BibleProject - Solomon the Cynic & the Job You Never Knew - Wisdom E6

Episode Date: July 15, 2019

In part 1 (0-24:15), Tim and Jon discuss the book of Ecclesiastes. This book can most easily be described as a portrait of “foolish Solomon,” who looks back at his accomplishments as failure and hevel. Tim points out that the start of the book begins by creating a “Solomon-like” persona. Ecclesiastes 1:1 “The words of the preacher son of David, king in Jerusalem...” (NASB, ESV, KJV) “The words of the teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem...” (NIV, NRSV) However, there is a translation problem: This word does not mean “teacher” in the original Hebrew. Hebrew noun (קהלת (qoheleth, from the verb qahal (קהל ,(meaning “to assemble, convene.” The Hebrew word is Qoheleth—the one who holds or convenes an assembly, i.e. the “leader of the assembly” (Heb. qahal). So this word is best understood as an assembler or convener. The word is also used in 1 Kings 8:1, “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes... to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the city of David, which is Zion. All the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at the feast.” Tim’s point is that there are multiple leaders who assemble or convene Israel in the Bible. Who holds assemblies in Israel’s story? • Moses (Exod 35:1; Lev 8:1-3) • David (1 Chron 13:5; 15:3; 28:1) • Solomon (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Chron 5:2-3) • Rehoboam (Solomon’s son, 1 Kings 12:21; 2 Chron 11:1) • Asa (2 Chron 15:9-10) • Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 20:3-5) • Hezekiah (2 Chron 30:12-13) Tim cites scholar Jennie Barbour for additional clarification: “The name Qoheleth ‘the one who convenes the assembly’ is a label with royal associations— after Moses, only kings summon all-Israelite assemblies, and those associations take in more kings than just Solomon. Qoheleth’s name casts him as a royal archetype, not an ‘everyman’ so much as an ‘everyking.’” (Jenny Barbour, The Story of Israel in the Book of Qoheleth, p. 25-26) Any generation of Jerusalem’s kings could be called “son of David,” and the author tips his hat in Ecclesiastes 2:9, “I increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.” (And the only person who reigned before him in Jerusalem was his father David.) Tim explains that the jaded king-author of Ecclesiastes brings a realism in light of Genesis 3, framing the world as life “under the sun,” or life outside of Eden. This king is realizing the curse of Genesis 3: painful toil and dust to dust. Tim further points out that Ecclesiastes offers a Solomon-like profile of the wealthy sons of David, who discovered that riches, honor, power, and women do not bring the life of Eden. Further, while many people assume that the descriptions solely describe the life of Solomon, Tim points out that they also map very closely onto the life of Hezekiah. Take a look at these two passages: Ecclesiastes 2:4-8 I made great my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds more abundant than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines. Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 32:27-30 Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuable articles, collection-houses also for the produce of grain, wine and oil, pens for all kinds of cattle and sheepfolds for the flocks. He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great wealth. It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. Tim cites Jennie Barbour again: “In all of these ways [building projects, riches, royal treasuries, pools, singers] the royal boast in Eccles. 2:4-10 displays a king’s achievements in terms that show an author of the Second Temple period reading an interpreting the earlier stories of Israel’s kings...the writer has pulled together texts and motifs from Israel’s histories...to show that the paradigm king, Solomon, set the mould that was continually replicated through the rest of Israel’s monarchy down to the exile.” (Jennie Barbour, The Story of Israel in the Book of Qoheleth, 23-24) In part 2 (24:15- 31:45), Jon asks how the narrative frame of Ecclesiastes being about all of Israel’s kings—not just about Solomon—affects someone’s reading? Tim says he thinks it makes the story more universal. All rulers and all humans struggle with the same things that Solomon and other rulers have felt throughout history. In part 3 (31:45-50:15), Tim and Jon turn their attention to the book of Job. Tim notes that he’s recently learned of some new and fascinating layers to the book. Tim notes that Job is positioned as a new type of Adam. He actually is portrayed as being righteous and upright. So he’s an ideal wise person who has prospered during his life. Tim focuses on the beginning and end of the book. Specifically the ending of the book, Tim finds new insights to ponder. Tim notes that Job is portrayed as the righteous sufferer. Everything that has happened to him is unfair. Then Tim dives into Job 42:7-10: “And it came about after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job, and Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. “And now, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will lift up his face so that I may not commit an outrage with you, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and they did as Yahweh told them; and the Lord lifted the face of Job. And Yahweh restored the fortunes of Job while he prayed on behalf of his companions, and Yahweh added to everything that belonged to Job, two-fold.” The operative phrase Tim focuses on is “while he prayed.” Tim says this is a better translation of the original Hebrew phrase. Tim notes that it’s as if Job’s righteous suffering has uniquely positioned him to intercede on behalf of his friends to God. In part 4, (50:15-60:00) Tim shares a few quotes from scholar David Clines regarding Job’s intercession in 42:10. “[W]e must remember that Job has not yet been restored when the friends bring their request to him for his prayer. He is presumably still on the ash-heap. He has no inkling that Yahweh intends to reverse his fortunes. All he knows is that he is still suffering at Yahweh’s hand, and, if it is difficult for the friends to acknowledge the divine judgment against them, it must be no less difficult for Job to accept this second-hand instruction to offer prayer for people he must be totally disenchanted with; he certainly owes them nothing... Is this yet another ‘test’ that Job must undergo before he is restored? “The wording of Job 42:10 makes it seem as if Job’s restoration is dependent on his prayer on their behalf, as if his last trial of all will be to take his stand on the side of his ‘torturer- comforters.’ It is true that this prayer is the first selfless act that Job has performed since his misfortunes overtook him—not that we much begrudge him the self-centeredness that has dominated his speech throughout the book. Perhaps his renewed orientation to the needs of others is the first sign that he has abandoned his inward-looking mourning and is ready to accept consolation. In any case, in the very act of offering his prayer on the friends’ behalf his own restoration is said to take effect: the Hebrew says, “Yahweh restored the fortunes of Job while he was praying for his friends” (not, as most versions, “when (or after) he had prayed for his friends”).” David J. A. Clines, Job 38–42, vol. 18B, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2011), 1235. Tim notes that the point of the story of Job is that he suffers unfairly, but the righteous sufferer is someone that God elevates to a place of authority, someone who God listens to when they intercede for others. In part 5 (60:00-end), Tim and Jon briefly recap the series as a whole. Thank you to all our supporters! Send us your questions for our Wisdom Q+R! You can email your audio question to [e-mail]. Show Produced by: Dan Gummel, Tim Mackie Show music: Defender Instrumental by Tents Sunshine by Seneca B Surf Report by Cloudchord Soul Food Horns levitating by intention_ In Your Heart by Distant.Io Show Resources: Jennie Barbour, The Story of Israel in the Book of Qoheleth. David J. A. Clines, Job 38–42, vol. 18B, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2011). The Bible Project video: How to Read the Wisdom Books of the Bible (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJgt1vRkPbI) Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Hey, this is Cooper at Bible Project. I produce the podcast in Classroom. We've been exploring a theme called the City, and it's a pretty big theme. So we decided to do two separate Q and R episodes about it. We're currently taking questions for the second Q and R and we'd love to hear from you. Just record your question by July 21st

and send it to us at infoatbiboproject.com. Let us know your name and where you're from, try to keep your question to about 20 seconds and please transcribe your question when you email it in, try to keep your question to about 20 seconds, and please transcribe your question when you email it. That's a huge help to our team. We're excited to hear from you. Here's the episode.

