Wisdom of Instagram and Proverbs

Wisdom, Prophets, and Influencers: Week 1

New Year, new ways, new wisdom? But let’s ask the question, is new and improved always better? Curiously enough, modern wisdom sources throwback to the tried-and-true wisdom of the ages. Today we consider our modern spin on the ancient Wisdom of the Bible.

There are a few books of the Bible in the Old Testament, that are specifically designated with the genre of wisdom literature. By classification, this collection of writings offers an ancient voice speaking the Wisdom of God. The Book of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, use literary devices such as poetry, allegory or extended metaphor to impart Wisdom in the context of the Old Testament people.

During this study we will look at a few of the ways in which the Wisdom from God and the Wisdom from the world has impacted our understandings. Consider the following influencers use of Biblical Wisdom on Instagram:

ashleyhetherington

A post shared by @ashleyhetherington

itsdeegiles

A post shared by @itsdeegiles

Is this true wisdom? Godly wisdom? Wisdom of the world? How can we tell the difference?

Many people have come in contact with “wisdom literature” of the Bible in these condensed and out-of-context ways. While they may not be totally wrong, wisdom literature is made up of so much more than the few coffee cup sayings that we see on the surface.

Let’s take a quick journey through the popular, classic Old Testament book of wisdom, Proverbs, considering the purpose of this ancient collection.