Wisdom of Solomon 10-19; Luke 9; Romans 1; 1 Corinthians 15
As we have worked our way through the Wisdom of Solomon, we have meditated upon the close connection of righteousness and wisdom (chapters 1 through 5), and have been charmed in chapters 6 through 9 by a vibrant picture of Wisdom as a spouse sought by the king, but reaching out to all who desire her. In the final lengthy section of the book (chapters 10 through 19), we are treated to a history of the Hebrews, whose story was guided by Lady Wisdom, then to a comparison between those who can be corrected by God and those who refuse, and so give themselves over to debauched living, abominable worship, and senseless idolatry. We move from speaking about Wisdom to focussing upon God’s powerful Word and the all-present Holy Spirit. In understanding these mysteries, we join the Wisdom of Solomon in praising God, who has exalted His people, and never neglected their needs. We will look closely at the historical review in chapter 10, and then at several dramatic presentations of God’s Word and Spirit which we see throughout the rest of the chapters. I recommend that you either read chapters 10 through 19 now, or after you have heard my analysis: there are many riches to be found here that I cannot deal with in a short blog !
The historical section begins with the creation of Adam, in which his “transgression” is mentioned, but as part of God’s delivering power: the first-formed father was “delivered” by Wisdom from transgression, and given strength. We can, of course, read this in terms of the primeval story, in which Adam and Eve learn to live as justly as possible outside of the garden, and are still cared for by God: wisdom comes to their children, despite the sin of Cain, and human society grows, though unevenly, in its knowledge of God’s world. However, the language of Wisdom of Solomon makes us think of the ultimate deliverance from transgression, which came through the One who is, according to St. Paul, Wisdom embodied. St. Augustine thus sees the first verse of chapter 10 as pointing forward to Christ’s rescue of the first couple from Hades:
[Wisdom of Solomon] does not say this [deliverance] is an accomplished fact, but predicted it as future, though using the past tense…. In this way it must be understood that Wisdom released Adam from his crime. Not without reason does the church believe that he was released from those bonds by the holy flesh of the only Son of God—of whom Adam was the progenitor, being the father of the human race and thus also the father of the Christ, who was made man for the salvation of human beings—not by his own merit but by the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Unfinished Tractate Against Julian 6. 30; 6.22.NBA 19/2, 1129)
When we hear about Wisdom “delivering” Adam, we who know Christ flash forward and see in our minds the dramatic icon of the resurrection, where the Savior pulls the first parents out of the abyss, and brings an end to their struggles.
The historical review continues with the negative example of unrighteous Cain (10:3), the obedience of the righteous Noah (10:4) whom God rescued by wood, and the faithfulness of Abraham (10:5), whom God sustained even at the trial with his son Isaac. More time is spent on Lot, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, all of whom are contrasted with those who turned to folly rather than Wisdom. In their trials, Wisdom rescues, prospers, protects, and stands by these righteous men. Again, in the story of Joseph, we see a glimmering of the future God-Man, when we hear that “Wisdom went down with him into the pit, and did not leave him in chains until she brought him the scepter of a kingdom” (10:14). Moses is seen as indwelt by Wisdom, so that he can lead the people who are guided by her in the cloud and pillar of fire, and finally open the mouths even of infants and those born mute to sing the praises of God (10: 20-21).
In chapters 11 and 12 the wanderings of the Hebrew people through the wilderness are described as Wisdom’s way of bringing them to maturity, and during these chapters we move from talking about Wisdom to addressing God directly: “They thirsted and called upon You…You gave them water…You tested them, admonishing them like a father.” The corrective testing of God is contrasted, though, with the hardening effect of punishment upon God’s enemies, whom God examines like a “severe king,” and who are led astray to worship senseless idols in the form of animals. Here we think of Paul’s brief history lesson in Romans 1, in which he speaks about the fall from God as something that is not simply punctiliar, but that plays itself out in the increasing debauchery of human society. “Your all-powerful hand, which created the world out of unformed matter” (11:17) knows how to use that matter both to bring his people to repentance, and to punish those who will not listen. Even for rebels, God’s correction is “little by little”: “You love all the things that exist and You detest nothing of the things You made” (12: 1, 10; 11:24). Because of this declaration, it would seem that the difference between God’s dealing with His own people and with nations that refuse to turn to Him is not in His love, but in their response. God cares even for the Canaanites who abmonably destroy their own children in worshipping false gods, and gives them time to repent. Nor are humans left on their own to interpret these things, but his “immortal Spirit is in all things,” reminding and warning us so that we may “be freed from evil and believe” in Him (12:1-2).
