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In the modern era, we view knowledge very differently from how God does. Today, most people think knowledge and learning are for the purpose of accumulating facts and information. In the introductory article of His Story I explained that there are actually three levels of knowledge. Only the first is about facts and information. It’s technically called notitia–the Latin word for “I notice.” The second level is about understanding the meaning and significance of what we have noticed. This one is called assensus (“I assent”) and requires the ability to order and organize the data from Level One using interpretive patterns and contexts. I suggested that this is one of the reasons that ancient covenant structure is so vital to understand the Bible. Covenant awareness was the interpretive framework from which the ancient authors wrote and if we hope to understand the meaning we must first learn what it meant to them. 

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But there was a third level of knowledge–fiduciary–meaning what we do with the knowledge we’ve acquired. And it is this level that is most fully covenant knowledge; it’s a knowledge that arises from experience but also involves obedient action. It so happens this is also what the Bible means by “wisdom.” It’s the primary purpose of the five books of wisdom literature: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.  

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Distinguishing ancient and modern notions of knowledge is more than a historical curiosity. As we will learn in this lesson, knowledge without obedience is the path of fools. Fools can be highly educated. They can have a great command of the facts. What makes them fools is that they don’t use what they know the way God commands. 

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Covenant Structure and Wisdom Literature 

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Since ancient covenant structure appears primarily in legal documents and treaties, we might not expect there to be much covenant language or significance in the five wisdom books. That is not an accurate assumption, especially when we understand how significant covenant understanding was in the ancient world. It is true that the word "covenant" is not used much in the wisdom literature, but in the context of covenant relationships, it is always in the background, whether we are learning about Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, or Song of Solomon. This context reflects what I said about God’s view of knowledge and obedience. Therefore, we can profitably approach wisdom literature in a covenant context as well. Let’s remember the five sections of ancient covenant structure.

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In addition to knowledge as covenantal, careful reading of the wisdom books can also be viewed in terms of covenant requirements and obligations. Recent scholarship of this section of scripture points to the ancient understanding of wisdom as the application of God’s law. 

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Even as Exodus was the historical prologue to Leviticus, I think we can view the Historical books of the Bible as a historical prologue to the Wisdom Books. When we do it forces us to ask one fundamental question no matter which book we are reading: what is the author telling us here about our highest covenant duty to God?

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When every detail of God’s redemptive purpose is spelled out, how can we summarize it all? The final words of the Book of Ecclesiastes tell us:

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This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14).

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As we will see in each of the five books, the simplest summary of the entire duty and moral obligation of God’s people is to fear him and keep his commandments.

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Here is an overview of Lesson Three. I will use the fivefold covenant structure to guide us through the five books of wisdom:

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• Job: Remembering Who God Is and Who We Are (The Covenant Preamble)

• Psalms: Revealing the Covenant Story in our Lives (The Covenant History)

• Proverbs: Renewing the Covenant Requirements Through Obedience (The Stipulations)

• Ecclesiastes: Restoring a Life in Distress (The Sanctions/Consequences)

• Song of Solomon: Illustrating Our Covenant Relationships (The Continuity)

 

Job: Remembering Who God Is and Who We Are

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As we read sections of the story of Job, we will focus on the personal relationship Job entered with God in which he learned, over the course of his suffering. In this he both remembered the truth about who he was and also the truth of God’s covenant promises. We will see this development in contrast to his three friends and their delusions about reality. For them, Job’s suffering proved he was out of covenant relationship with God and therefore the solution was a better "religion." However, Job’s growing awareness was his confidence in the faithfulness of God to his covenant.

 

Psalms: Revealing the Covenant Story in our Lives

 

In the Psalms, the mediators of God’s covenant (like David) reveal God’s story through their own particular experiences. Though there are 150 psalms, these are organized in five distinct collections most likely arranged to reflect the five books of the Pentateuch and, thus, the ancient covenant structure. In this section we will especially learn how God uses our suffering and adversity to reveal himself to us and how we must learn to use the story of our suffering to reveal to others God’s covenant love and faithfulness to his children.

 

Proverbs: Renewing the Covenant Requirements Through Obedience

 

Many studies of Proverbs treat them as more or less random or disconnected statements about life. However, the book was written mainly by King Solomon to prepare his royal sons for covenant leadership and decision-making, summarized in one of the most quoted proverbs: “trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your steps” (3:5,6). This is the “secret” to covenant faithfulness and is the practical outworking of Moses’ words in Deuteronomy: “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the Lord is One, and you shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength” (6:4,5).

 

Ecclesiastes: Restoring a Life in Distress

 

Ecclesiastes reveals the consequences in the life of Solomon when he failed to live by God’s law. The fourth section of a covenant document was called “sanctions” or “consequences” for obedience or disobedience. As I will explain, Ecclesiastes is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted books of the Bible. For, in practical terms, Solomon wrote it to explain how a life can be restored to covenant faithfulness, even after it has wandered far from the truth.

 

Song of Solomon: Illustrating Our Covenant Relationships

 

The Song of Solomon is also a deeply covenantal book of wisdom. It uses the story of Solomon’s marriage to the Shunamite to describe poetically what it takes to build (or rebuild) a covenant relationship called marriage. God’s covenant purpose has never been limited to rebuilding our relationship with him—what I call the vertical covenant. It has always included our relationships with other people: the horizontal covenant.