Holy Lit
Week 5: Wisdom Literature
Pastor Rick Henderson June 28-29, 2025
When my son was three years old, Heather and I bought our first house. My son remembers it as the big brown house. When he calls it that, it makes me laugh because it’s half the size of the house we live in now. The reason he calls it the big brown house is that he remembers it through the eyes of a three-year-old.
What’s something that you experienced as a child, and even if you have grey hair now, your understanding of it today is still shaped by your childhood state from way back then? How many of us remember how fun it was to have a puppy when we were kids? But as the grown-ups who must do all the clean up and get up with the pup in the middle of the night, having a puppy now is not exactly how we remembered it. Maybe all of us have something that’s been sitting on the shelf of our minds since childhood, but it’s never been reexamined with the maturity of adulthood.
Do you think it’s possible to be introduced to the Bible as a child, and somehow, through the events of life, that introduction to the Bible gets frozen in time, framing how we think about it as adults? Do you think goodhearted, intelligent adults can carry with them a childlike understanding that frames how they think about what the Bible says? Do you think that happens?
You might have seen the recent interview between Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz. There was a fascinating segment in which Senator Cruz described the way that the Bible shapes the decisions he makes as a Senator. Let’s watch.
VIDEO
Growing up in Sunday school, I was taught from the Bible that those who bless Israel will be blessed…it says the nation of Israel. That’s in the Bible. As a Christian, I believe that. –Sen. Ted Cruz
This is incredibly relevant to our series, and it’s also relevant to what’s happening in the world. I’m not here to celebrate or criticize Israel. I’m not here to celebrate or criticize our relationship with Israel or our foreign policy. But since we’re in church, let’s take a minute and ask ourselves, [Pointing to the screen] where does idea come from?
We’re going to talk about wisdom today. Part of being wise is knowing where your ideas and beliefs come from.
GENESIS 12:1-3 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Should we understand that to mean that God will bless whoever blesses Abraham, or does that promise extend out to include his descendants, the people of Israel? If we fast forward to the fourth book of the Bible, you’ll read the book of Numbers.
SLIDE: Numbers-Balak-Balaam
In chapter 24, there’s an intense argument between Balak, the King of Moab, and Balaam, the prophet. King Balak hired Balaam to curse the people of Israel. Balaam was a prophet, but he would say whatever he was paid to say. And yet, when it was time to step up to the mic and say whatever nasty thing he was paid to say, the Spirit of God came upon Balaam, and he instead said stuff like this.
NUMBERS 24:9-10 “May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!” Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times.”
The you refers to all the people of Israel. As the grand unified story of Scripture unfolds, the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 is applied to the descendants of Abraham too. It applies to the people of Israel. Nowhere does the Bible say you’ll be blessed if you bless the nation of Israel. But, if we stopped right here, we’d have to say to the honorable senator from Texas, you are mostly right. But we can’t stop here, can we? This grand, unified story has more to say. Let’s fast-forward to the New Testament.
GALATIANS 3:7-9 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith
The Senator is right that this promise extends to the descendants of Abraham. But if we’re letting the Bible guide us, and I think we should, let’s consider all that it has to say to us. Who are the descendants of Abraham? Those who trust in Jesus by faith.
GALATIANS 3:26-29 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
When you read the Old Testament and the New Testament together, the ones who are considered the descendants of Abraham are those who place their faith in Jesus. It’s not defined by ethnicity. It’s not defined by geography, government, or national borders. The promise that was given to Abraham is extended to those who place their faith in Jesus. The point of it all was to point to Jesus. He is the one who blesses all the nations. And as we are with Jesus, become more like him, and do as he did, we will be a blessing to all people too.
Pop quiz! What is our series thesis?
SERIES THESIS: There’s a __________ to the story.
SERIES THESIS: There’s a BACKSTORY to the story.
We have the privilege and responsibility to do the work to understand the intended meaning of it. It takes effort. It takes intentionality. And it’s OK for good things to be hard. It’s OK for good things to take effort.
