Wisdom of Solomon; Proverbs 8:8-18; 1 Cor 1:30-31
We move from the lighter and more entertaining Readable Books of Tobit, Judith, and extended Esther to a weighty work that was considered by several fathers to be part of the innermost canon, rather than in the outer core of the Readable Books. This book, though likely written by an educated Alexandrian Jew between 200 BC and 30 AD, was not highly esteemed by the Jewish people, but had much to say to Christians. Among its many nuggets of wisdom and admonitions to righteousness, Wisdom of Solomon is celebrated by several Church Fathers as exemplifying prophetic insight into the life of Jesus, and is read liturgically.
Called The Wisdom of Solomon, it takes on the persona and aspect of the great King Solomon, who was so well known for wisdom during his lifetime. Clearly, the author is writing during a time of known tension, rather than during the earlier settled time of King Solomon. Moreover, he does not simply pass on knowledge as a sage, but as a man concerned for the honor of God and the righteousness of His harried people. There are three major sections of the book: the first speaks of wisdom and righteousness, their importance for rulers, and the sad condition of those who do not seek these virtues (roughly chapters 1-6); the second extolls “Wisdom,” and personifies this virtue as a lady sought by righteous Solomon and to be sought by all the godly (roughly chapters 7-10); the third shows the role of Wisdom throughout the history of God’s people, from Adam to Moses, applying this to every situation in which idolatry might crowd out the true God. These sections are joined together, however, in a moving and carefully constructed piece that appeals to those who seek God in every age.
In this episode, we will concentrate on the first section, and especially on the special connection between Wisdom and Righteousness, something that we Christians understand full well because of the teaching of the apostle Paul: “And because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us Wisdom from God, that is, Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’”(1 Cor 1:30-31). In this letter to the Corinthians, who were, it seems, in danger of being seduced by worldly wisdom and human philosophy, St. Paul has been stressing the great difference between God’s wisdom, which seems folly to those looking for something else besides the cross. Wisdom and humility are interconnected, for true wisdom means to recognize one’s bankruptcy, and to rely solely on the God-Man, who became poor that He might make us rich. The world expects something else both in wisdom and in righteousness, and so exhibits pride and self-righteousness instead. This sad situation is reflected throughout the first section of Wisdom, which details God’s perfect creation, meant to sustain life; the apex of that creation, humanity, made in the image of God; the fall that came through the envy of Satan; the care and perceptivity of the Holy Spirit who is everywhere present; and the malice (and ultimate judgment) of those who embrace death and Satan, and so oppose God’s righteousness:
“God did not make death, and He does not delight in the death of the living. For He created all things that they might exist, and the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them; and the dominion of Hades is not on earth. For righteousness is immortal (1:13-15).
“God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of His own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it” (2:23-24).
“For wisdom is a kindly spirit and will not free a blasphemer from the guilt of his words; because God is witness of his inmost feelings, and a true observer of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue. Because the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together knows what is said (1:6-7).
“But ungodly men by their words and deeds summoned death; considering him a friend, they pined away, and they made a covenant with him, because they are fit to belong to his party” (1:16).
“But the ungodly will be punished as their reasoning deserves, who disregarded the righteous man and rebelled against the Lord; for whoever despises wisdom and instruction is miserable. Their hope is vain, their labors are unprofitable, and their works are useless” (3:10-11).
We see, then, the story of the creation and the fall outlined for us in this poignant prose. We see also, in the unfolding of this tale, the indivisible link between true wisdom and righteousness, and the connection of both of these virtues with God himself, whose Spirit is described as the wise Spirit that has filled the whole world, and whose righteousness is described as immortal. The true wisdom and true righteousness thus share in God’s characteristics of omnipresence and eternal life. He is the “author of life,” who has made all of creation to show His glory, and especially designed humanity to partake of His incorruptibility. So often we are so fixated upon the episode of the fall, that we forget this glorious beginning, God’s direct choice for His delightful creation and for humanity who is to share in it. As we chant in “Glory to God for All Things,”
You brought us into life as into an enchanted paradise. We have seen the sky like a chalice of deepest blue, where in the azure heights the birds are singing. We have listened to the soothing murmur of the forest and the melodious music of the streams. we have tasted fruit of fine flavor and the sweet-scented honey. …What sort of praise can we give You? I have never heard the song of the Cherubim, but I know the praises that nature sings to You…While we live, we see Your love. We long to thank You, and call upon Your name.
