One of the most interesting themes that stood out to me in this week’s reading is the connection between wisdom and order.

John Walton explains that wisdom in Scripture is deeply tied to recognizing and living within the order God established in the world. He writes that “wisdom perceives what constitutes order and pursues, preserves, promotes, and practices order in every area of life.”¹

As someone who struggles with order but deeply craves wisdom, that definition hit me in a personal way.

Reading wisdom literature through that lens is honestly new for me. That is a little embarrassing to admit, but it is true. I had not previously thought about wisdom in terms of recognizing and aligning with God’s order in the world.

Wisdom Literature and the Search for Order

One place Walton connects this idea especially well is in the book of Ecclesiastes.

He explains that the premise of Ecclesiastes begins with a common assumption most people have about life. Many people believe they can create order in their lives through self-fulfillment. We chase achievement, satisfaction, success, and personal goals because we assume those things will ultimately bring stability and meaning.

But Ecclesiastes challenges that belief.

Walton writes, “The premise behind the book is that most people believe that they can achieve order in their lives by a variety of pursuits that pertain to self-fulfillment… The main point in the book is that even were we to succeed in such pursuits, we would find them insufficient to provide lasting self-fulfillment.”²

That insight alone changes how I understand the book. Instead of reading Ecclesiastes as simply a reflection on the frustrations of life, it becomes a deeper exploration of humanity’s attempt to create order apart from God.

I am already looking forward to reading Ecclesiastes again with this perspective in mind.

When God’s Order Is Difficult to See

Walton also points out that wisdom literature often exposes the ways we misunderstand how God’s order actually works.

Both Ecclesiastes and Job confront the assumptions we naturally make about life and faith. Walton explains that these books expose “the false directions that we so easily adopt and unpack the reality that God’s order is often complex and difficult for us to identify.”³

That statement alone explains why these books can sometimes feel uncomfortable to read.

We want life to follow a predictable formula. We want righteousness to always produce visible blessings and suffering to always have an obvious explanation. But Job and Ecclesiastes challenge that kind of simplified thinking.

Sometimes God’s order exists even when we cannot immediately recognize it.

How This Changes My Approach to Exposition

This principle is going to shape the way I approach exposition moving forward.

Reading about wisdom in this way revealed something about my own biases when I study Scripture. Because I struggle with order in my own life, I often find myself trying to force Scripture to make sense in ways that fit my expectations.

Sometimes that even means unintentionally twisting things so they align with the way I think life should work.

Understanding wisdom as recognizing God’s order exposes that tendency. It forces me to step back and acknowledge that my own understanding is limited.

Walton points out that both Job and Ecclesiastes remind readers of an important truth. He writes that these books show us that “we should not think that we have it all figured out (Job) and that we should not think that pursuit of our own aspirations is going to be satisfying (Ecclesiastes).”⁴

That realization is humbling.

For a long time, part of my goal in studying Scripture was to understand everything as clearly as possible. But these books challenge that mindset. They remind us that faithfulness does not come from mastering every detail of Scripture.

Instead, faithful study should move us closer to the heart of God.

That does not mean we stop learning or studying deeply. It simply means that the goal of study shifts. Instead of trying to prove that we understand everything, we approach Scripture with humility and a desire to know God more fully.

And honestly, I am grateful that this principle exposed that blind spot in my own approach. It gives me the opportunity to grow both in wisdom and in humility as I continue studying and teaching the Word.

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Footnotes

1. John H. Walton, Wisdom for Faithful Reading: Principles and Practices for Old Testament Interpretation (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2023), 143.
2. Ibid., 146–147.
3. Ibid., 147.
4. Ibid.

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