Hey, this is Tim at the Bible Project, and today on the podcast we are going to finish our series on how to read the Wisdom literature in the Bible. If you've been tracking with our conversation so far, you'll know that we've been covering these books in the Bible that are associated with Solomon. We began his story actually way before him, back in the Garden of Eden, with the failed human quest for wisdom that resulted in humanity's exile. And so Solomon comes as a new Adam figure who gets things right, who trusts God to give him wisdom at least for a little while until he replays the failure of Adam and Eve. And so this is

the context for the wisdom books, the books of Solomon in the Bible. In the previous episodes, we've looked at Proverbs and the Song of Songs, and today we're going to look at two books connected to the wisdom literature, the book of Ecclesiastes and the book of Job. Ecclesiastes is kind of like the cold wet blanket thrown on you. In the Hebrew Bible, you read it and it's either depressing or I like to think of it as just a heavy dose of realism.

This book is unique and different in that Solomon isn't actually named, but the figure that we meet speaking in the book is a Solomon-like person. And John and I explore what that means and the fascinating implications. And this Solomon figure has eaten some humble pie in his life. In Solomon's story, it's because he didn't truly live by God's wisdom. He failed royally, pun intended. And he didn't rule wisely as God called him to.

And so it's as if in Ecclesiastes we hear the voice of this failed elder Solomon looking back over his life of hardship and he's trying to warn the next generation of the things that he has learned the hard way so that perhaps you don't have to. After that, John and I are going to talk about the Book of Job yet again. I learned a whole bunch of new stuff recently about the Book of Job, and so we're going to process that in this conversation. The character of Job is presented as someone who was upright, he fears God, he does the right thing, he's the ideal wisdom figure that Solomon and Adam and Eve and Abraham, all of these people in the Hebrew Bible, he is what none of them were,

a truly righteous wise person who fears God, and yet he suffers unfairly, God even said so. So what is up with that? The book of Job is actually staring that paradox or contradiction of faith, right in the face. The last chapter of the book has a number of puzzles that unlocked for me recently and reading some work of some other scholars. And so I'm excited to share that with you because the role of Job in the Hebrew Bible just leaped off the page and how it connects to the New Testament and the story of Jesus in some really profound and exciting ways. So all that and more in this conversation on Cleasy Astes and Job, thanks for joining us, you guys.

Here we go. We are in a series about the Wisdom literature and we are gonna talk about the book of Ecclesiastes. Yes, we are. Last episode was song songs. Before that was Proverbs. We're taking all of these books that are thematically related in the idea of the pursuit

of wisdom. And... Humanity is pursuit of wisdom. Yeah. Or wisdom's pursuit of wisdom. Yeah. Or wisdom's pursuit of humanity. Yeah. Yeah. Which is a fundamental idea in the story of the Bible, which we see in Genesis, the gardener it is.

If humans are gonna be the images of God ruling in the world, they will need wisdom. We will need wisdom. The question is, who's wisdom and how do you get it and define it? Yeah. That's what the Eden story puts in running. Yeah.

It's easy for me to miss that in Eden story because the knowledge of good and evil as a phrase, yeah, we're good and bad as we talked about. Tov and raw, it doesn't necessarily smack of pursuing wisdom. Yeah. Well, it is the word knowledge, which is a wisdom type of wisdom. Yeah, it's related.

And remember, when Eve sees the tree, she does say it will. Make her wise, otherwise. It's desirable for gaining wisdom. That's right. Yeah. I love how you, at the end of last episode, we quoted from Ellen Davis. Yeah.

And she made the observation that I heard you make before you might have gotten it from her Imagining that those walks with God and the breezy part of the day Where a moment for God to Relationally impart his wisdom. Yes. Here's how you're gonna rule with me Yes, and it's a very connected relational intimate way of living with the divine So with all that in mind, coming back because we've talked about Ecclesiastes before, I think there's two or three episodes,

deep in the archives, but we're gonna come back fresh eyes. Yes, yep. So the three books of Solomon, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs, are all hyperlinked through Solomon into the Solomon story in the book of First Kings, which is an elaborate replaying of the Garden of Eden story. And so his search for wisdom, his finding, what you think, he finds divine wisdom and creates a little Eden.

And then he also starts slowly doing things by his own wisdom. And then it all falls apart. And so these three books of Solomon are retelling Solomon's linked into Solomon's story, but they are making it universal as the humanity story, like it is in the garden. And so Proverbs, we saw that, did song of songs. Ecclesiastes comes in as the, it's just as unique and different from the other two Solomon books as the Song of Songs is unique.

Because here we meet a sad Solomon. Yeah, a cynical. A cynical chasing Solomon who um has eaten some humble pie. But again this fits in, this fits in. It fits in. Just like song of songs is like a what if Solomon hadn't stumbled and fallen. And what if Adam and Eve. What if Adam and Eve hadn't done what they did. This becomes an ecclesiastes.

Not a hypothetical scenario. This actually is more realistic. Imagine Solomon at the end of his life, looking back and what would he say? However, the plot thickens immediately as you open the first line, as you look at the first line of the book. I have two different translations represented here in the notes. The words of the preacher, son of David, King and Jerusalem. That's a new American standard, English English standard King James. But the NIV and the NRSV read the words of the teacher.

Some David. So preacher or teacher. We went with teacher in our video. I feel fine about that for the purpose of the video. But if you want to have the next level conversation, it gets a lot more interesting. Because the Hebrew word being translated here is not the word teacher or preacher. Okay. The Hebrew word is cohellet and cohellet. Cohellet. It's a verbal noun from the verb cahal, which means to assemble or to convene in a group of people. Okay. Interestingly, Solomon, in the prominent moment in his story, was someone who co-hauled people. He was a co-hellant, a convener.

A peatherer. Yeah, and it's when he dedicated the temple. In first Kings, Averse 1, kept Solomon, co-hauled all the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and brought up the arc of the covenant from the city of David, all the men of Israel assembled themselves.

So Solomon was a convener, but he wasn't the only convener. This is fascinating. The people who convene all of Israel, it's a pretty short list. I've put it right there in front of you. So people who do this verb to the Israelites. Moses, the first one, David. Yeah, Solomon, Rehoboam, who is Solomon's son, and then three other kings from the line of David, sons of David and Solomon, Aisa, Yohoshafat, and Hezekiah. So, convening all Israel is a royal task. So, here is the million dollar question. Why does the book of Ecclesiastes open up saying the words of the convener? The words of one who convenes. Why doesn't it say Solomon? Like a song a song says two Solomon. Yeah, the song songs in relation to Solomon. The proverbs, book of Proverbs upends, the Proverbs of Solomon. Yeah. Why doesn't this open the words of Solomon?