Right now, I have this narrative playing in my head, I have these feelings of insecurity telling me that the dumbest thing I can do as a pastor is to tell the people who I want to study the Bible, that it takes lots of time and effort and is sometimes hard. That insecurity message, playing on repeat in my head, says this is the way to drive people away from our church, not draw them toward it.
But what are the outcomes of only doing what’s easy in life? What would be the outcomes if…
- We told married couples to only do what’s easy?
- We told teenagers to only do what’s easy?
- We told parents to only do what’s easy?
- We told doctors and medical workers to only do what’s easy?
We get to decide if we’re going to take the path of LEAST RESISTANCE or the path of WISDOM.
I think we want to be the ones who choose this [Wisdom]. You are far too valuable, and what you’re building with your life is far too important to choose anything other than this [Wisdom].
PROVERBS 29
Will you open a Bible to Proverbs 29? If you open it to the very middle, you’ve likely opened it to the book of Psalms. Proverbs is the very next book. It’s all about wisdom. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. I like to read the chapter of Proverbs that corresponds to the date on the calendar. That’s been a spiritual practice of mine for decades. It’s revolutionized my life. I chose Proverbs 29 because today (tomorrow at the Saturday night service) is June 29th.
Before we read it, I’m going to put something else on the screen. What I’m going to put on the screen serves as the key to decode or unlock everything else we read in Proverbs. It’s the first lines of the first chapter. If ever you feel stuck or confused, refer to this.
PROVERBS 1:1-7 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair;
I highlighted this word because justice is the theme for both this week and next week. Justice is an outcome of wisdom.
for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If you feel a bit thrown off by, “fear of the Lord,” that expression means humility. We are not the authority. He is. So, we are humble. I highlighted the word riddles, because some of this is written as a riddle. In some places the biblical writers were intentionally opaque, they were intentionally unclear, to force us to slow down, to think, to meditate on it all. Why?
There isn’t a MICROWAVE setting for the formation of your SOUL.
Wisdom can be expressed in soundbites, but it can’t be reduced to soundbites. In the same way that an entire field of corn can be given to you in bag of seeds, it takes intentional time and effort to cultivate it and nurture. With that framework in hand, let’s read Proverbs 29.
PROVERBS 29:1-27 Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan. A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down. Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet. Evildoers are snared by their own sin, but the righteous shout for joy and are glad. The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger. If a wise person goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace. The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright. Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked. The poor and the oppressor have this in common: The Lord gives sight to the eyes of both. If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever. A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother. When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall. Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire. Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. Servants cannot be corrected by mere words; though they understand, they will not respond. Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them. A servant pampered from youth will turn out to be insolent. An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins. Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor. The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies; they are put under oath and dare not testify. Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice. The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.
It's normal to read a chapter from Proverbs and it experience it as a buffet of good things, that don’t necessarily fit together. That’s understandable. But, if we read it and reread it, if we marinate in it we’ll see at least three themes.
THEMES:
- Unrelenting Stubbornness
- Anger
- Justice
I want to show you how these three themes intertwine, not just in this chapter, but in our lives.
PROVERBS 29:1 Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
This reminds of when Ernest Hemingway was asked how he went bankrupt. He said, “Gradually and then all of the sudden.” Every example of negative behavior is the outcome of unrelenting stubbornness.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
- Am I an easy person to confront?
- Which do I value more, being seen as right or being wise?
- Do I have a track record of receiving warnings and making changes before pain hits, or do I have a track record of only making changes when it’s too painful not to?
The themes of this chapter are unrelenting stubbornness, justice, and anger. How does this relate to justice?
PROVERBS 29:4,7 By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down…The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
When justice is delayed, denied, and perverted, it’s always because people who should see it, care, and act are too stubborn to acknowledge injustice and too stubborn to do anything about it.
