Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
1. describe God’s presence and intervention in human
life and affairs according to the Sacred Writings;
2. expound the themes of the Sacred Writings by using
certain church documents as guide; and
3. inspire others to remain steadfast and hopeful in
their faith by drawing guidance from the Sacred Writings
in fostering gender equality (UN-SDG 5) and promoting
sustained inclusive economic activities (UN-SDG 8).
• The third part of the Old Testament, called the
“Writings,” presents the discernment needed for
ordinary day-to-day living.
• The Wisdom literature presents how the faithful can
discern the presence of God in their daily lives. “How are
things interconnected?” the wise man asks. Can God,
through His Covenant Torah and His prophetic Word,
bring salvation to ordinary daily life? (CFC 441)
•Modern readers often overlook these
books in the Bible.
•These books deal at length with the
search for how to master life.
• The book of Job
opens with a scene
in heaven where
Satan comes to
accuse Job before
God. He insists Job
only serves God
because God
protects him and
seeks God’s
permission to test
Job’s faith and
loyalty.
• God grants His
• “Why do the
righteous
suffer?” This is
the question
raised after Job
loses his
family, his
wealth, and his
health.
• Job’s three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and
Zophar, come to “comfort” him and to
discuss his crushing series of tragedies. They
insist his suffering is punishment for sin in
his life.
• Job, though, remains devoted to God
through all of this and contends that his life
has not been one of sin.
• A fourth man, Elihu, tells Job he needs to
humble himself and submit to God’s use of
trials to purify his life.
• Finally, Job questions God Himself and
learns valuable lessons about the
sovereignty of God and his need to totally
trust in the Lord.
• Job is then restored
to health, happiness,
and prosperity
beyond his earlier
state.
Insights:
•The book of Job does not solve the
mystery of suffering.
•The book talks about faith: Will Job
remain loyal to God?
• Ecclesiastes
• The book’s title comes
from the ancient Greek
translation of the
Hebrew word Qoheleth,
which means “one who
assembles.” The author
is not known, but many
scholars suggest he
may have been a
teacher, preacher, or
philosopher.
• The book of Ecclesiastes is a search for the
meaning in life. The writer sees from the point
of view that life is full of contradictions and
mysteries. Hard work is a gift from God but
work is painful and senseless, because after
people die, they won’t have anything to show
for their hard work and others will get to enjoy
their wealth. There is time for everything,
everything on earth is temporary, just put
your trust in God or His providence. God is
journeying with us throughout. (Ec. 3 :1-15)
•Ecclesiastes looks at all the
aspects of the human condition,
one after the other, beginning
from the surest: death. Death
destroys all illusions of man who
tries to forget the lack of
meaning in his life.
• Conclusion:
• As God journeyed with the people of God
promising salvation through his continued
presence, he also journeys with you in your
day-to-day undertakings. You take
assurance of His accompaniment in the
wisdom of the wise. To be guided to live a
life of blessing, you need to pray like the
Psalmist does, trust in God’s timing and
listen to the wisdom of the wise. These can
be done by developing a habit of prayer
and constant participation in the Eucharist.