Book of Wisdom

Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Job and part of James are called "wisdom" books. We can also include parts of Psalms and the Song of Solomon.

One of the more common mistakes in interpreting these books is neglecting the whole context.  It is very common for us to pick a verse or two with an instruction that sounds good without considering the surrounding context or the theme that the author intended.  Doing so will cause us to misunderstand the teaching, and in the worse situation we will end up believing a bad advise as a teaching of wisdom. Without paying attention on the context you will miss the line of argument in a wisdom discourse.

Proverbs should be read with care.  They shouldn't be taken as doctrinal statement for they are written to be easily memorize, and often they are in "figure of speech".   Proverbs are not laws, prophecies or promises.  We shouldn't take  proverbs as a guarantee of successful life, but rather guidelines for everyday living.  Exceptions of the proverbs doesn't make it a false statement, because it is not given as a guaranteed formula but a general observation of truth.  Many of the proverbs are hyperbolic or an exaggeration form of speech so we need to understand them properly. (see Hyperbole)

Example:  Proverbs 13:25  The godly eat to their heart contents, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry. (NLT) Just by looking around today and the story of Lazarus and the rich man proved that such proverb is not a guarantee.

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