Week 40, September 28–October 4: Proverbs 27–31; Ruth 1–4; 1 Corinthians 1–11

• Sun      Sep 28 Prov. 27–29
• Mon     Sep 29 Prov. 30–31
• Tue      Sep 30 Ruth 1–4
• Wed     Oct 1   1 Cor. 1–2
• Thu      Oct 2   1 Cor. 3–5
• Fri        Oct 3   1 Cor. 6–8
• Sat       Oct 4   1 Cor. 9–11

We are finishing up with Proverbs this week. The book ends with a twenty-one-verse poem exalting the virtues of an excellent wife, or a woman of noble character, as another translation puts it (Prov. 31:10–21). The lines in this passage follow an acrostic pattern, with each line or verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This is a common literary feature in Hebrew poetry and it occurs in several places throughout the Bible (Psalms 9–10, 119, etc.). It sets this final section of Proverbs apart as a distinct unit, closing out the book by pulling together some of the threads that have been running throughout Proverbs.

This poem about a virtuous woman is not just a list of qualities a woman or a wife should pursue, though they are good traits described here. At several points earlier in Proverbs, female characters have been used to personify different qualities. Wisdom, which is the major theme of Proverbs, is portrayed as a woman calling out to be sought and pursued (1:20-21; 3:13-18; 8:1-9:12). By contrast, lady folly also appears throughout the book, personified as someone trying to tempt those passing by to fall in to foolishness and sin (2:16-19; 5:1-6; 6:20-35; 7:1-27; 9:13-18). These depictions contribute to the overall argument of the book, which is urging us as readers to seek wisdom and enjoy the flourishing life that comes from fearing God and walking in the ways of wisdom.

The acrostic poem at the end of the book serves as a concluding summary of these motifs. While the poem can be seen as an example of a godly wife, it can also be applied more broadly as the tangible depiction of godly wisdom. In these final verses of the book, we are presented with a real-world example of wisdom in action.

Moreover, taken in its canonical context, this poem of Proverbs 31 also weaves Proverbs together with another biblical depiction of wisdom. This year we are doing the OT reading in the Hebrew Bible order, and as we have mentioned in an earlier post, in the Hebrew Bible order of the OT books, Ruth follows immediately after Proverbs. Rather than following after Judges, like in our English Bibles, it instead appears in the third section of the three-part Hebrew Canon, or Tanak. This third section is called the Writings, or Kethubim.

The fact that Ruth follows Proverbs in the Writings/Kethubim section does not seem to be accidental. The phrase translated “excellent wife” in Proverbs 31:10 only occurs one other time in the Bible, and it is in Ruth 3:11, where the ESV translates it “worthy woman.” This is how Boaz describes Ruth. As Proverbs 31 gives us a picture of what wisdom looks like in real life, the book of Ruth takes it a step even further and tells the story of a real person in history who feared the Lord and exemplified wise character, and who also played an important role in the lineage of the Messiah, Jesus.

While the book of Ruth fits canonically right after Proverbs, the story of Ruth is set in the time of the judges. It is a story that takes place during the events of the book of Judges, after Joshua and the Israelites had first come in to the Promise Land and before any king or monarchy had been established in Israel. The location of Ruth in our English Bibles follows a chronological sequence. In the Tanak order, the narrative depiction of Ruth as a “worthy woman” builds on the description of the “excellent wife” in Prov. 31:10. In her devotion to the Lord, this Moabite foreigner provides an ideal example of godly wisdom.

The book of Ruth is much more than a quaint story about a few people in the time of the judges. It fills in a key genealogical link in the line of the Messiah to come, and so it provides a hopeful hint towards Christ’s coming and his kingdom. Ruth, an outsider like the other women named in Matthew’s genealogy (Matt. 1:1–17), carried on the hope for the seed from the tribe of Judah who would reverse the curse of sin (Gen. 3:15; 49:8–12).

The book of Ruth ends with a genealogy that traces the generations from Judah’s son, Perez, through Boaz and continuing to David (Ruth 4:18–22). Ruth tells the story of the woman who was king David’s great grandmother. This was the line of David and also the line of the messianic Son of David. This genealogy at the end of Ruth encourages us to read the short book with the future in mind. When we read it this way, it is a beautiful tale of God’s providential hand in carrying out his perfect plan.

After finishing Ruth, we move back to the NT and pick up where we left off there. A few weeks ago we finished Romans, and now we move on to 1 Corinthians, the next of the NT letters, or epistles. This was the first of two canonical epistles we have from Paul to the church in Corinth. Paul had planted this church on one of his missionary journeys (Acts 18). This letter is different than Romans in several ways, but probably the most notable difference is that 1 Corinthians addresses more concrete and specific issues in the life of the Christians and the church in Corinth, whereas Romans is broader and more theological in its emphasis. This is not to say 1 Corinthians is not theological (or that Romans is not practical). It is highly theological, it just has more of a focus on the specific implications of the theological truth of the gospel for the way Christians relate to each other in the church and to those outside the church. We will say a bit more next week about the nature of NT letters, and about 1 Corinthians in particular.