Yeah. If he's the only one that we're supposed to connect this book to. Why is he called the convener? So evidently, we're supposed to connect this book in a more general sense to just kings in the line of David? Correct. I think so. Yeah. In other words, what we're hearing is the voice of the line of David.

Hmm. Primarily through the Solomon persona. Yeah. But as we're going to see, we're hearing is the voice of the line of David. Primarily through the Solomon persona. But as we're going to see, we're going to hear echoes of multiple kings from the line of David in the words of the teacher. Solomon isn't the only king from the line of David who's being hyperlinked to here. But he is the first son of David. And he was the first to build the greatest Eden that Israel ever saw in Jerusalem. And the most famous. So I'm going to call it a Solomon-like persona.

I've got it. But think of it at Solomonesque. Think of it like, you know, those photo mosaics. It'll be like a famous person. Yeah. But then it's made up of hundreds of pictures of maybe other famous people. I don't know something Right. So this would be a picture of Solomon You look close and it's a bunch of it. It's all the kings all the kings from the line of David That you read about in first and second kings. So a very helpful book again a Scholar Jenny Barber. She wrote a book called The Story of Israel in the Book of Cohellet that is all about this. The book of cohellet, is that what she's calling this book? That's right. In scholarship,

it's often just called cohellet, not Ecclesiastes. Oh, okay. Because they just referred to it by the Hebrew name. Ecclesiastes is, I'm pretty sure it's the title that was given to the book in later Christian traditions. Okay. Based on the Septuagint's translation of the word cohellate as ecclesiastes, namely the church gatherer. The word church means the ones called together, or the ones called out. So just on this point, she says, Jenny Barber, she says, the name cohellate means the one who

convenes the assembly. This is a label with royal associations. After Moses, only kings, some in all, is relate assemblies. And Moses was even called a king. And Moses, he's called king once. And those associations take in more kings than just Solomon. I like this. Cohellet's name casts him as a royal archetype, not in every man, so much as in every king. Every king. He's all the David much as in every king. Every king.

He's all the Davidic kings in one persona. Which everyone is called to be a king. Totally. Yeah, the role of kings over creation is given to male and female on page one. That's right. The other thing, just an interesting note is any of the kings from the line of David

could be called a son of David. In other words, the phrase son of David. Yeah, it doesn't mean you're only biological son. That's right. Hezekiah, whose many James generations down, could be called a son of David. And so this in Ecclesiastes 2, verse 9, the speaker says, I increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. Right.

And if it was just Solomon. Yeah. I mean, his dad found a Jerusalem. Yeah. Like there hasn't been any other king except his dad. Yeah, that's a sly way to be like. Yeah, I'm better than my dad. But when you hear Hezekiah right here or ESA or Yosufat or Rahoboam, then that comment

begins to make more sense. Essentially what I think we're meant to see here is a jaded king at the end of Israel's story, bringing a bit of realism to the pursuit of wisdom. Remember the phrase under the sun? Yes. Life here under the sun. Right.

I think is this book's way of talking about life outside the garden. Life exiled from Eden. So, pursue wisdom, but just know, life outside here at the garden is a faper. And even your best efforts will usually result in mixed results. Right. We can practice garden life,

but we're still outside the garden. Still outside the garden. Things aren't gonna go as planned. Correct. Yeah. Time will catch up with you. Remember the three? Yeah.

The march of time. Yes. The randomness. Yeah, randomness of life and death. And death itself. Yeah, and the grave. Throw this wet blanket over all of our efforts to fear God and live by his wisdom. Yeah.

Which doesn't mean to don't fear God and live by his wisdom. It just means don't expect your whole life to be like Eden. Yeah, if you do that. So think, for example, one of the big themes of the book is labor and toil and how you work so hard. And all this vocabulary of labor and toil comes right from Genesis 3, where God says, cursed is the ground. In painful toil, you'll eat of it.

All the days of your life, you're going to be planting fields, but it's going to grow thorns and tizzles. You know, I didn't want that. I didn't want weeds. Yeah. Trying, looking for vegetables here. Work is going to be work. Yeah, totally. Yeah. And then it's going to be work again, back to Genesis 3 until you return to the ground, because from it you're taken, you are dust. Yeah, and to dust you go back that little line right there. Yeah, it's just like the seedbed

For yeah, half the book. Yeah, it's all this vocabulary. Yeah, let me tell you about this. Yeah, cruel reality Outside of the meat garden. Totally so here. I'm gonna let you read one. Think of that line that we just read for Genesis 3, and then think of this paragraph from chapter 2. Therefore, I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor, for which I had labored under the sun. When there's a man who was labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who is not labored with him.

This, too, is vanity. It's Heavall, the vapor. Yeah, this is Heavall. A great raw. Ooh, this is heavily. A great raw. Ooh, a great raw. Yeah. A great bad thing. A very bad thing.

Yeah. For what does a man get in all his labor and in all his striving, which he labors under the sun? Because all his days, his task is painful and grievous, even at night, his mind is not rastievous, even at night his mind does not rest. This too is, is hevel. Yeah, yeah, vapor. What a great, this is exactly meditating on life

in the exiled from the garden. Totally. Yeah, exactly what it is. When you talk about death, you'll talk about returning to the dust. In chapter three, there's this whole thing about, you know what, the animals return to the dust, and so three, there's this whole thing about, you know what, the animal's returned to the dust. And so do you.

So don't think too highly of yourself. Hahaha. Yeah, I like to not think about that. Yeah, man, I had this weird experience where I took, Jessica and I took the boys to like a water park. It was a cold Portland day, like Saturday. And so we went to the water park for two hours and just like had fun. On a cold day.

Cold day outside. Oh, an indoor water park. East Portland Community Center. They have a big, lazy river, a whirlpool, and a big slide. So anyway, August, for the first time, was tall enough. My younger son was tall enough to go on the slide, but he had to go on my lap. Can't go on by himself. It's too short to go by himself, but tall had to go in my lap, can't go in by himself. It's too short to go in by himself, but tall enough to go with me.

So recently, feels good putting his head under the water. It was like a kid in the candy store. This is doing it again. Let's keep going. We did it 20 times throughout. I mean, it was like just an hour going up and down these stairs. I was like, it was awesome. But dude, like having a sit in my lap and we were like pretending we were a race car.

It was like a parenting highlight moment. It was so fun. And to do it 20 times, and to see it be just as exciting, 20 times over. It was a really, one of the sweet moments of like, I'll remember that for the rest of my life. This is joy and excitement, and we had so much fun together.

