Essay Sample on Wisdom in The Bible

In a Christian household, we are all taught that the reason for living is to spread the word of God and our end goal is to live with Him for eternity in heaven. The main question is how do we get there? Is there some magic carpet that takes us to heaven when we die? In the Bible, the wisdom passages attempt to provide perspective and explain how we must live our lives in order to reach that goal of our final destination. However, there is not just a straight answer. This is shown by the books Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, who contradict one another when addressing life and the wisdom needed throughout our journey. The contradiction between the two passages is that Proverbs 4 expresses to the reader that we as humans should obtain wisdom at any cost, whereas in Ecclesiastes 1, the teacher states that wisdom is meaningless.

From these readings many questions can be asked from the meaning of the chapters, but one real thought remains. The most important issue raised in the passages is if wisdom, combined with other factors, is the key for life and eternity in heaven, or is wisdom simply meaningless in the journey to the afterlife? This question is addressed in two different fashions throughout chapter four of Proverbs and chapter one of Ecclesiastes. In Proverbs, this discussion was between a father and son, where the father states that the son should, “get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth” (The Access Bible 867). His dictation to his son shows that wisdom is priceless and, in abundance, will lead him “down the path of righteousness” (The Access Bible 867). The father then proceeds to personify wisdom as a woman and states that the son should, “not forsake her, and she will keep you [and to] love her and she will guard you” (The Access Bible 867). The practical and optimistic outlook of Proverbs provides an elemental outlook on the path of life. With such detailed and positive instruction in Proverbs, although not always easy, wisdom and knowledge will guide you to eternity with the Lord in heaven. Ecclesiastes, on the other hand, does not have this same optimism. The more practical and skeptical outlook on life is described by the Qohelet, or teacher. Here, the Qohelet explains his journey throughout life and reflects on it. In chapter one of Ecclesiastes, wisdom is described as meaningless. The Teacher states that he, “applied [his] mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. [He] perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind” (The Access Bible 902). After exploring both realms of folly and wisdom, the teacher, in his eyes, saw that the “earth remains forever” and that “there is nothing new under the sun” (The Access Bible 902). This continuous generational cycle of toil and folly for little wisdom is all for nothing because if we simply focus on earthly wealth, we will never know the greatness of the Lord in the afterlife. The increasing of knowledge is simply the increasing of toil, as stated in the Bible. Ecclesiastes examines the world as just a place for us to live and we must simply enjoy the things provided by the Lord, rather than spending our lives searching for wisdom. 

Although describing the same topic, wisdom, the passages used are opposite from one another. In chapter four of Proverbs, the passage is a conversation between a father and a son, where the father explains to the son that you must obtain wisdom at any cost to set your life up for success. In Ecclesiastes, the Qohelet, or teacher, has a more realistic outlook on life, and states that everything is meaningless. At the end of the day, all the wisdom we obtain and the toil we push through to get is all just “a chasing after wind” (Bible 902). The point of the passages for Ecclesiastes is a teacher that is looking back over his life and warning future generations of the continuous cycle of life and how to avoid being trapped in its toil. Instead of working hard for temporary happiness and achievement, the point of chapter four of Ecclesiastes is to explain that nothing on this earth matters because only the Lord and heaven does. 

Deeper into the discussion of wisdom is where we find what is at stake, which is eternity with God. The implications that flow from the question of eternity is to simply follow God. Despite contradicting one another, in the fact that, Proverbs tells us that in order to spend eternity with the Lord, we must seek his wisdom to stay on the righteous path with little wavering verses Ecclesiastes that states everything is meaningless, so we must enjoy what the Lord provides, they both have the same meaning in the end. Proverbs explains it in a more instructional way of  “not swerv[ing] to the right or to the left; [but turning] your foot away from evil” rather than Ecclesiastes, which describes that the temporary achievement on earth provides nothing but turmoil and sadness since nothing can be taken to the grave (The Access Bible 867). In the end, the contradicting outlooks lead to the same conclusion. 

In regards to academic readings, Judy Fentress-Williams (Fentress-Williams) has a lot to say on the matter in her book, Holy Imagination: A Literary and Theological Introduction to the Whole Bible.  One of the main points in her book is the idea that “a parable is a metaphor of types [that] sets two things alongside another [to let] us make sense of their juxtaposition” (Fentress-Williams 153). A proverb, defined by JFW, is a wise saying or parable. In chapter four of Proverbs, the parable describes the outcomes of wisdom rather than folly, and how one would be a fool to not choose the path of wisdom. This parable, unlike the one in Ecclesiastes, “make[s] the desired conclusion clear” (Fentress-Williams 153). The gaining of wisdom, in Proverbs, leads to a better afterlife, unlike the path of folly that destroys one’s chances of a decent future. Contradiction of the two passages now comes into play due to the lack of clear conclusions in chapter one of Ecclesiastes. In this chapter, it states that “what has been will be, and what has been done is what will be done” (The Access Bible 902). With the nonchalant description of optimism towards the world and the demand that “wisdom is much vexation,” there is no clear direction or instruction of how to live life, unlike Proverbs. Due to the lack of direction from Ecclesiastes, we are invited to search for the meaning of God’s creation rather than pursue wisdom. This invitation of exploration leads to the conclusion, according to Qohelet, that wisdom is meaningless, and thus further provides contradiction between the two passages. 

Along with the issue at hand and all its analysis, the passages not only relate to religious concepts, but also branch out to more modern interpretations through philosophical contexts. In a philosophical context, it includes theoretical approaches to the content and status of ethics. These approaches include “sets of assumptions about reality that inform the questions we ask and the kinds of answers we arrive at as a result” (Crossman). In Proverbs, the positive instruction of the search for wisdom has the follower assuming that reality and our years on earth are meant to be used for gaining as much knowledge and wisdom as we can. Ecclesiastes is the exact opposite of Proverbs because in chapter one, the Qohelet is telling the future generations that reality is not meant to be explored, but rather enjoyed. Overall, because the chapters have different philosophical context, which include theoretical approaches, we are all asking different questions of reality that get different answers that contradict one another in the search, or lack of, for wisdom.  

Overall, both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes have the same meaning in both chapters, but they oppose one another because Proverbs believes that by searching wisdom and what is done on earth matters for the afterlife, whereas Ecclesiastes has a less optimistic tone that says nothing under the sun matters, including wisdom, and that the Lord wants us to only focus on heaven and enjoying his gifts.