The Seven Pillars of Wisdom

Proverbs 9

1913 words long.

Published on 2024-07-02

Proverbs uses an image that has spawned debate for millennia, a house with seven pillars.

Wisdom has built her house;

she has hewn her seven pillars.

She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;

she has also set her table.

She has sent out her young women to call

from the highest places in the town,

“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

To him who lacks sense she says,

“Come, eat of my bread

and drink of the wine I have mixed.

Leave your simple ways, and live,

and walk in the way of insight.”

- Proverbs 9:1-6

What are those seven pillars that hold up Lady Wisdom's house?

This website has many articles that build upon an answer to that question that I first proposed in Peace, like Solomon Never Knew. The best article on this website to read is The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. It goes into many of the clues that I found which either led me to my conclusion or supplied additional evidence after I found what the pillars are.

Names of the Pillars

The simple answer is that the Seven Pillars are seven books of the Bible:

• Psalms
• Job
• Proverbs
• Song of Songs
• Ecclesiastes
• Matthew
• Revelation

A deeper answer is that the pillars are seven spiritual principles, with each principle forming the focus of one of the seven books. Those seven principles of wisdom are not absent in the rest of the Bible. What distinguishes these seven books is that all of them conform both to Jesus' Harvest Pattern and Solomon's Growth Pattern, which other Bible books do not. The first is a tactical pattern for progressing in your faith and finding victory in spiritual battle. The second is a strategic pattern to govern your life. They each define processes that lead to peace and make you strong like a pillar, unshakeable. Together they frame God's framework for time and his plan for all of history.

The first to prophesy the existence of the seven pillars was Hannah, the mother of the Prophet Samuel, as explained in Hannah's Song.

Message of the Pillars

The real riddle is not naming a collection of books, it is absorbing the wisdom that is in them and putting it into practice.

From Psalms, you must learn to revere God as your Lord and come to love His law, as practiced by David in Psalm 119. You must allow these hymns of faith to prepare you as you face each new change in your life. Let them be the strength that flows from knowing you are secure in God, your rock and your salvation.

From Job, you must derive endurance during the painful days of plowing, when God speaks to you through your suffering. You must open your heart to wisdom and close it off to bitterness. Let it teach you compassion for others and compel you to rely on the God of all Comfort. Allow the master teacher to teach, so that your mind and hand may be readied for an eventual harvest.

From Proverbs, you must cultivate a heart that craves wisdom. Receive the seeds that seem so simple but will one day sprout into grain fields and fruit orchards and deeper understanding of God. Learn to cherish what is of ultimate value, worshiping God and not the money, fame and power that idolaters crave.

From Song of Songs, you must learn to wrestle with time. Your passions shout, "Now!" but must be channeled into pursuing things during the proper time and season. Embrace the good and refrain from embracing evil. Instead of relying solely on your own judgment, seek the help of wise counselors, whether in your family, your church or among your friends and colleagues.

From Ecclesiastes, you must turn away from vain pursuits. Allow God to shape and prune your habits so that you are headed towards a harvest, not futility and despair. Practice generosity and hospitality and weigh opportunities with an eye to glorifying God. Do not squander your strength on foolish activities. Where once you wrestled against time, you now are its master, as you muster your might to accomplish the dreams God is giving you.

From Matthew, you must learn the ways of the harvest. You will require detailed knowledge from God to accomplish this. You will also require a strong community of believers to help you. Your life of solo activity must give way to a life lived together. Forgiving others and being quick to listen and slow to speak must define your approach to communication and action.

From Revelation, you must be prepared to fight the good fight. Peace is not won by people who refuse to engage in the struggle against evil. Your loyalties will be tested. If they prove true, you will win your reward. If you fear God, man cannot destroy you.

From all these books you must learn that life is not the aimless pursuit of pleasure. It has a direction and a goal. As a series of harvests, you prepare your tools, plow your fields, plant your seed, water, pluck weeds and finally reap a blessing, ending in peace. As a whole life, you progress from infant to child to teen, before marrying, striving at work, growing in stature in the community, and finally playing a part in how the world is run. The answer to the riddle is that God not only structured human life in that way, he structured His Word logically to directly address the flow of life in a sequential manner. For every vain and futile material activity and goal He has created a meaningful spiritual analogy.

