notion of fear in this context has more to do with respect and acknowledgement of authority that it has to do with being scared and living in terror. I guess the idea that he is concluding with also evolves around the issue of guidance. Guidance is one of those topics that we all want to know about, and I guess we understand that there are things we do not do (such as murder, rape, or theft) but there are other things that God is strangely silent on (who should we marry, what job should we do). The answer to that is, that is your choice. God never wanted to make us robots, and that is why he gave us choice. How we go about it may be a different story, but many of us fear choice, and that is why we hang on to that false notion of seeking guidance from God. Look at the book of Proverbs, in fact look at the whole Bible, and understand the boundaries that have been set, and the make our own choices. Of course, maintain your relationship with God, but remember, he gave you choice, use it, explore it, and remember, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.
I want to finish off though with something he said about the book of Job. Now in a way the whole book seems to be allegorical in context, though I still hold the opinion that it was based on a real man and real events. However, the allegorical aspect suggests that Job is the faithful godly man who simply has a run of bad luck and is trying to work out what it happened to him. Of the characters that enters the picture, we can see that they represent types of people. We have the wife who is the type of person who encourages you to blame others for your misfortunes and simply wallow in your misery (curse God and die). Then we have the man who is a very spiritual person, who suggests that because God is incapable of inflicting suffering on people for the pleasure of it, it them must have something to do with a Karmic backlash. The next friend falls back on the traditional approach while the third is simply the one of little faith. However, all of them point their fingers at Job and indicate that he must have done something to deserve it. God does not see it that way, but further, does not actually provide him with any answers. Despite this, Job maintains his faith and is rewarded.
The allegorical aspect reflects the life of the righteous man, in that he will suffer in life, but by living through that suffering, which includes having to deal with a bunch of morons who cannot understand that suffering comes about because of the world we live in, and that it is not necessarily some concept of karma biting us back, that those who persevere, in the end, will survive, and come upon much more wealth, in the form of eternal life.
July 1, 2020
There was an awful lot to like in this book. It raised many important ideas, especially in terms of describing what we mean by "wisdom" and not just accepting our preconceptions. I really struggle to read the wisdom literature and to connect it with the overall story of the Bible, and it was helpful to consider wisdom as an outworking of the theology of creation, based on the revelation of a good and wise God who has made the universe ordered, which empowers our search for order. The tension between Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes is vital, and Goldsworthy seemed to give a good outline for the understanding of this. Finally, seeing Jesus as the ultimate "wise man" actually makes sense of some of his teachings beyond merely understanding his role as the sacrificial lamb of God.
I found the book very difficult to read. I don't know if it was the heaviness of the content, or the writing style, but it was hard work to draw out these ideas. There were times when I felt the book was bogged down and repetitive, and other times I felt that Goldsworthy just barely scratched ideas that I wanted to read more about. So it was interesting, but I wouldn't go so far as to recommend it, or at least not as an introduction to the topic!
I found the book very difficult to read. I don't know if it was the heaviness of the content, or the writing style, but it was hard work to draw out these ideas. There were times when I felt the book was bogged down and repetitive, and other times I felt that Goldsworthy just barely scratched ideas that I wanted to read more about. So it was interesting, but I wouldn't go so far as to recommend it, or at least not as an introduction to the topic!
February 15, 2024
A useful overview of the theology of wisdom as fulfilled in Christ in the wisdom books of the Old Testament (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes). Many scholars have grappled with how to interpret the wisdom books and how they connect with the rest of the Old Testament.
Goldsworthy does mention some New Testament uses of Old Testament wisdom literature such as the parables in the Gospels and the book of James. Although I disagree with Goldsworthy on some details (for example he does not interpret Proverbs 8 as referring to Christ, but rather to wisdom as a personification) his overall approach is useful.
Goldsworthy does mention some New Testament uses of Old Testament wisdom literature such as the parables in the Gospels and the book of James. Although I disagree with Goldsworthy on some details (for example he does not interpret Proverbs 8 as referring to Christ, but rather to wisdom as a personification) his overall approach is useful.
May 22, 2018
Good overview of Wisdom litterature (Proverbs and Ecclesiastes). It presents their place in the canon and how we can read them suitably in redemptive history and related to Christ. Basically, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes reflects on wisdom in tension, the natural order in Creation that was disrupted starting from the Fall. It give insights to live wisdom in an age where both sin and death exist before the consumate and new age will come with the second coming of Jesus. It is Jesus who re-establish this order (wisdom) in himself and in his work.
June 17, 2018
I read this ten years ago and found it rich and inspiring. It made exciting connections for me between different parts of the Bible: from the Wisdom literature to salvation-history, and to the New Testament. I still remember and tell people about Goldsworthy's insight into the nature of Solomon's wisdom: how it's consonant with the Law of Moses yet integrates it, anticipating the time when the Holy Spirit would write the law on the hearts of God's people.
Highly recommended: read it to join the dots in your biblical worldview!
Highly recommended: read it to join the dots in your biblical worldview!
March 16, 2019
This is a fine book in many ways. Goldsworthy helps us understand the relation of wisdom books to one another and to the Gospel. He asserts we cannot read wisdom literature in the Old Testament as if Jesus doesn't exist, wasn't made flesh, didn't live, didn't die, wasn't resurrected, and hasn't ascended to Heaven. There were a few bumps along the way relative to statements about the kingdom and some hints at over-realized eschatology.
April 2, 2018
This is a good (but at times verbose) overview of wisdom in the Bible. His insight into the tension between Proverbs (observable order), Job (hidden order), and Ecclesiastes (confused order) is worth the price of the book. Keeping all three books in tension will prevent despair ("all is confused and hidden") and pride ("if I just follow this proverb life will be great!").
May 4, 2020
The Goldsworthy Trilogy was gold. This book on gospel and wisdom did not disappoint. The whole book was leading up to the point that wisdom history and salvation history are two sides to the same reality, both finding their culmination in Jesus.
September 19, 2018
A good end to this trilogy with a fresh look at the wisdom books, what they are for, and how the challenge our perceptions. Excellent
March 11, 2014
Excellent. Great at showing how the wisdom literature fit into the big picture of the Bible overall, so a definite must if teaching or studying the wisdom literature.
Some helpful gems throughout but also pushes you to use your brain in following Jesus in a helpful way. Shows how Jesus is our wisdom and what that actually means, as well as giving a brief intro to each section of the wisdom literature.
Could be clearer at times and is a bit stodgy- prob more for the pastor or student than for most.
Some helpful gems throughout but also pushes you to use your brain in following Jesus in a helpful way. Shows how Jesus is our wisdom and what that actually means, as well as giving a brief intro to each section of the wisdom literature.
Could be clearer at times and is a bit stodgy- prob more for the pastor or student than for most.
June 7, 2013
Another excellent book by Goldsworthy. This one focuses on the wisdom books of the Old Testament and how to read them in light of the Gospel. I loved that he was able to see the Gospel as more than a wooden "Accept Jesus in your heart and go to Heaven." It's not quite that wooden, and a complete application of the Gospel to all of life, will help us fulfill the dominion mandate. Awesome read!
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