I think this is something we need to have conversations about. Not just a sermon, we need multiple, slow, intentional conversations. It should grieve us that justice has become a taboo word in the evangelical church and in conservative tribes. God is passionate about justice. He requires that his people are passionate about justice.
If we are people who follow Jesus and who want to build our lives on the rock of his word, we should be the last people who are distracted away from it by scare words like woke or Marxist. We should look forward to talking about justice and doing justice the same way many of us are looking forward to football season. Our hearts should long for it.
QUESTION: What is justice?
Let’s do a quick survey of passages that spell it out.
PROVERBS 31:8-9 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
JEREMIAH 22:3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
PSALM 146:7-9 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lordwatches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Justice brings stability. We are supposed be people’s whose hearts beat for justice. We are people who let God’s word shape and form our understanding of justice.
The aim of Biblical justice is RESTORATION, not RETRIBUTION.
Retribution is about making someone pay for a WRONG. Restoration is about making things right, even if it costs us, even if we aren’t the ones who broke it. Retribution emphasizes blame. Restoration emphasizes responsibility.
Yes, people should face consequences. Yes, people should make right whatever they’ve done wrong. Yes to all of that. That’s a real and indispensable part of justice, but it’s not the whole thing. Justice cannot be reduced to blaming and punishing those who are in the wrong. Justice is much more beautiful than that.
If I can accomplish one thing as your pastor, it would be to help you see how the first 3 chapters of Genesis serve as the interpretive tool for so much of what comes next. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. And it continues the poetic narrative, telling us that God developed the land and brought about life, that he created people. [Holding up the Bible] This all begins by telling us about God’s work of bringing order out of chaos.
When God created the man and woman, he gave them the task of continuing that work. Our job, our big responsibility as image bearers of God, is to bring order of out chaos. Hold on to that. Every wrong you see in the world; every injustice you find in the world is always bringing chaos out from order. And that happens when we trust our way, not his way. Wisdom begins by being humble and submitting to his way.
As the people of God who long for justice, who want to be wise, when we pursue justice and do justice, we are doing the work of bringing order out of chaos. It’s restorative. It’s good for all, even the wrongdoer.
How does this relate to the three themes in this chapter?
THEMES:
- Unrelenting Stubbornness
- Anger
- Justice
Let’s don’t be stubborn people who refuse to see, care about, or respond to injustice. Let’s be people who are motivated to join God in the work of restoration. So, how does this relate to anger?
PROVERBS 29:8,11 Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger…Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.
There’s nothing wrong with anger. As a matter fact, something is wrong if we never feel anger. Something good in us is broken, if we don’t feel anger. Jesus got angry. If you love someone, it is right to be angry over their mistreatment. Anger isn’t wrong, but it does make it easy to do wrong. This is how it relates to justice.
Anger often gets stuck on RETRIBUTION.
Protesting is not wrong. Demonstrating is not wrong. Stirring up anger—that’s foolish and dangerous. Breaking just laws is wrong. Violence is wrong. Property destruction is wrong. It’s also wrong use our words to enflame the anger of others that instigates them doing wrong. It’s possible for someone to never actually do anything wrong, maybe to not even technically say anything wrong, and yet intentionally use their words to stir up others to do wrong.
Anyone in here who has an older brother probably knows what I’m talking about. I am an older brother. I was the master of instigating him to do things, without ever being technically in the wrong myself.
We’ve got problems with justice, anger, and stubbornness in our country. It’s on the right and on the left. The left has earned a reputation for cheering on anger that leads to destruction. The right has earned a reputation for cheering on retribution that doesn’t bring about restoration. That means both sides are cheering for something other than justice.
What do we want our contribution to be? Next week we are going to talk more about the marriage of righteousness and justice. That’s coming next week. But today, as we think about what we want our contribution to be, we must also get honest with ourselves about what is forming us.
We want to be people who are formed and transformed by the gospel.
The gospel is the only story where the HERO dies for the VILLAIN.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:14-15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.