Noncanonical Jewish Literature

It is important for Christians to be familiar with ancient Jewish literature that is not in our canon because I think we can learn a lot from those writings.

I believe our canon is arranged how God planned for it to be, but that should not limit other people from writing about their experiences, and sharing how God has affected their lives. We can learn a lot from reading these different pieces of literature, even if they are not in our canon. The writings can be a compliment to what we are already reading in our canon. These noncanonical writings can reiterate what our canon has already told us. It solidifies the truths for us.

People have not stopped learning about God or writing books about the revelations they have had about God’s character. God has not changed, but the situations and times that the readers of the canon have changed, and so it is nice to get all the different perspectives that are out there.

Just because a book is not part of our canon, it does not mean that we cannot learn something from it. For example, the book The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren was and still is a very popular piece of literature. Its purpose is similar to that of the Bible: teach people how to lead Godly lives in the midst of the world they live in. Just as this book could help us in our walk with God, so can the ancient Jewish literature that is not part of our canon.

I think that reading these different texts gives us more credibility also when we are sharing our faith, because we are not just blindly following the Bible, and what we have laid before us, but we are testing it against similar writings and against itself. If the noncanonical books give us a different picture than what is in the Bible though, I believe we should trust our canon as the supreme literature.

Wisdom Literature

The books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes are all considered Wisdom Literature. Even though these books are grouped together under this category, they are a very diverse group of writings. What do they have in common then that makes them fall under Wisdom Literature?

All three of these books search for a wise way of going through life. They are all very universal, and not very nationalistic (focusing on just Israel). They prompt thinking on a deep level, and show that it is okay to take hard questions to God. They also focus on theodicy, which tries to make sense of a righteous and just God when while surrounded by the misery of this world.

In Proverbs, the way it says that wisdom can be obtained is by being in step with God’s ways. In Proverbs 1:7, it says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Along with this, your life will be blessed if you keep God’s commandments. “My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you” (Proverbs 3:1-2). If you obtain wisdom by fearing the LORD and keeping God’s commandments, then your life will go well for you, according to the book of Proverbs.

In Job, God allows terrible things to happen to Job, who never, in the midst of his suffering, denies God. This book also shows a different way to gain wisdom. God says that Job is the most righteous man on the earth (Job 1:8). Job’s friends tell him that he must have done something wrong, and that is why he is being punished by God. In the end, Job’s friends are rebuked because they thought they were correct, and that they understood how God worked. Even though Job questions God, he is upheld above his friends because he knew that he just could not understand God (Job 42:7). The book of Job shows that it is better to question God and acknowledge that you do not understand God’s ways rather than think you know everything.

Ecclesiastes gives some advice on ways to live your life wisely. The author of the book says, “All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The word vanity is similar to vapor, or wind. Wisdom is something that we cannot grasp. We cannot understand everything, which is similar to what Job talks about. We should think about God, as it says in Ecclesiastes 7:13-14, “Consider the work of God; who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.” We as humans cannot know everything or control anything that happens on this earth, so why not just enjoy life as it is given to us? “So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 8:15). Things in this life will come and go, but we can obtain happiness and wisdom by knowing this life is only temporary.

Even though these books are written in different styles and do not appear to have the same subject, they all can teach us a wise way to live our lives. If we fear the LORD, realize that we do not and cannot know everything, and know that some things are fleeting like the wind, then we should all be able to enjoy our lives to the fullest.