To prepare for this sermon, I had to consult the textbook we used for my Old Testament class at seminary. It reminded me of what a great professor Andy Dearman was and how much fun I had learning all this stuff. I also flashed back to the take-home, closed book (honor system) exams Andy gave us. I would get up on Saturday morning, study, study, study, then go get Chinese take-out and eat, watch college football, and take the exam. That may explain why I didn't remember much of the backgrounds to Proverbs!
It was good to revisit Proverbs. I made the connection (no scholar made this argument) between the Wisdom literature and its emphasis on righteous behavior and the letters to the early church and their emphasis on ethical behavior (particularly Peter's letters). It was a fascinating connection to me.
The sermon probably had too much content -- an overview of 31 chapters and all the different styles of Proverbs is hard to do in 20 minutes or less, but I hope the gathered congregation got a good feel for Proverbs.
I had one person tell me they love reading Proverbs and another tell me they have a program that gives them a Proverb a day to read. I was surprised that even two people read Proverbs that often.
The sermon came across very differently in the two services. Not sure why, exactly. It felt very different in the preaching as well.
The text below is a loose approximation of the sermons preached at the two services. I did quite a bit of freelancing yesterday. I also botched the conclusion at the sanctuary service by using the comments earlier in the sermon. The conclusion worked better at the Chapel service. In fact, I think the written conclusion (now) is better than both of the conclusions that I used in the services yesterday (I could not remember the exact conclusion, so I wrote something in this morning).
Someone told me that yesterday's sermon was the best sermon I'd preached in all my time here. From my perspective, that is certainly not the case, but I'm, grateful that it worked for someone!
“Grab
Bag: OT Tweets” August 11, 2013; Grab
bag series Proverbs 1: 1-7; Proverbs 31:10-12
Introduction In the last 20
years, I am not sure I ever preached on Proverbs, except for using portions of
Proverbs 31 at a funeral for a mother/wife.
I
bet most of you have not studied Proverbs.
Don’t make a catchy VBS theme.
In
some ways, that made it surprising to me that someone actually wanted to hear a
sermon on Proverbs as part of the grab-bag sermon series; or perhaps I should
not have been surprised since we do not talk about Proverbs much.
I
pulled out my Old Testament text book from seminary (in the written form of the
sermon I’ve tried to note the references to it).
When
I was trying to reflect on how to characterize Proverbs in our present context,
it struck me that they are something like Twitter – quick hitting tweets that
are somewhat cryptic, open to interpretation, and cover a wide variety of
topic.
Move 1:
Overview of Proverbs
a.
Proverbs joins with Ecclesiastes and Job as Wisdom literature in the Bible.
1.
Job may seem an odd companion to Proverbs because we think of Job as the story
of Job; but in fact Job is mostly a series of speeches and discourses hung on
the framework of Job’s story.
2. Wisdom genre is very different than the other
books of the Old Testament.
2. Wisdom literature lacks the “distinctive
features of Israel Anderson
3.
that is, the stories of the patriarchs that we might read in Genesis and
Exodus, or the stories of the kings or judges, are not present nor are they
mentioned in Proverbs.
4.
the one exception is the mention of King Solomon, who was considered the
"fountainhead of all wisdom" (Anderson
5. likewise, the words of
the prophets highlight Israel ’s
God and the uniqueness of Israel
b.
Wisdom is rooted in the “fear” of the Lord as we read in the opening chapter of
Proverbs.
1. Proverbs 9: 10 (Proverbs 9:10) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of
the Holy One is insight. (NRSV)
2.
"Fear" is not
used in the sense of "scared," but in the sense of recognizing the
awesome nature of God and being overwhelmed by it.
3. Reason is not an obstacle to faith; rather,
faith is a precondition for understanding (Anderson
c. The theology of Proverbs is grounded in
creation (see Proverbs 8: 22-31).
1.
(Proverbs 8:22-36) The LORD
created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.
Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When
there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding
with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was
brought forth-- when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world's first
bits of soil. When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a
circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he
established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the
foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I
was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited
world and delighting in the human race. And now, my children, listen to me:
happy are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not
neglect it. Happy is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from
the LORD; but those who miss me injure themselves; all who hate me love
death." (NRSV)
2.
To figure out the right way to live our lives as part of the
created order is to have wisdom and to be righteous (see opening notes to
Proverbs from The New Interpreter's Study Bible to get good background
material on Proverbs), all of which begins with a "fear of the Lord."
3.
Wisdom is seen not just as the "key to ethical behavior
(Proverbs 4: 10-19); it seeks to grasp the secret of the divine plan behind the
whole creation" (Understanding the Old Testament, Bernhard
Anderson, 4th edition, 579).
4.
Of course, this suggests that if we had enough wisdom, we could
know God's plan. I'm not sure I want to go there.
d. Proverbs tackle the
following topics: family, relationships; nature; agriculture; social
relationships; and work relationships.
e.
Proverbs also has the running image of Wisdom personified as a
woman.
1.
gives life to the rational approach to God.
2.
Given the importance of women, it is interesting that in a
patriarchal world wisdom would be female.
3.
We might also note that the last chapter has two stories of women.
Move 2:
look at a few of the Proverbs
a. Short statements where
the second statement runs a parallel to the first.
1.
Proverbs 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise child makes
a glad father, but a foolish child is a mother's grief. (NRSV)
2.
A balanced pair of opposites
3.
The wise child is paired with the foolish child; the glad father
with a mother’s grief.
4.
Universal truth – not explicitly grounded in faith in the God of
Israel.
5.
Proverbs 22: 1 A good name
is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or
gold. (NRSV
6. Synonymous parallels
– two items mentioned that are similar
b.
parallelism between two paths a person can choose
1.
(Proverbs 4:18-19) But the path of the righteous is like the
light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
(Proverbs
4:19) The way of the wicked is like deep
darkness; they do not know what they stumble over. (NRSV)
1.
Two paths a person can follow.
2. Wicked or righteous.
c. Collection of poems with
numerical component (Proverbs 30: 18-19)
(Proverbs 30:18-19)
1.
Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the
way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on
the high seas, and the way of a man with a girl. (NRSV
2.
(Proverbs 30:29-31) Three things are stately
in their stride; four are stately in their gait: the lion, which is mightiest
among wild animals and does not turn back before any; the strutting rooster,
the he-goat, and a king striding before his people. (NRSV)
3.
There’s a lot to contemplate.
4.
tying together of things that do not seem associated.
5.
In processing the connections, we might come to understand a truth
that matters to us.
d.
Proverbs 6: 6-11 instruction
1. (Proverbs 6:6-11) Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. Without
having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer, and
gathers its sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there, O lazybones?
When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little
folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and
want, like an armed warrior. (NRSV)
e.
There are some extended sections where the verses tie together
(Proverbs 31).
1.
Extended story about Lemuel, a son and his mother.
2. would read more like
a parable.
Move 3:
Where is the gospel, that is good news, in these proverbs?
a. Linking of rational thought to faith.
1. Response to black and white – one of two paths.
2. Speaks to the complexity of the world.
3. Steer clear of thinking you can figure God out if you are smart enough.
b. Wide variety of Images
1. lots of different aspects of life.
2. Speaks to God’s all-encompassing presence in our world.
c. Ethical behavior matters.
1. Our belief in God does manifest itself in the behaviors we choose.
2. The proverbs that offer insights into how we act highlight the importance
of how we act.
3. Not works righteousness – not earning God’s grace.
4. But connecting our faith with our actions.
5. Links Proverbs to the letters of the early church.
Conclusion:
The Book of Proverbs provides ample resources for
Twitter and FB people -- you have ample resources for things to tweet and post
that will undoubtedly draw lots of attention and comment.
As you tweet your favorite Proverb, do not forget
that the answer to the riddle lies in how you live your life as a follower of
Christ.
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