That Akathist reasonably calls us “God’s guests”—but He intended for us to be far more, to be His Vice-Regents here on earth, showing forth His wisdom and righteousness. But the Fall has complicated this, pitting the earth against humanity, the larger animals against the smaller ones, the heart and mind of humans against their bodies—and most sad of all, humanity against God. Wisdom tells us that it is because of the “envy” of Satan that all this happened—does the writer mean Satan’s envy of God, or of humanity? Probably both! We know that Satan longed for God’s throne, and it is likely that he scorned humanity because of our animal-like state, in material bodies. That kind of envy rejects two facts of reality: that God is God and Satan is only a creature; that God does not abhor matter, but loves it so much that He took up residence in the Virgin’s womb. Satan, then, is the epitome of the one who refuses to adore God and to give thanks to Him (see Romans 1:21). That dual attitude of scorn (rather than worship) and thanklessness (rather than eucharistic actions) he passed on to human beings who, inexplicably, preferred death to life and wickedness to righteousness. Ungodly men “summoned death” and it ended up mastering us!
Yet our “kindly” God, whose creation is life (and not the distortion of death) “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4) and “is patient toward [us], not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3.9). Yet, God’s righteousness means also that, should some not repent, they will not spoil the life that He has created. Hence, death comes as a curb to human malice, and there remains a warning in the Wisdom of Solomon that “the ungodly will be punished as their reasoning deserves.”
Tucked into this initial description of God’s ways with humankind is the horrific tale of how human beings react to righteousness, in their foolishness, and persecute the Righteous One. It is not just a matter of spoiling God’s lively creation, but of actively resisting those who show forth the nature of God, as all humanity was called to do. The book’s description of this rejection of righteousness recalls the treatment of the God-Man, the chosen One, our Lord Jesus, at the hands of those whom He called “His own”—the Jewish nation, yes, but also the whole of humanity. “He came to His own, and His own rejected Him,” we hear in the fourth gospel. Similarly, in the first part of Wisdom of Solomon, we hear an echo of the cries of those who scorned Him, both Jew and Gentile, when He was showing His utmost love for them. All of us can say, with the unrighteous, when we recall our own “little” rebellions against God: “So it was we who strayed from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise upon us. We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we journeyed through trackless deserts, but the way of the Lord we have not known” (5:6-7). Who can hear the following words and not think about the scene at the cross, when men were blinded by their wickedness?
Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord. He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange. We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father. Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God’s son, He will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected. (2:12-20)
This they did (and, by extension, we did), not knowing that He never considered us as “something base,” but as lost and poor, needing of his correction, healing, and help—and destined for his glory!
Origen reminds us:
In the same way, they saw Christ hanging on the cross and mocked him, saying, “If he is the Son of God, he would come down from the cross.” They did not see, in short, what death is. Oh, if they had seen what death is, they would have understood it! He died in time, so as to live again forever. They lived in time, so as to die forever. But since they saw him die, they did not see death, that is, they did not understand what true death is…. He taught us, however, to bear insults, to be patient before the tongues of people, to drink the bitter chalice now so as to later receive eternal life…. Drink, therefore, until the bitterness of this world passes, until that world comes where there will be no scandal, no anger, no sickness, no bitterness, no fever, no deceit, no enmity, no old age, no death, no quarrels. (Expositions of the Psalms 48.1.11. NBA 21. 1211-13.)
This book of Wisdom, in speaking of “the righteous one” looks forward specifically to “the only Holy One,” but also gives us a pattern to follow, if we are in Christ. And the end of following that road is to regain the glory forfeited under the influence of the envious one. We are assured that “the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.” (3:2), and that “having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of Himself” (3:6). The book begins by commending this way to “rulers,” but the guidance is for all of us, because we are all, in our own callings, meant to reign with Christ: “Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth, think of the Lord with uprightness, and seek him with sincerity of heart” (1.1). In the end, Wisdom and Righteousness speak with one voice, or sing in harmony. What one understands truly about reality issues in thoughts, actions, and words that are truthful, or righteous. The Spirit of Wisdom and the Word of Truth are united, and show forth the glory of the Father. As Proverbs 8:8 declares, “All the words of [Wisdom’s] mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.” In the next episode, we will look at the dramatic and colorful picture of that Wisdom, personified for us in the midst of this book, The Wisdom of Solomon.
Edith M. Humphrey 