Journey: Lesson 17 -Early Wisdom

By Marcel Gervais

This is lesson 17 of the Journey Bible Study Program series. The purpose of this lesson is to discuss the teaching of the wisdom tradition on creation, humanity and human suffering as found in the Books of Proverbs and Job.In chapter 1 the author discusses being human, humility and fear of the Lord and the need for others.Chapter 2 describes various approaches to poverty and wealth.Chapter 3 describes the message of the drama found in the book of Job.There is also an Appendix on the wisdom of the ancient near east.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marcel Gervais
• Release date: Jan 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781927766200

Marcel Gervais

About the Author Archbishop Gervais was born in Elie Manitoba on September 21 1931. He is the ninth of fourteen children. His family came from Manitoba to the Sparta area near St. Thomas Ontario when he was just a teenager. He went to Sparta Continuation School and took his final year at Saint Joseph`s High School in St. Thomas. After high school he went to study for the priesthood at St. Peter’s Seminary in London , Ontario. He was ordained in 1958. He was sent to study in Rome. This was followed by studies at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem. He returned to London to teach scripture to the seminarians at St. Peter’s Seminary. In 1974 he was asked by Bishop Emmett Carter to take over as director of the Divine Word International Centre of Religious Education. This Centre had been founded by Bishop Carter to provide a resource for adult education in the spirit of Vatican II. This Centre involved sessions of one or two weeks with many of the best scholars of the time. Students came not only from Canada and the United States but from all over the globe, Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe. By the time Father Gervais became the director Divine Word Centre was already a course dominated by the study of scripture to which he added social justice. This aspect of the course of studies was presented by people from every part of the “third world”; among which were Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez and Cardinal Dery of Ghana. In 1976 the Conference of Ontario Bishops along with the Canadian conference of Religious Women approached Father Gervais to provide a written course of studies in Sacred Scripture for the Church at large, but especially for priests and religious women. This is when Fr. Gervais began to write Journey, a set of forty lessons on the Bible. He was armed with a treasure of information from all the teachers and witnesses to the faith that had lectured at Devine Word. He was assisted by a large number of enthusiastic collaborators: all the people who had made presentations at Divine Word and provided materials and a team of great assistants, also at Divine Word Centre. The work was finished just as Father Gervais was ordained an auxiliary bishop of London (1980). He subsequently was made Bishop of Sault Saint Marie Diocese, and after four years, Archbishop of Ottawa (1989). He retired in 2007, and at the time of this writing, he is enjoying retirement.

Book preview

Journey- Lesson 17 Early Wisdom

by Marcel Gervais, Emeritus Archbishop of the diocese of Ottawa, Canada

Nihil Obstat: Michael T. Ryan, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Imprimatur: + John M. Sherlock, Bishop of London

London, March 31, 1980

This content of this book was first published in 1977 as part of the JOURNEY Series By Guided Study Programs in the Catholic Faith and is now being republished in Smashwords by Emmaus Publications, 99 Fifth Avenue, Suite 103, Ottawa,ON, K1S 5P5, Canada on Smashwords

Cover: ... The meeting of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar with Job.

COPYRIGHT © Guided Study Programs ln the Catholic Faith, a division of The Divine Word International Centre of Religious Education 1977. Reproduction ln whole or ln part is Prohibited.

~~~~~~~~

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 The Wine of Wisdom (Proverbs)

Chapter 2 The Limits of Wisdom

Chapter 3 Human Misery and God(The Book of Job)

Appendix (wisdom of the ancient near east)

Answer key to practice questions

Self-Test

Optional exercises on Proverbs

Answer key to self-test and Otional exercises on Proverbs

Recommendations for group meeting on Lesson 17

About The Author

Psalm

A hymn in praise of the wisdom of God as seen in all creation. The wisdom of the Lord is found in the magnificent order which he placed and continues to place in his creation. The prayer begins in the presence of the Lord, who lives above all of creation in glorious light, and then, step by step, it moves through the heavens, the clouds, winds, lightning, to the earth and all that is on it, and finally to all the creatures that live in the deeps of the oceans. In all he has made, there is beautiful harmony: all things have their place, their function, their time. The Lord supports them all, and all is good. All creatures rejoice in the gifts of creation; people most of all should rejoice in the good things of the earth (wine for laughter, oil for feeling good, bread for strength, vs 15). Harmony between the Lord, all his living creatures, and the earth is celebrated throughout the poem. The Lord is happy with what he has made, and he is gladdened when mankind rejoices with him (vss 31-34). The only thing out of harmony, is sin (vs 35). The psalmist wishes that there were no sinners at all, so that creation would be nothing but a joyful celebration of the wisdom of the Lord.

Note. Leviathan could refer to the crocodile; but it is more likely that it is an image for disorder or chaos, which the Lord has tamed and turned into a pet for his own amusement.

Lesson Objective To discuss the teaching of the wisdom tradition on creation, humanity and human suffering as found in the Books of Proverbs and Job,

Introduction

For some, the meaning of wisdom is related to the acquisition of knowledge, to intellectual capacity. For the biblical writers whom we now study, wisdom has a much broader meaning. In itself, wisdom is order or harmony. As a quality, wisdom is present whenever and wherever good order, smooth functioning is found. In people wisdom is shown in the proper management or handling of reality. If a person knows how to handle material things properly, that person is wise. For example, when an artist fashions a beautiful statue out of a shapeless lump of clay, that artist is wise. When someone knows how to manage material things well (eg. a good economic planner), such a person is showing wisdom. If a person knows how to enjoy wine and food without going to excess, that person shows wisdom. It is important also to know how to relate to wealth and to the absence of material goods.

On another level wisdom is to be found when a person knows how to relate to other people properly - to parents, brothers and sisters, wife or husband, children, friends, superiors, servants. The one who does not know how to handle these relationships is a fool.

A very large part of reality which one must learn to handle properly is time. There is a right time and a wrong time for almost everything; few things are always and everywhere well-timed. The wise person knows when to speak, and when to be silent. (One who shouts blessings at his neighbour before sunrise, might as well be cursing, Prov 27:14.)

The greatest wisdom in a person is the ability to handle properly his relationship to God. This thought, though not always in the foreground, is never far from the minds of the writers of the wisdom books. (See Lesson 1 0, p.