The Wisdom of Solomon; Chapter 3

[Seeker]

Chapter Three

The Destiny of the Righteous
 1  But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
     and no torment will ever touch them.

 2  In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
     and their departure was thought to be a disaster,

 3  and their going from us to be their destruction;
     but they are at peace.

 4  For though in the sight of others they were punished,
     their hope is full of immortality.

 5  Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
     because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;

 6  like gold in the furnace he tried them,
     and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.

 7  In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
     and will run like sparks through the stubble.

 8  They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
     and the Lord will reign over them forever.

 9  Those who trust in him will understand truth,
     and the faithful will abide with him in love,
     because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,
     and he watches over his elect. [a]

The Destiny of the Ungodly
 10  But the ungodly will be punished as their reasoning deserves,
     those who disregarded the righteous
     and rebelled against the Lord;

 11  for those who despise wisdom and instruction are miserable.
     Their hope is vain, their labors are unprofitable,
     and their works are useless.

 12  Their wives are foolish, and their children evil;

 13  their offspring are accursed.

On Childlessness
     For blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled,
     who has not entered into a sinful union;
     she will have fruit when God examines souls.

 14  Blessed also is the eunuch whose hands have done no lawless deed,
     and who has not devised wicked things against the Lord;
     for special favor will be shown him for his faithfulness,
     and a place of great delight in the temple of the Lord.

 15  For the fruit of good labors is renowned,
     and the root of understanding does not fail.

 16  But children of adulterers will not come to maturity,
     and the offspring of an unlawful union will perish.

 17  Even if they live long they will be held of no account,
     and finally their old age will be without honor.

 18  If they die young, they will have no hope
     and no consolation on the day of judgment.

 19  For the end of an unrighteous generation is grievous.

[a] Text of this line uncertain; omitted by some ancient authorities. Compare 4.15
Or what is right  

(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."

[Seeker]

On childlessness, it might be worthwile to also read Isaiah 56:3-5

and do not let the eunuch say,
         "I am just a dry tree."
 For thus says the LORD:
     To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
         who choose the things that please me
         and hold fast my covenant,
 I will give, in my house and within my walls,
         a monument and a name
         better than sons and daughters;
  I will give them an everlasting name
         that shall not be cut off.

and Mt 19:12

"For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can."

and 1 Cor 7:32

I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

I get the impression that God promises a fertility in His Word that is far greater than the physical fertility that consecrated celibates give up for His Kingdom.

[Seeker]

I found some quotes from Sirach especially helpful for the early part of this chapter:
Sir 1:10-13

The fear of the Lord delights the heart, and gives gladness and joy and long life.
With him who fears the Lord it will go well at the end; on the day of his death he will be blessed.
To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; she is created with the faithful in the womb.
She made among men an eternal foundation, and among their descendants she will be trusted.

Sir 4:11-16

Wisdom exalts her sons and gives help to those who seek her.
Whoever loves her loves life, and those who seek her early will be filled with joy.
Whoever holds her fast will obtain glory, and the Lord will bless the place she enters.
Those who serve her will minister to the Holy One; the Lord loves those who love her.
He who obeys her will judge the nations, and whoever gives heed to her will dwell secure.
If he has faith in her he will obtain her; and his descendants will remain in possession of her.

And also St Paul:

2 Cor 4:16-18

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Heb 12:5-7

And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children--
     "My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
         or lose heart when you are punished by him;
      for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
         and chastises every child whom he accepts."
Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?

[Melody]

Ok, here goes. Will write about what this Chapter means to me...

Vs. 1 - 9; The Destiny of the Righteous is on one hand an encouragement for me - to go on trying to being 'righteous' because of the great 'destiny' awaiting. On the other hand it is a comfort knowing that Eternal Life is what the righteous go to.

1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster,
3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.

We need not fear death nor feel it is a great 'disaster' but rather be happy for the soul of the departed righteous one.

5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.

These verses above, remind me of the great importance of discipline - and their great value. That we should not forsake being disciplined, rather welcome it. It is only the mature who truly understand discipline as being for their own good. So while we naturally, like children, disdain discipline, we should also adhere to grow up & maturely welcome it.

9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.

Isn't this just a lovely Word to learn by heart & remind ourselves?! Praise God!

Vs. 10 -13 - The Destiny of the Ungodly made me feel sorry for those who are ungodly because of their end. Then one reading it again, I realised, the Word was not for a third person, but rather for me - so that I am warned ahead of the end of the wrong path, just as a wise & loving parent would warn a child about the follies of playing with fire.

13 their offspring are accursed.

&

16 But children of adulterers will not come to maturity, and the offspring of an unlawful union will perish. 17 Even if they live long they will be held of no account, and finally their old age will be without honor.

I would like to comment on these verses as such - At Tabor, I have seen a lot of cases personally of how children born of unholy relations (fornication, rape, adultery etc etc) grow up with what is termed in the renewal as "Inner Wounds" which cause multiple problems in the physical, mental & spiritual. Medicine has also proved the relation between the 'atmosphere' the child in the womb has & it's behaviour growing up. It's SO imp for us to be righteous - even if not for ourselves, then at least for our children.

Finally on Vs 14 -19, Childlessness, Seeker has already pointed out many parallel verses in the Bible, so I won't touch on it too much. I suppose it's just a comfort to all those who are childless.

Blessings,

Melody