Problem: Solomon writes, “For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?” Does Solomon believe that wisdom is worthless?
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Problem: Do Job 1:21 and Ecc. 5:15 teach reincarnation? Job 1:21 and Ecc. 5:15
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Problem: The book of Ecclesiastes is a view of human purpose apart from God. But Christians often use this passage to apply to Christian marriage. Solomon writes, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart” (Eccl. 4:9-12). Pastors often say that the third cord is God in Christian marriage. But is this a misappropriated vers
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Problem: Solomon writes, “I said to myself concerning the sons of men, ‘God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.’ 19 For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? 22 I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?” (Eccl. 3:18-22). What does Solomon mean by these comments? Are human beings mere animals in his view?
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Problem: Solomon writes, “I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God” (Eccl. 3:12-13). Does this mean that hedonism is the purpose of life?
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Problem: Does the earth abide forever or not? Psalm 104:5; Ecclesiastes 1:4 and Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:10
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Problem: Proverbs 26:4 states, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly,” but the very next verse states, “Answer a fool as his folly deserves.” Isn’t this a blatant contradiction?
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Problem: The genre of the Proverbs is wisdom literature. Thus these shouldn’t be interpreted as universal moral laws, rather they are general wisdom principles. For instance, if your mother told you, “Don’t touch the stove… You’ll get burned,” this should be interpreted as a universal principle. However, if she told you, “The early bird gets the worm,” this should be interpreted as a general principle of wisdom: getting up early has its advantages. If you woke up early on Black Friday and you didn’t get your new flat-screen television, you would never turn around and call your mother a liar for her wisdom! Wisdom principles simply shouldn’t be interpreted so strictly.
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Problem: The genre of the Proverbs is wisdom literature. Thus these shouldn’t be interpreted as universal moral laws, rather they are general wisdom principles. For instance, if your mother told you, “Don’t touch the stove… You’ll get burned,” this should be interpreted as a universal principle. However, if she told you, “The early bird gets the worm,” this should be interpreted as a general principle of wisdom: getting up early has its advantages. If you woke up early on Black Friday and you didn’t get your new flat-screen television, you would never turn around and call your mother a liar for her wisdom! Wisdom principles simply shouldn’t be interpreted so strictly.
Solution: Many passages in the Proverbs lead to confusion if we interpret them as laws, rather than wisdom principles. Two examples will suffice:
(Prov. 10:3) The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry.
Paul claims that the apostles (the most righteous believers at his time) were “both hungry and thirsty” (1 Cor. 4:11; cf. 2 Cor. 6:5; 11:27; Rev. 7:16). However Paul says that he found the secret to finding joy—even in the absence of food (Phil. 4:12), which is the joy of the Lord (Phil. 4:4-13). In Proverbs, God was promising to provide for the temporal blessings of his people. In the new covenant, God promises to meet our needs (Phil. 4:19; Mt. 6:33), but we realize that this involves suffering as well (Jn. 16:33).
(Prov. 16:7) When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
While this is often the case, it isn’t always. Paul’s life was pleasing to God, but he was stoned (Acts 14:19) and tortured by his enemies (2 Cor. 11:23-28). Jesus was pleasing to God (Mt. 3:17), but he was tortured and killed!
(Prov. 22:6) Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
This also isn’t a promise. We often see loving Christian parents who lose their children from the faith. And yet, this is a general principle that should be observed. Surely not training our children will adversely affect them from pursuing Christ when they get older!
Conclusion
For these reasons, we should be sure to observe the genre of the Proverbs. Otherwise, we will run into major problems in our interpretation. In this case, it isn’t that the Proverbs are in error, but rather, our expectation of what they are saying is the issue. We are expecting universal moral commands, when in fact they are merely general wisdom principles, as the book itself claims in its introduction (Prov. 1:2).