Words of Wisdom - WoW!

Song of Songs

   This book also known as the Song of Solomon is a LOVE song about two lovers and their walk through courting, the wedding day and their first stage of marriage. Some people claim that the book was written by Salomon, others differ and say that it was written for Salomon. I can see how it would be either or! On one hand, if King Salomon wrote it, it would be a declaration for his "dark skinned" lover. He would be telling the many reasons why he loves her. He would be describing and praising many of her physical features (with great detail...). On the other hand, if it was written for him, it would make sense because he had a lot of wives, and the idea of this "song" was to be played (or acted out) in his wedding ceremonies... now, I have two theories for this:

1. The person who wrote it, wanted Salomon to think about the beauties of a monogamous relationship and stop marrying so many women! Which did not seem to work because he had 700 wives and 300 concubines by the end of his life!!! (1Kings 11:3)
2. The author wanted to remind Salomon, on his multiple wedding days, that he once he was so in love with this one wife of his that he had his heart full of love for her and no other woman could even call his attention! Therefore, he would remember her and go back to his first love, instead of be looking for other lovers and wives. This is supported by the fact that there's a reference of having 60 queens and 8 concubines at the time (which means that we was not done marrying!!!!! Song of Songs 6:8)

Ecclesiastes

   The book of Ecclesiastes deals with very deep questions but basically it wants to get to the meaning of life! Now, I'm no expert in this topic, but it seems like the author of this book was. In the first line of the book he presents himself as the "son of David, King of Jerusalem", so, there's a very big chance that this book was written by the wise King of Israel: Solomon. (Ecc. 1:1)

   He continues to explain how all in life is meaningless (Ecc. 1:1-11) and the emotion that prevails in his book is pessimism. It seems that nothing in this world has or makes any sense at all! At some points in the book it gives the idea of the fact that life is useless and very pointless. So, at that point I felt like as if he was going to commit suicide, but he did not. This book also seems to have been written when he was old, probably at the very end of Solomon's life (Ecc. 12:13). The good thing, is that at chapter 7 he switches to a more optimistic point of view and starts to counsel people to "fear God" and that is the only way to actually make some sense of this life. According to Nelson's Maps and Charts (p.187) the counseling section of the book is divided in three parts:

1. Coping in a wicked world (Ecc. 7:1-9:18)
2. Counsel for uncertainty (Ecc. 10:1-12:7)
3. Conclusion: Fear and Obey God (Ecc. 12:8-12:14)

Proverbs

   The book of proverbs is a lot like hearing a very old "sensei" who has all this catchy phrases that answer the deepest questions of life (and the universe) but that make no sense to you unless you think really hard about them. However, when you understand them, you are enlightened forever. Here's an example: "Wise words will win you a good meal, but treacherous people have an appetite for violence." (Proverbs 13:2) It just leaves you thinking about meals and violence... but it is not referring to a food fight... Just ponder on that one for a bit.

   I really liked the book because there's a lot of wisdom in it. It helps you think about social rules and many topics that are matters of common sense, but it does it in a more "poetic" way. I enjoyed reading Proverbs, because that's what they are. I feel like I'd be wiser if I was able to quote and apply different proverbs to my daily life. Here are a few more examples:

• Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23)
• Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife. (Proverbs 5:15)
• There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family. (Proverbs 6:16-19)