Starting in Proverbs chapter 8, King Solomon, the author of Proverbs, emphasizes wisdom regularly. Known as “Solomon the Wise,” he says that wisdom is the basis of civil rulership and everybody who hates wisdom loves death.
Similar to earlier chapters in Proverbs, chapter 10 focuses more on God’s sanctions. The text states that God’s rewards and punishments will be predictable, but if you do not follow God’s rules, you will lose your inheritance, while the righteous will still gain their inheritance.
Between Proverbs chapter 10 and 31, the verses about sanctions and wisdom are again reinforced in chapter 30 with King Solomon talking about how God’s word will always be pure, but He will give you negative sanctions in life if you disobey Him. The next chapter instructs Kings to avoid alcohol and only marry virtuous women.
The two main themes of Proverbs are wisdom and sanctions. Virtuous men love wisdom and will strife to attain it, but some hate wisdom and will see the wrath of God. If you keep God’s commandments and do the right thing in all situations, then you will get a seat in heaven next to the Lord. Another theme stated multiple times is the importance of working for God, with Solomon explaining that you need to labor like an ant and do good works to please God.
Inheritance of God’s kingdom will be taken away from those who disobey his word and break away from God. Much of biblical literature is a warning of what will happen if you do not follow God, and a reward for what will happen if you obey God’s judgment.
Athens was one of the first true democratic governments in the world. The people would vote for their rulers, who would then be representatives of the people’s will. When Draco was elected ruler in 621 BC, he made punishment for all crimes extremely harsh to persuade families to not seek revenge on their transgressors. Draco’s reign caused many Athenians to become enslaved because slavery was the punishment for not paying taxes to the government. The next ruler, Solon, freed all the slaves and declared that every citizen could vote and not just aristocrates.
Four courts made up the government in Athens: The Assembly, The Council of Five Hundred, The Law Court, and The Magistrates. One thousand people represented the 40,000 Athenians in the courts during the elections.
In 499 BC, Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor rose up against their Persian oppressors. They sought assistance from Sparta, which refused, but Athens sent 20 ships to support the revolt. Nonetheless, the rebellion was put down quickly by Persia. Enraged that the Athenians had helped a revolt, King Darius of Persia sought revenge on the Greeks and invaded but was defeated at the Battle of Marathon. Now the Spartans, who had initially refused to help Athens, joined the fight. King Xerxes of Persia, Darius’s son, sent 250,000 troops through the Greek mountains to face off against a small force of 300 Spartans at Thermopylae. The Spartans fought well but were eventually defeated by the much larger force. Their heroic fight inspired other Greek city states to join in against Persia.
Battle of Thermopylae.
After the Battle of Thermopylae, the Persians sacked and burned Athens, but most of the Greek Army and population had escaped already. The Greeks defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis, and they were victorious over Persia in 479 BC.
After the Persian War, the Greek states formed the Delian League, a defensive pact under the direction of Athens. Each state had to provide ships, money, and supplies. The League even supplied an Egyptian revolt against Persia. Many of the city-states were alarmed at how powerful Athens had become. Messenia withdrew from the League first, and Athens demanded its return. In response, the other city-states formed the anti-Athens Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, and declared war on Athens.
Athens mainly stuck to naval combat, which was their strength, so the Spartans could not inflict a decisive blow. In 430, a plague broke out and killed two thirds of the Athenian population. Later, a truce was signed and peace lasted from 421-415. In 414, Athens went on an expedition to Sicily to try to take out Syracuse, who was loyal to the Peloponnesian League. The Athenians could not defeat Syracuse, so they decided to go back to Greece. However, they saw a Lunar Eclipse, which they took as a sign to keep fighting. This gave Syracuse time to encircle and destroy the Athenian forces. Fifty thousand Athenians were killed and Sparta took control of most of Greece.
The Athenians being defeated by Syracuse.
Sparta briefly had control over all of Greece before the other city-states rebelled against them in 371 BC. By 350, none of the city-states dominated over each other. Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides both wrote about the Peloponnesian War and much of the information we have of the war comes from them.
In the opening verses of Proverbs, the writer King Solomon, son of King David, provides an overall view of his goal, making Proverbs the only book of the Bible with a formal introduction. He also gives counsel to his son, saying: “A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.” Solomon states that in order to have knowledge, you must fear the Lord and the wicked are foolish because they do not trust in God. In chapter one verses 8-19, Solomon gives his son more advice, telling him to not walk in the counsel of the wicked and do not consent to their enticing.
The material in the Proverbs is similar to that of the Psalms, except the Psalms is written in the form of a song. Just like the Psalms stated many times, verses two and three of Proverbs are about the positive and negative sanctions God can give us. Because it is good for your soul, verse two advises the reader to stay away from the wicked and have wisdom. Chapter three starts with Solomon commanding his son to always keep the law and let his heart keep God’s commandments.
The first section of the book of Proverbs is mainly focused on wisdom. Referencing it again in chapter five, Solomon says that wisdom is ethical and parents must teach it to their children. Wisdom also brings honor, grace, and life. Chapters six and seven tell the reader to be motivated and labor like an ant for the Lord, and hold up the lamp of law and let it shine bright.
Themes of the first chapters of the Proverbs are mainly wisdom and sanctions, similar to Psalms. The writer King Solomon, also known as “Solomon the Wise,” focuses much more on wisdom than his father King David did in the previous book.