And because we were repeating it over and over and some of the lines sometimes, I'm so screwed up. Oh, I started to have these meta reflections on like, you know I'm gonna die one day. I couldn't believe it. I was like, no, just enjoy the moment. And I found as we kept going round and round, I started feeling like this is like life. Just round and round and round. The repetition of life. And then pretty soon,

this little guy's going to be grown up and I'm going to be an old man and I'm going to die and I'm going to lose all this. And I won't have these moments anymore. That's what I was thinking about. Wow. I couldn't be present. You got a deep. Yeah, that's how my mind works. That's the cli-ziastes. It's like, even with the beauty of the garden and trusting that the resurrection and new creation, there's a grievous sadness to the world as we experience under the sun. And it's sobering and you can't avoid it. We spend a lot of our mental energy pushing those thoughts to the margins. Yeah, we can function totally protecting ourselves

Yeah, the local Cleesie Cleesie just says no stare Reality in the face. Yeah, we're outside the garden and you're gonna die Yeah, what are we doing kind of talked about this as the kind of the contancorous teacher who who he wants to get a rise out of you He wants you to stare at something uncomfortable. Yeah, yeah, that's right. I remember in our previous conversation from a couple of years ago, he's like that friend that you only want to be around and small amount. Yeah.

You enjoy talking to him, but he's kind of dark and you don't want to hang out for too long. But he gives you a really good perspective. But he reminds you of important things that you don't want to hang out with him too long, but he gives you a really good perspective. Well, he reminds you of important things that you don't want to forget. Yeah. So, my point here for this video is notice again, a book of Solomon. Yeah. And here we are back meditating on Genesis 1 through 3.

Right. Just like in Robert's. Just like in Song of Songs. Yeah. So too here. Here's something interesting. Ecclesiastes in the early part begins with our Solomon figure, telling us about how he was king greater than all the kings before him in Jerusalem.

Yeah. And he talks about how he made a little eaten in the city. This was Jenny Barber who pointed this out in her book. So many people just assume, oh, that's recalling the story we read in first book. So many people just assume, oh that's recalling the story we read in First Kings. Oh, in building Temple. Building the Temple in Jerusalem and everyone under their own fig tree and gold and all this. And that's true. That is calling back to that. That itself is hyperlinked. Okay, so get ready for how the line of kings works. Every king is after Solomon becomes just another little repetition of Solomon for good or bad.

So that list in Ecclesiastes 2 verses 4 through 10, he says, I made great, I made my works great, I built houses for myself, planted vineyards for myself, I made gardens and parks, I planted fruit trees, You see, Janice III, leaping off the page here. I made ponds of water for myself, from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. Male and female slaves, home born slaves, flocks, herds, more abundant than all before me in Jerusalem. I collected silver and gold in the treasure of kings.

I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of kings I provided for myself, male and female singers, and the pleasures of men, many concubines. So you can hear the Solomon story back in there, but most of this vocabulary is actually hyperlinked to the story of Hezekiah. That list actually more precisely maps on to the building accomplishments of Hezekiah as described in second Chronicles. This is Jenny Barber points us out. So this is part of her large argument to say, the Solomon like voice is actually drawing upon the narratives about all of the sons of David, not just Solomon,

because Hezekiah's story is very similar. He has a great start. Builds Eden, rescues the city from Assyria, and then the last story about him is how he blows it with these Amesaries from Babylon and sinks all ship. Again, a quote from Jenny Barber about this. She says, in all of these ways, the building projects, the riches, the treasuries, the pools and the singers, the royal boast in Ecclesiastes chapter 2,

displays a king's achievements in terms that show how an author of the second temple period is reading and interpreting the stories of Israel's kings. In other words, what she's saying, this is her view on the authorship of the book. You can disagree with her, that's fine. But it's an interesting perspective and any view of the authorship of the book has to account for why Solomon isn't named and why The persona and the voice is hyperlinking to stories of all of the kings not just Solomon So her way of saying is this is a really late biblical author who's created a voice and persona Speaking as if it's the whole line of David The sad line of David sitting in exile.

So she goes on, she says, the writer has pulled together texts and motifs from Israel's histories to show that the paradigm king Solomon set the mold that was continually replicated through the rest of Israel's monarchy right down to the exile. She shows how in Jewish interpretive tradition, ancient Jewish readers saw these connections. And so, they portrayed Solomon as actually for seeing the whole history of his line, crashing and burning in exile as the context for the book of Cleeze Astey's.

Not a fun vision. No. This is in the Aramaic translations of the book called The Targums to Ecclesiastes. And it portrays him sitting on his throne, having a vision of the whole history leading to the exile. And then he writes this book. It's like an addition in that version. Yeah, it's like it's an imaginative interpretation in early Jewish tradition. But again, it tells us how people read the book. Oh, it's a separate book. We've got it. Targon, too, Ecclesiastes.

The Targon is a RMAic translation of Ecclesiastes. Oh, and it has... It is a translation. So it's a translation. Well, but it's very, very interpretive translation. Got it. And it includes at the beginning of it, Solomon having a vision of the whole kingdom crashing and burning and then writing the fucking piece of the Ecclesiastes.

Right. Yeah. And it kind of makes sense. Right. Yeah, that's me. Right. Yeah. And it kind of makes sense. Right. Yeah, totally. Anyhow, we could fill this out a whole lot more, but that's the basic insight. I think that Jenny Barber isn't just making this up.

I think she's paying attention to how the book fits in alongside Proverbs and Song Songs, hyperlinked to the Solomon's story, but the Solomon's story is just a gateway into the Adam and Eve story. And now, here to the story of the monarchy of David. And how all of that is just itself reiterating and riffing off of the Adam and Eve story. A failed rulers pursued their own wisdom, trying to build their own Eden.

But outside the garden, even our best Eden's will always be compromised and vapor and Yeah, it's cool how nuanced Austin complex the wisdom which is as it relates to the pursuit of wisdom in that because in Clizia's these right, it's never like so don't pursue wisdom and don't fear the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. Yeah, the final words of the book are, but It's still feel fear the Lord and keep us commandments. Yeah, yeah, it's just this big like big asterisk of like as you do Remember yes, we're not in the garden Yeah, and you might accomplish some really great things that end up falling apart Or you're just gonna die one day. Yeah, you'll have to pass it on and you're gonna pass it on Yeah, just keep that in mind that on this side of new creation,

have a little balance in your expectations. And it seems like that same kind of balance is there in song of songs a little bit in this whole like pursuit and then you get there, but then all of a sudden it starts over and you're pursuing again. Okay, I found it. And then know it's over. We're gonna again. Okay, I found it. And then know it's over.

We're gonna found me. It's kind of this cyclical approach of there's kind of realism to your pursuit of wisdom will be this lifelong ongoing pursuit that will be satisfied in some ways but then in another way will never be completely satisfied. Yeah, if Ecclesiastes is a remarkable book, all of these books are remarkable.

Yeah. It's just remarkable text, but it's such a realistic, honest portrayal of our lived experience. You know, this is leaping forward then into New Testament theology, but the Apostle Paul and Peter, John, they have no hesitation to say like, new creation. If anyone is in the Messiah, new creation. Yeah, it's happening. It's happening. The new humanity has been created, you know, in the Cross and Resurrection. We've been given new birth through the hope of the resurrection, Peter says.

It did result. It's very much, you know, inviting the future has arrived now in the present. Yeah. You know, the same Paul who says that can also say it, but remember, your sinful nature, the flesh is still at war. And- And I have not yet attained the resurrection. Yeah, I haven't yet attained the resurrection,

but he can experience its power, even in the midst of his suffering. And it's just, the New Testament offers that same balanced nuance between the now and the not yet. And Ecclesiastes is a mostly focusing on the now. Very little emphasis on the not yet, but that's what other books of the Hebrew Bible are for, is to do more of that stuff. The curmudgeon of the Hebrew scriptures. Yeah, totally. So again, we could spend a lot more time talking about Ecclesiastes. What I'm interested in this video is again the frame, the narrative context in which we come to read the wisdom books so that we make sure we're reading them along the lines that the author's want us to.

