The Wisdom of Solomon; Intro & Chapter 1

[Seeker]

The Book of Wisdom is also known as the Wisdom of Solomon.  You can read an excellent introduction of the Book of Wisdom at the New American Bible Homepage run by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, can be dated to about 100 BC or so.  It is part of the Greek Septuagint. The actual author is unknown, but the author writes as Solomon.  What is known is that the author was a member of the Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt.  The book was written in Greek.  Wisdom is personified throughout the text in the classic Greek style of the time.  The Jews at this time in Egypt experienced oppression.  Some scholars have seen in the Book of Wisdom a foreshadowing of Christ.  In his book, The Love of Eternal Wisdom, Saint Louis DeMontfort quotes extensively from this book of Scripture and describes Jesus as Wisdom personified.


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The Wisdom of Solomon
Exhortation to Uprightness
1   Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth,
     think of the Lord in goodness
     and seek him with sincerity of heart;
 2  because he is found by those who do not put him to the test,
     and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.
 3  For perverse thoughts separate people from God,
     and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish;
 4  because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul,
     or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.
 5  For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit,
     and will leave foolish thoughts behind,
     and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.
 6  For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
     but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;
     because God is witness of their inmost feelings,
     and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.
 7  Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world,
     and that which holds all things together knows what is said,
 8  therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice,
     and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by.
 9  For inquiry will be made into the counsels of the ungodly,
     and a report of their words will come to the Lord,
     to convict them of their lawless deeds;
 10  because a jealous ear hears all things,
     and the sound of grumbling does not go unheard.
 11  Beware then of useless grumbling,
     and keep your tongue from slander;
     because no secret word is without result,[a]
     and a lying mouth destroys the soul.
 12  Do not invite death by the error of your life,
     or bring on destruction by the works of your hands;
 13  because God did not make death,
     and he does not delight in the death of the living.
 14  For he created all things so that they might exist;
     the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
     and there is no destructive poison in them,
     and the dominion[c] of Hades is not on earth.
 15  For righteousness is immortal.
Life as the Ungodly See It
 16  But the ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death; [d]    
considering him a friend, they pined away
     and made a covenant with him,
     because they are fit to belong to his company.

[a] Or will go unpunished   Or the creatures [c] Or palace  [d] Gk him  
(NSRV)

"The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1965, 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

[Melody]

Praise the Lord! Think I'll go first & share what touched me when I read this inspiring chapter. Being soo full of good things, a lot touched me, so excuse the lack of brevity.

seek him with sincerity of heart

This made me realise that what is required is only sincerity. Not any fancy degrees or any other qualifications. Not even a baptism. The Lord will be found by those who seek him "with sincerity of heart". All else will follow.

God is witness of their inmost feelings,
and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.

&

Beware then of useless grumbling,
and keep your tongue from slander

This reminds me of God being ever present in everything we feel, do & say. And it also serves as a reminder for me to be careful of my grumbling (as paradoxical as it may sound, sometimes am very happy to grumble).

It also is edifying to know that God Always understands us, even if no one else does - because He is "a true observer" of our hearts!

Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world

Wow Praise God! For He loves us so much! Often I reflect on the world's state and feel that the world is filled with only evil. And this verse helps me realise that God is ever present & His Spirit fills the world!

Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world,
and that which holds all things together

Lastly, I always like to look for the Trinity when I read Scripture and this verse has it! There is the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord & "that which holds all things together" who is Christ - And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together). Col 1:17 AMP

[Seeker]

Great "words of wisdom" Melody!

1 Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth,
think of the Lord in goodness
and seek him with sincerity of heart;

I first took this as great advice for our leaders, but then realized we are all "rulers" in a sense.  For instance, parents are in a sense, "rulers" of their children.  It is a parent's responsibility to protect, teach, and love their children.  This is great advice for us all.

6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;
because God is witness of their inmost feelings,
and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.

I've been having a lot of trouble lately seeking wisdom.  My own desires and willfullness have stood in the way of true wisdom.  The idea that wisdom is a kindly spirit struck me as being so true.  Wisdom does not intrude in us.  Only if we truly desire her, will she reside in us and teach us her ways.  That is also very true of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

7 Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world,
and that which holds all things together knows what is said,

I never realized before that ALL things remain in existence because God wills it.  I guess I knew it, but it hadn't struck home until it was spelled out for me in this verse.  Everything, from a table and chairs, to a sparrow, and every human being remains in existence because God wills it.  How much love He has for the world. How awesome is our Lord.

8 therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice,
and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by.
9 For inquiry will be made into the counsels of the ungodly,
and a report of their words will come to the Lord,
to convict them of their lawless deeds;

I've tried to keep these words in mind throughout the day, because everlasting life is the goal we should all be striving for, and our "lawless deeds" will reap their own rewards, now and in the next life.

12 Do not invite death by the error of your life,
or bring on destruction by the works of your hands;
13 because God did not make death,
and he does not delight in the death of the living.
14 For he created all things so that they might exist;

The words, "God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living." shows how deep is God's love for us.  He does not desire death, we choose it ourselves by our "lawless deeds" and choosing ourselves over His love.  Shades of the original sin?  God allows death because we choose it, but He does not delight in it.  Seems to me to help answer the age old question as to why evil exists in the world.

15 For righteousness is immortal.
16 But the ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death; [d]
considering him a friend, they pined away
and made a covenant with him,
because they are fit to belong to his company.

Righteousness reaps rewards that are everlasting.  At the same time, I think these words show that those who defy God choose death.  It is by our choices that death comes into our lives.  I don't mean to say that things like disease are a punishment for sins, but that we choose to sin against charity and by our own decisions, we choose death of the soul rather than eternal life.  This whole chapter seems to set the mood that it is eternal life that we should be striving for and not the fleeting "joys" of the world which are simply physical pleasures that cannot bring true happiness.

Just my humble opinion.  

[Melody]

Seeker, about what you said here:

It is by our choices that death comes into our lives. I don't mean to say that things like disease are a punishment for sins

As you know I was living in a retreat center the past two years. One of the classes that the Director of the Ashram took was about the effects of not having Grace in the world.

As you pointed out "by our choices that death comes". What we do when we sin is distance ourselves from God (as God cannot dwell in a sinful heart). This distance - or lack of Grace - is what causes the negative things we see today, be it disease, be it natural calamities (as we've seen from here "God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.")

A good side Scripture to study wrt this point would be Gen 3:17-19

17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

In light of what we've seen here, it was not God who 'punished' Adam & Eve, but rather their choice to sin which brought upon the curse upon them & their surroundings.