The Big Finish

Proverbs is wisdom literature. As such, we expect it to deal with mostly with practicalities and real-world concerns, and this is exactly what we find: relationship advice, sound strategies for home and workplace, political savvy and oodles of good old common sense.

What we might not expect to find in Proverbs is a plethora of references to God. In fact, the generic “God” [elohim] and the specific, personal “Lord” [YHWH] appear in Proverbs a combined total of 96 times across 31 chapters, the vast majority being the personal name of the Lord.

On reflection, that too makes sense. There is no real wisdom apart from God. He is the source of all genuine understanding about life.

My God

There is, however, only one reference to “my God”. A word-for-word translation will not give you that, and my limited Hebrew is not up to explaining it, but there has to be a sound linguistic reason that 43 different English translations of the passage out of the 46 in Bible Hub have inserted the possessive pronoun in this solitary instance. I feel on fairly safe ground concluding it should indeed be there. Making the relationship personal makes a difference, doesn’t it. One can intellectually attribute all manner of good things to deity without having any kind of intimate relationship with God.

We do not find that rare, deeply personal form of address in the writings of Solomon. We find it in chapter 30, in a section of the book attributed to an otherwise-anonymous fellow named Agur.

Frankly, among all the writers of scripture, I struggle with Solomon the most. My father more than once expressed his own uncertainty about whether Solomon was even a saved man. I am not ready to go that far, but the account of his spiritual departure in later life makes expressing confidence in the quality of his relationship with the Lord rather difficult.

Ending on a Low Note

A huge part of assessing any life is how it ended, and Solomon’s ended very badly indeed, resulting in serious judgment. How does one go from at least two direct, personal experiences of God and a prayer at his temple dedication that is one of the better models for corporate prayer in scripture to building temples and high places for Chemosh and Molech? How does one sell the sound advice to “Drink water from your own cistern … and rejoice in the wife of your youth” [the word “wife” very much singular], while assembling a harem with such astounding overkill that it beggars historical comparison? Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, most of whom, for all intents and purposes, must have been nothing more than political trophies or sexual playthings.

That said, there is some counterevidence to consider. Since I have been giving weight to English pronouns in the text, there is a solitary reference in 1 Kings 11 concerning Solomon to “the Lord his God”. Mind you, the whole statement reads “His heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God”, so there is that. Once again, the pronoun is implicit rather than present in the Hebrew, but 45 English translations insert it, so it’s exactly as credible as Agur’s “my God” in chapter 30. Maybe, then, Solomon possessed saving faith after all. If so, that’s a pretty big stumble for a believer, an example we are wise not to emulate.

Two Kinds of Turning Away

Nevertheless, how we finish up is hugely significant. Considering this subject, we have an extended passage in Ezekiel 18:

“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.”

I know he’s not speaking specifically about salvation there, but about judgment in this life. Still, it shows the vital importance of staying the course and not falling away.

I want to finish strong, don’t you? It’s abundantly clear from scripture that’s what the Lord is looking for in his servants. When we leave this planet, let’s not trouble our children, neighbors, friends and co-workers with the slightest question about who we were and whom we served.