Yeah, the authors of the suit of wisdom affect the way you think about Cliziasis. That's different than the way we approached it in the previous video. Oh yep. Well if you think the other video we were approaching the main themes of the convener, the teacher, and then we were kind of just universalizing them. Yeah. And I think that's right. right. Like the story of Solomon and the kings of from the line of David aren't just there for historical interests. And we were juxtaposing it against the things of Proverbs.

Yeah, I feel wonderful about our wisdom trilogy, but had a different aim, which was to make the messages of those books almost connect immediately to the listener, or the viewer. To our existential questions. Here, in the series on how to read the Bible, it's about setting these books in their first layer of meaning, which is the narrative framework of the Hebrew Bible. But the narrative framework of the Hebrew Bible is all rooted in the Adam and Eve story,

which is about all humanity. So let me ask a different way. What kind of insights do you get from about the quest for wisdom? Ah, reading ecclesiasties. Oh, I think we just talked about it. What we're drawing attention to is why is this book connected to the sons of David? And why is it all about, is it spoken from the voice of this king who built all this amazing stuff, but is now reflecting on it in light of the exile? So it's more of that.

It's the next level of understanding these books is why the Solomon layer of the identity of the speaker. I get, yeah, that's really it. The themes of the identity of the speaker. I get, yeah, that's really it. The themes of the book are the same. As we pursue wisdom, fear the Lord, be honest and ready for the random chaotic, outside of Eden nature of reality, that is still the setting.

Correct. Yeah, yeah, the fact that things won't work out of reality that is still the setting. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. The fact that things won't work out, that I might experience suffering or pain unjustly, or for no reason that I can discern, doesn't mean that everything I believe is a sham, or that God hates me, or is punishing me. We're just outside the garden and living in the fog. That's the image of the vapor. It's hazy. And we have to do our best to live by

wisdom and the fear of the Lord, but also have temperate expectations. And if you have temperate expectations, you're just surprised at every good thing that happens. It just becomes a gift, you know. That's why I actually don't mind having kind of such a, you know, the moment on the water slide. Like I think some people would be bummed if that's how their mind worked, like always thinking about your coming death. But for me, it sobers me and then it makes the water slide moment so sweet, just like a precious gift. And every one of those I get, it just becomes this like surprise. Justin talks about that kind of idea

in terms of a metaphor of like curtains, like drawstring curtains, so like in a hotel room, where it's as curtains that when you open up one side, it opens up to the other side at the same time. Like you can't open just one side. And so that is the metaphor for like how we experience emotions and how how but in passions

It's like we just want the like happy water slide moments with our kids Yeah, sure and we just want that high yeah, right and we want that other side of the curtain to stay closed But opening one side of the curtain allows the other side of the curtain to open to yeah, that's right That sweet moment with my son on the water slide is a companion to many difficult moments of tantrums. Yeah. Yeah. And messes and broken furniture and broken windows.

And that's all, yeah, it's both sides of the curtain. I like that. Yeah. Yeah. broken windows and that's Ecclesiastes. That leaves Joe. Least Joe, which is the only book connected to the wisdom literature that isn't explicitly connected to Solomon. Yes. But it is explicitly connected to the Presidu wisdom. And the fear of the Lord.

And the fear of the Lord. So Proverbs, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Yeah. Wisdom in the fear of the Lord are main themes of Job. And actually, as we can see, Solomon's in the mix. They're Solomon hyperlinks, but not just Solomon. So the book of Job is connected into the wisdom literature, but actually it's connected into the entire Hebrew Bible.

I'll just say I'm gonna force a stab a short concise conversation about how the book of Job fits into this the narrative context for the wisdom books. But I was just like, when I opened Job and I started working on it and following the hyperlinks, I just jaw on the floor. Whoever wrote this had the rest of the Hebrew Bible

in front of him, or had the rest of the Hebrew Bible in his memory. Yeah, I've just literally every other line is a virtual quotation or hyperlink to almost every book in the Hebrew Bible. Oh, wow. It's crazy to think of somebody's mind. So this was clearly written later?

Yeah, but it's set. It's narratively set in an ancient period, and I think I'm beginning to understand why, which I guess we can talk about. Okay. So what I want to pay attention to is the narrative opening and the narrative conclusion. Okay. In the middle are all narrative opening and the narrative conclusion.

In the middle are all the dialogues and the poetry of a joke and his friends, which is amazing. I just want to pay attention because it's the beginning and ending. Notice how proverbs was like this. The beginning and ending. Yeah. Link does the Solomon. Right. Song songs. The beginning and ending. Ecclesiastes. The beginning and ending that we didn't get to see.

But the same with joke. Okay. Opening line of the book Job. There was a man in the land of Oots, Oots, whose name was Job. And that man was Blameless, upright, fearing God, turning away from raw. Yeah, there it is. He's the man of wisdom. Totally. Yeah, blameless and upright. That's a high claim. It is, it is. Noah was Yeah. Blameless and upright. That's a high claim.

It is. It is. Noah was the first. Blameless one. Abraham was the second. So this doesn't mean you didn't do anything wrong. Oh, what but just pause. Pause. Hold on.

Fearing God, turning away from raw. Yeah. That phrase, fearing God, turning away from raw, just appears in like one other book of the Hebrew Bible is a book of Proverbs. And Proverbs is spoken from Solomon to the line of David, my son. So in Job we find Noah, Abraham, and the idealized, obedient wise line of David, all embodied in one character. And he's not even Israelite.

So, so good. You're saying these things, blameless and upright, is blinking it to Moses and Noah. Oh, I know. When we open a story, there was a man blameless and upright. So and so, oh, okay. There's only a few stories that begin that way. Noah and then Abraham.

Yeah. Abraham's more compromised actually the character. So this is a Noah type Abraham like character who also is a character who is embracing, fully realizing the proverb by deal. The Proverbs embracing wisdom ideal. Yep. But where does he live in the land of boots?

Land of boots. The land of boots. boots only appears a few times in the Hebrew Bible. And it's all connected to Abraham's family. We're in the family. When we say something's happening in the land of Oots for an Israelite, we're like, oh, yeah, those, yeah, that's our descendants.

There are kin. There are kin. So Oots first appears in Genesis 10, where a figure named Oots is a son, member of A, Noah has three sons. J.F., Ham, and Shem. Shem has many descendants. Among them are Oots and also, Ever, and Ever is the Hebrew word for Hebrew. Every, who becomes a great grandfather of Abraham. So. So, already on page 10 of Genesis, Oots and the line of Abraham are Kinsman in the line of Shem.

Got it. Then. Shubbs not in Israelite, but he's connected. Yeah, he's a Shemite. Yeah. Shemite, okay. I go further down and in Genesis 36, I discover that Oots is a great grandson of Issa.

