this happens, the church turns inward and isolates itself. Over time, it becomes an institution that has lost sight of its mission to call non-Christians to live under the power of the gospel. It is striking that God’s word describes the content of these young Israelites’ Babylonian education as “wisdom” (v 17). Wisdom is a genre of literature dating back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. It finds voice in biblical literature with Job, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and especially Proverbs—much of
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