From these books you must also learn that God directs history according to the same principles and he has planned it out every bit as much as he planned out our lives. With that understanding, you can learn how to fit into God's plan for the era into which you were born.

Promise of the Pillars

The blessings and wisdom of these seven books no CHristian will deny, but is their "pillar-ness" really that important? Somebody thought so:

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance,

I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming

on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

I am coming soon.

Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

The one who conquers,

I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.

Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him

the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God,

the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven,

and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit says to the churches.

- Revelation 3:10-13

To the faithful church, to the faithful Christian who endures to the end, Jesus reserves the greatest rewards, to be bestowed in the age to come. Among those most precious of gifts is the promise by Jesus to make you a pillar in the house of God. Strong. Majestic. Useful. Eternal.

I don't know about you, but that makes me want to know as much as I can about God's pillars. I do not know if such a blessing is in store for me, but Jesus tells us to store up treasures in heaven. To do that, we need to know what they are and begin to set our hearts on obtaining them.

Voice of the Pillars

How do we become pillars? We become pillars by listening to them and being reshaped into them. There are many ways to communicate with God. (See Job and the Ways to Talk to God for a list.) Each of the seven pillars has an affinity to some of those ways.

• Psalms helps us pray, encourages us to meditate on God's Word and enter into the wonder of God's creation.
• Job helps us hear God's voice through our suffering, satisfies our hunger in fasting, helps us interpret the warnings of dreams, hear the words of the prophets and allows us to enter into Job's theophany so we may see the Father more clearly.
• Proverbs helps us discern what things are of value - more precious than rubies, and so find better dreams. It also puts a premium on the value of advice from wise elders.
• Song of Songs supplies the passionate counsel of a lover and friend, the overflowing baptism of the Holy Spirit. It also guides us into the sabbath rest alongside the ones we love.
• Ecclesiastes helps us put our hands to good use and works miracles of strength through us. Through this book, God's drums set the tempo for life, telling us to speed up or slow down.
• Matthew inspires us to willingly sacrifice our time and talents with Jesus as our model. When we linger long in this gospel, it becomes a true Christophany as the form of our savior becomes so clear we feel he is in the room with us.
• Revelation is our source of vision. The whole panoply of God's wonders in history are brought into focus and shine a path for us to follow. When we read this book, we walk with the angels.

Some of the above associations may be perplexing. How is reading Job like a theophany? How is reading Matthew like a Christophany? Satan can send counterfeits; so can human scoundrels. From Job we learn what a meeting with the Father is like. From Matthew we learn what Jesus is like. With that wisdom, we can distinguish between a true and a false appearance. These words of wisdom make it possible to integrate the supernatural into our lives safely. The pillars of wisdom reduce the doubt and uncertainty that adhere to our many attempts to communicate with God. They sharpen our questions and both clarify and certify God's response.

One more association is worth explaining: Proverbs with dreams. The word dream appears nowhere in Proverbs, but it is the best place to go for one reason. Dreams of warning are mentioned in Job and illustrated in Matthew. Those dreams send you away from danger, but what what of the dreams that guide you toward God's perfect plan for your life? Nobody can choose a healthy and holy and wholly appropriate dream for themselves without guidance. Proverbs is about valuing wisdom over material gain. The person who can assign the correct value to objects and objectives will be diverted away from vain pursuits and toward the glory of God. One third of the uses of the word heart are found in the Seven Pillars books; of all the Bible books, only Psalms speaks more of the heart than Proverbs.

• Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. - Proverbs 13:12
• The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. - Proverbs 20:5

The one who allows the Lord to shape the desires of their heart will conceive dreams that lead heavenward.

Yes, these pillars speak to us in diverse ways. When we attune our ears to each mode of communication, we can know when we are hearing from the Lord, and we can hear from the Lord how to become a pillar of strength.