Jacob and Issa. This is a different Uts. Oh, different Uts. Well, but it's the same name. Right. There's another Uts. The two Utses are ones in the line of Shem. Then this one is a great grandson of Issa,

whose Abraham's grandson. Then the book of limitations is the other time Utt's appears and Utt's is identified with the land of Edom, which is where Esau went and settled. So the whole point is I meet a figure who's like Noah and Abraham and the ideal wise person and he's in the land of Utt's. I'm imagining the most righteous human, but who's in the parallel line of Abraham,

living out there in the desert. That's the idea. Got it. We go on. He has seven sons, three daughters, to all these possessions, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 oxen, 500 donkeys. He's loaded. He was loaded.

He was more great than all the sons of the East. Okay. So he's the dude. Yeah. And so the sons of the East, these are all the Eastern tribes from the line of Abraham. Yeah. Okay. Yep. He sends a son, median, there's all these tribes that go from Abraham's. Okay. His third wife, Ketra, and then they all go out and move in this area. They all settle to the east. So it's a parallel line of Abraham out there. It's fascinating.

That phrase, he was more great than all the sons of the east, is a copy, a copy and paste from the Solomon story. That Solomon was more great than all the rest. Remember the east? Yeah, I've got parallel on the top. Yeah, I remember that. Yeah. Oh, where are you at, page? This is page 31.

When we were talking about Solomon's wisdom, it was more great than the wisdom of all the sons of the East. And that's also where we learned about his proverbs and his songs and all this kind of thing. So Solomon was more great than all the sons of the East. Job was more great than all the sons of the East. Kind of like a Solomon kind of got. So Solomon was more great than all the sons of the East. Job was more great than all the sons of the East. Kind of like a Solomon kind of guy. Yeah, totally.

So here's where I think this lands us. Job is like an Israelite wisdom experiment. We are imagining the most righteous, god-fearing, wise, like in all of our heroes of the faith. The most righteous, God-fearing, wise, likened to all of our heroes of the faith. Just like we have all of our versions of that in the Israelite tradition, our parallel family over there, our brothers over there, they had one too.

Yeah. This is like the multiverse Spider-Man thing. Whoa, whoa. Here, let's play that out. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Yeah. And it's similar, but different.

Yeah. Yeah, that's right. So, okay, so yeah, welcome to the Spider-Verse. Welcome to the Spider-Verse. This is a title. There's a movie where parallel universes all have their own spider hero figure. Yeah. And then in this movie, they all come together from parallel universes.

And they are similar. They have spidey powers. Right. But they're different. When he's a Gwen, spider woman, Peter Parker, spider pig. What a great movie. That was an awesome movie.

Yeah. Welcome to the wisdom verse. The wisdom verse. Yeah, what we expect as the Israelite Solomon Moses like Braddestude like we we've been tracing that idea theme like at Nazim through correct the Hebrew Scriptures Yeah, this one's saying like hey, let's do that But let's put them in the parallel family parallel family and then differently and that's right And let's and then let's go with that story.

And so as you go through the roster of characters that Job's parallel to, all of them were righteous for some portion of their story, Noah, Abraham, David, Solomon, but all of them also had moments of failure that resulted in their suffering and misery and so. Except one. Well, actually, that's not true. There was one who had a period of blameless perfection, and that's the archetype of all of them, namely Adam in the garden. He blew it too, and all this misery,

but he alone of all those characters had the clean slate to start with, until he was tested by the tester. Yeah, serpent. So, and as we're gonna see, Job is also likened to Adam. Cause he starts with a clean slate. Yeah, so actually, I think the Job, it's introduced to us,

we're imagining a sinless person. Yeah, I mean, that's how he... What does that first sentence mean? Yeah, that's how it's... But you said that blameless was also referred to to Abraham. That's right. Uh-oh, it refers to Noah. To Noah?

That's why God's bearism is the remnant. And then actually Abraham, God commands him to become blameless. Okay. Because he hasn't been. Yeah, that's right. So a sinless job presents problems for certain theological systems about human depravity.

But that's not the point here, it's a thought there, man. The wisdom verse. It's the wisdom verse, yeah. This is an atom from another dimension. Yeah, it's perfect. Okay, so there's a scholar Samuel Meyer, who's did a whole essay on this about how Job is presented

particularly as another atom figure. This is on page 32. So Job is blameless and upright. He turns away from raw. Adam was placed in the garden with a clean slate, and he's sinned by taking up the tree of knowing good and raw. Yeah. Bad.

Job's children would have these parties and get together and feast, and when the feast was over, he would consecrate his children by making offerings for them. But he would consecrate them, set them apart. And lo and behold, in the Eden narrative, God is consecrating the land, and he's using me consecrating the seventh day. So Job consecrates the homes of his seven sons, God consecrates the seventh day. It's just Ecos. So he's doing a God-like activity.

Yeah, totally. When Job says, Naked, I came from the womb of my mother, Naked. I will return there. Adam and Eve were naked, and then once they realized it, Job says, Naked, I came from the womb of my mother, Naked, I will return there. Adam and Eve were naked, and then, once they realized it, by taking from the fruit, from dust you were taken to dust you will return.

In other words, the nakedness and then from dust, back to dust, to dust I returned, Job is echoing those lines from the Eden story when he says, Naked, I came from the womb of my mother, Naked. In the garden story of Eden, God provides Eve, and Adam says, this is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. But then the one that God provides, bone of his bone,

flesh of his flesh becomes the deceived deceiver. In the same way, in the Job story, the satan asked to strike his bone and his flesh, and surely he will curse you to your face. That's what the sassan says to God. And then Job doesn't curse God, but his wife comes and says, curse God and die. And he says, you're speaking like a temp address, like a foolish woman. So the whole point is, all these correspondence, that's right. So Sam Meier says, the correspondence between the behavior of Job's wife and Adam's wife, it's that Eve's

instigation that Adam disobeys God, the serpent, stands in the relationship to Eve, that the satan does to Job's wife. It's all this, so we're watching another version of the temptation of Adam, heaven. But Job passes the test. Yeah. He doesn't curse God. Yeah. He doesn't give in to the pain of suffering.

He doesn't give in to the temptation of his wife. He passes the test. Yeah, and then he asks for answers. Yes. So let's just say, the narrative of Genesis, and then he asks for answers. Yes. So let's just say the narrative of Genesis 1 and 2 is it's another what if? Hmm. From our brother from another man.

Job is a what if. Yeah. What if? Yeah. Adam had passed the test. Let's imagine a human, I remember the word human, is the word Adam. Adam, yeah.

Let's imagine a human, an Adam named Job. Who passed the test? Interesting. Well named Job, who passed the test. Interesting. Well, okay, never thought about that. But then all of a sudden, that gets you asking, well, but why would, why did God allow him to be tested? Yeah. I mean, the guy passed the test, but now God's the one

who comes off looking kind of like that. Well, Job's always struck me that way, most people. Like why does God allow Job to get hammered on? Okay, here's this hit me like a ton of bricks. I was either riding my bike to work or walking to work. The observation that strikes every reader. Yeah, it's not fair. Yeah, it's not fair What happened to you? And God is cruel. Oh, well first of all, let's start with, it's not fair. Yeah. One implication that one could draw is God's cruel.

God must be cruel. And Job goes there multiple times. Yeah, and so friends, no friends don't. The friends say it's impossible that God would be unfair. Right, so you, you know, you're suffering must be a result of your sin. But you the reader know. Yeah, that's not true. That's not true.

That's the puzzle of the book. But the thing that strikes the reader is, it's not fair. If Job is meant to represent every human, then that's right. But Job is being presented here as a very special human, a human who passed the test. But yet he suffers. He's the righteous sufferer, the righteous sufferer. Okay, dude, check out at the end of the book, Job 42. Job confesses in this like, I'm sorry God, you're right, you're wise or engraider. I shouldn't have accused you. Then the narrative picks up in chapter 42 for seven. It said, it came

about after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job. Yahweh said to Eli Faz, the Taimanite. That was one of the friends. That's one of the friends, yeah. My anger is kindled against you and your two friends. You haven't spoken about me, what is right? Like my servant, Job has.

Now all of a sudden, Job is God's servant. I mean, he's always been God's servant. Oh, but he's called it. But I'll say he's called it. He's called my servant, Job has. Now all of a sudden, Job is God's servant. I mean, he's always been God's servant. Oh, but he's called it. But I'll say he's called it. He's called my servant, Job. It's pretty short list of people called my servant. Mm. Okay. Moses, David, and the prophets.

Yeah. And then that figure in Isaiah. The Messianic figure. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So God's angry at the nations, these representations of the Eastern nations, because they have not spoken about God what is right, but who has spoken rightly about God? My servant Job.

So God says to Elias, go take for yourself seven bowls and seven ram, go to my servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And when you do that, my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And when you do that, my servant Job will pray for you. And I will lift up his face. It's a Hebrew idiom for except his petition. I will lift up his face so that I don't commit an outrage with you. God's about to go off the handle with the nations. But good thing my servant Job is there to intercede. Go to him, offer sacrifice, and he will intercede for you. So verse 9, so Ali phas the time and night, and build ad the shoe height, and so far the nomathite. They did as Yahweh told them,

and the Lord lifted up the face of Job. And get this, did Job 42 42, verse 10 is the key to the book. And Yahweh restored the fortunes of Job while he was praying on behalf of his companions. And Yahweh added to. While? While. And Ive says after. Yeah, it's not what it says.

Okay. Okay. But hit Paolo while he was praying. Okay. And Yahweh added to everything that belonged to Job twofold. Okay, dude. My righteous servant Job has unfairly suffered not for his own sins, but for some unknown purpose, right?

And the opening of the book doesn't tell you. God, you never learned why. The end of the book really tell you. The end of the book doesn't tell you why, but it does tell you the opening of the book doesn't tell you. God, you never learn why. The end of the book really tell you. The end of the book doesn't tell you why. Yeah. But it does tell you the outcome of the suffering of God's righteous servant. God's righteous servant suffers for a reason known only to God. But in his suffering, in other words, Job is praying for the nations.

The God would forgive the nations. Yeah, and then God does. He's still suffering while he's praying. And it's while he's praying and interceding for the nations that God restores his fortunes. In other words, it's as if Job's suffering unfairly, uniquely qualifies him to become the righteous, servant, intercessor, who now has a place to stand.

It's because of his unfair suffering that that gives him the place to stand before God and to say, forgive these people. It's as if he's earned the right to get a voice with God. His suffering qualifies him to become an intercessor for the nations, and he's called my servant Job. 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc

1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc So just that right there, there's something going on here.

And remember, he's a new Adam, he's a Noah, he's a, he's all these other characters mapped onto them. So here's some comments from this page 35. David Clinds, who's written, I think the longest commentary on Job in history. It's almost 1300 pages. Three volumes. He says this. He says, we must remember that Job hasn't yet been restored when the friends bring their request to him for prayer. While it's very clear in Hebrew, while he was praying, that's when Yahweh restored. So he's presumably still on the ash heap. Yeah, he's still suffering.

Yep, Job has no inkling that Yahweh intends to reverse his fortunes. All he knows is now he's praying on behalf of others. Okay, no, look what this is very percept his fortunes. All he knows is now he's praying on behalf of others. Okay, no, look what, this is very perceptive of clients. He says, all he knows is that he's still suffering at Yahweh's hand. And if it's difficult for the friends to acknowledge the divine judgment against them, it must be no less difficult for Job to accept

this second hand instruction to offer prayer for people that he's totally disenchanted with. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right? Yeah. So in other words, God doesn't say to Job, Job pray for them.

Job is just talking to the friend, Ella Fass. And the friends like, hey, I'm supposed, you're supposed to pray for me. So imagine this, Job's on the energy of suffering. Nothing changed. And these are the guys who have been like, given a hard time for 50 chapters. Oh, they're insulting each other,

calling each other win bags. And they show up. And LFS says, I know that I just insulted you many times over. Yeah. But your God's angry at me and is going to kill me. And he told me it's offered these sacrifices, and you're supposed to pray for me so that he'll spare my life.

That's the thing. It'd be like, yeah, just go home. Alright, so, clients goes on. Job certainly owes them nothing. Sure. Is this yet another test that Job must undergo before he is restored? He goes on. The wording of Job 42 versus 10 makes it seem as if Job's restoration is dependent on his prayer on their behalf.

As if it's his last trial, the last trial of all will be to take his stand on the side of his torturer comfortors. In other words, in chapter two, they come to comfort him. Yeah, but they really torture him. Multiple times, you know, lousy comfortors, all you want. This is fascinating. It is true that this prayer of Job is the first selfless act that he's performed since his misfortunes overtook him. Not that we begrudge him, the self-centeredness that's dominated his speech throughout the book.

Perhaps his renewed orientation to the needs of others is the first sign that he's abandoned his inward looking morning and is ready to accept consolation. In any case, the very act of offering his prayer on the friend's behalf is when his own restoration is said to take effect. The Hebrew says Yahweh restored the fortunes of Job while he was praying for his friends, not as most versions have it when or after he prayed for his friends. He did mind blowing, at least for me. So we're introduced to a righteous, sinless sufferer who suffers for no reason except known to God alone. And he's angry about it, and he goes to God with it. And at the end, he never finds out,

but what he does discover is that his suffering has positioned him uniquely to now intercede on behalf of the nations and the nations receive God's mercy because of the intercession of the righteous sufferer. Who is my servant? Do. Yeah. What's happening? Right. And all of a sudden, when I was writing my bike, I was like, it's not fair.

It's not fair. It's not fair. But that's the whole point. Is that Job's suffering isn't fair? Yeah. That's actually the point. The point is it's not fair. Yes. There's something about someone needing to suffer unjustly. It's an actual kind of necessary. Well, but to say it's necessary means that what the narrative of the book is simply saying is a righteous sufferer is uniquely privileged by God. God takes these kinds of people into his counsel and will accept just remember Moses at the Golden Calf. Moses has not

blown it yet with the Israelites and God says, leave me alone. That I may destroy these people and that my anger may burn against them. Oh, I need to see you. And Moses doesn't leave God alone, that I may destroy these people, and that my anger may burn against them. Oh, and the inner seed, yeah. And Moses doesn't leave God alone. He steps into the divine council. So he said that role of the righteous sufferer. The role of the righteous intercessor. And it's a role that is going to be played by the prophets.

Jeremiah will be another suffering prophetic intercessor. And then that the figure in the book of Isaiah is my servant who will suffer on behalf of the sins of his own people. So in other words, the Hebrew Bible has another photo mosaic of the righteous prophetic suffering intercessor. It's the kind of figure that we need if God's mercy can be released to the nations instead of another flood of judgment.

And that's the profile of Isaiah 53. Job fits it perfectly. Yeah. It's an outline of Job. And it's like Job's biggest contribution to the Hebrew scripture. Yeah, well, at least one of them that just hit me like a ton of bricks. And then all of a sudden, the fact that it's not fair makes sense, because that's the point. All of a sudden, so much of the atonement theology of the New Testament, for me, pops into focus of Jesus going to Jerusalem

to suffer as the Passover lamb, as the suffering servant, as Israel's king, as the prophetic intercessor. He's putting himself in the path of the destruction. Yeah, the template has been set. There is God is going to use a righteous, suffering intercessor to bring blessing. Yeah, to the nations. To the nations. Yeah.

Jesus' anguish in the garden becomes a moment. It's like the book, that's the job. He's like Job, wrestling with God. Why? Why? If there's any other way, it's as if, yeah, when Jesus kneels in the garden, he's kneeling beside Job, and beside all the suffering righteous, the figure of the Book of Psalms, too,

all that. He's all overlapped on each other. He's on a theme video, the suffering servant. Yeah, I'm actually beginning to, yeah, whether it's the intercessor, or my servant. My servant. It's called my servant. My servant. My servant? Yeah. I don't know. Yeah, it this, it's something going on here.

So the book of Job actually is not just belonging to the Wisdom storyline. It's prophetic. It's prophetic. It's about what the whole Hebrew Bible is about. We need a new Adam. Yeah. Yeah. Right. We won yeah, right.

Who won't blow it? But not only he won't blow it, but there will be something about him that allows him to correct it for everyone else. That's right. Yeah, to step in to the place of the intercessor to release God's mercy to the nations instead of justice. Yeah, that's right.

Yeah. And there's something about Job. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And there's something about Job. Yeah, it's interesting how in Job, there's still this mystery though of like, but why? Why the suffering? Yeah. Like why not just let Job intercede without suffering?

And why let him suffer? Why? I know. And that's the thing where it's like, Job still has this unique, like, you can't know. That's right. And you won't know.

That's right. It's be okay with that. Yep, that's right. And the why does God allow the satan to do what he does in the story of Job is the same question as why did God let that snake crawl up to the tree? Yeah.

It's the same thing. And why did God let that snake crawl up to the tree? It's the same thing. And why did God let himself, the son? Yes. The way the story of Jesus fits into this is that the why question of Job and of Eden isn't answered, but God's response to it isn't to answer it. It's to enter in to the story himself and become the suffering servant Yeah, God becomes the suffering servant to bear the pain of

His of his creations failure. It's like all the Hebrew scriptures is looking for this person Yeah, we need this person. We know we need this person. Yeah, Job is a reflection on that Mm-hmm. All these Psalms are a reflection on that. I say, and then the new Testament gospel claims are God himself is going to be that person. Correct, yeah. And actually, I think the book of Isaiah is even pushing you there that that servant is Emmanuel.

Is God with us? Oh, right. Yeah. Is he a servant? Yeah. Mine bending, dude. Wow. Very cool. So, okay, so let's recap. The Garden of Eden is about the pursuit of wisdom, failed, resulting next island death, and the division of man and woman.

A story Solomon takes that template and just fills it out. Another new Adam in a new garden opportunity. He pursues wisdom, it seems, but then doesn't, and then it's with the ladies that all falls apart. And then these four wisdom books are all connected into that pursuit of wisdom, or failed pursuit of wisdom.

Proverbs, you know, is about pursue lady wisdom, embrace her, love her. It's most straightforward, just like, yeah, there's two paths. Two paths. You could pursue the wisdom. That's right. You could pursue another lady.

Correct. And pursue wisdom. That's right. And it's gonna go well. Ecclesiastes comes along and we get a psalmonic persona voice of saying, yeah, neither me nor any of my descendants ever did it. Yeah.

And we ended up in exile. We did the best we could. And here we did a lot of great stuff. Yeah. Because they didn't do the best they could. Yeah, we didn't succeed in life here outside the garden's hard and do your best, follow God, but right, yeah.

Song of Songs is an imaginative, what if? What if? Adam. What is this consummated? And Adam and Eve or Solomon and Lady Wisdom had come together. Imagine what it could be like. Yes. We're pushing constantly, waiting forward and forward.

And then Job comes along and imagines what an Adam who looked like who was not deceived. But he's an Adam who's living outside of Eden. Job is outside the Garden of Eden. So he's living post-humanities failure. And so what a new Adam will have to do is suffer precisely so that he can't intercede on behalf of the nations to release God's blessing to the nations. Which is not just a call for one guy. Correct. It then becomes the way.

Yes, it's the messianic vocation which it falls upon one person, the servant, but who also has a whole family that he creates in the book. Who imitate? Who are called the servants, who imitate the suffering intercession of the servant. And then that's welcome to the New Testament. It's like, that's what it's about. The why we suffer then becomes for others in a way. Yeah.

It's an opportunity to serve others. That's right. Yep, that's right. Yeah. It's an opportunity to serve others. That's right. Yep, that's right. Yeah. Cool. How are we gonna summarize this in one video? I think we can do it. Oh, good job.

Good. I didn't say I've done it. Okay, everybody. That is it for our Wisdom Series conversation on the podcast. Thank you guys for listening to the series and your interest in it. The next episode on the podcast is going to be what we usually do a Q&R episode. So if this Wisdom series has raised questions for you, feel free to send us those questions we would love to hear from you. Here's how you can do it. You can email a question to us at info at jointhebibleproject.com.

If you could make an audio recording, give us your name, where you're from. That would be awesome. And if you can, please try to keep the question to about 28 or 30 seconds. All these conversations that John and I had on the wisdom books of the Bible were in preparation for a video that we made through the Bible project and it's now out. It's a video called How to Read the Books of Solomon. You can check it out on our website, thebibelproject.com, or go to youtube.com slash the Bible project. Today's show was produced by the amazing Dan Gummel.

The music was by the band Tense. The Bible project is a crowd-funded, non-profit animation studio in Portland, Oregon. We're able to make all of these videos and other resources this podcast because of the generous support of so many, many people and you are some of them. Thank you so much for listening and for being a part of this with us. Hi, this is Lauren. I'm from New York City. My favorite thing about the Bible project is that it's an extremely generous way to spread the news of Jesus and teach the Bible in our culture.

We believe that the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus. We're a crowdfunded project by people like me. Find free videos, study notes, podcasts, and more resources at thebibelproject.com. you you