There is, declares Wisdom of Solomon, ample witness to God’s goodness and power in the created order: “For from the greatness and beauty of created things the Creator is seen by analogy…But they are miserable, and so are their hopes in dead things” (13:5, 10). Again, we can see the congruence between this book, and Paul’s argument in Romans 1, where he declares:
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things (Romans 1:19-23).
Our Readable Book and Romans are certainly on similar paths! We are not surprised, then, when the historical review of Wisdom of Solomon (at this point, comparing Hebrews to the Canaanites) is abandoned for a moment, and the author goes on to discuss the stupidity of people in general who make idols, and bow down to them, knowing full well that they are not alive. Wood, part of God’s good creation, is made into an abomination (14:11), and the trap of idolatry leads people into all sorts of other evil attitudes and deeds: child murdering, secret mysteries, sexual corruption, divorce, adultery, prophetic lies and the like. We are reminded of the catalogue found in Romans 1, where St. Paul follows up idolatry and same-sex relations with this list of vices: “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (Romans 1:29-31).
However, just as Romans goes on to express praise that God has made a way of deliverance, so too does Wisdom of Solomon contrast human evil with God’s goodness: “But You, our God, are kind, true, and patient, and govern all things in mercy. For even if we sin, we belong to You and know Your might” (15:1-2). Again, Wisdom of Solomon sounds the themes that Paul uses, not only in Romans but also in Corinthians, speaking of the potter’s work with clay, and God’s formation of us, inbreathing us with a life-giving spirit (1 Cor 15). Aptly, God uses His creation both to preserve and to punish, because he is “the Savior of all” (16:7b). Canaanites, Egyptians, and other idolaters are contrasted with the people of God, who are sometimes wayward, but are fed and protected by God, even though He also sends to them serprents to “remind them of [His] oracles” (16:12). Finally, God’s word is not punitive, but heals: “It was your word, O Lord, which heals all men, for you have authority over life and death, and bring men down to the gates of Hades and lead them back again” (16:12-13).
We spend some time, then, sojourning in the desert with the Hebrews, and learning both from what God did for them and did to their enemies: though always in love. God aptly uses the creation to send messages: “For the creation serves You who made it, and increased its intensity to punish the unrighteous, but in kindness relaxes itself on behalf of those who trust You” (16:24). It is at this point that we are led also to marvel on the magnificence and glory of the Creator who also loves us. Throughout these chapters we hear of the “Word” of God that heals, and sustains, but finally in chapter 18 we are treated to a dramatic moment in which the rescue from Egypt is described in terms that are unforgettable:
While gentle silence embraced everything,
And night at its own speed was half over,
Your all-powerful Word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne,
Into the midst of a doomed land,
A relentless warrior carrying the sharp sword of Your irrevocable command.
And He stood and filled all things with death
And touched heaven while standing on earth. (18:14-16)
In the context of Wisdom of Solomon, the passage describes the Angel of Death who opened the way for the Hebrews to escape Egypt. However, the hugeness of the image—a Word that touches heaven while standing on earth, and the leaping of the Word into darkness—reminds us of the One who came among us, and who trampled down death by His own death. The exodus of the Hebrews pointed forward to that “exodus” of which Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah, on the mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:31). This picture of the gigantic Word is followed up by the description of priest Aaron, standing “in the midst” and carrying upon his robe memorials of the people, so that wrath would be put aside (Wisdom 18:22-25), and subduing the enemy not by strength, but “by a word.” Wisdom, pictured so beautifully in the second section of the book, now gives way to the powerful Word, by whom God’s people come to be recognized as “God’s son” (18:13). As Christians we know that becoming sons of God is only possible because of the Incarnate Word who was the only-begotten Son of God.
Through the Wisdom of Solomon, then, we have gone on a journey—recognizing how righteousness and wisdom are linked; seeing Wisdom in all her transcendent glory, and learning to yearn for her; following Wisdom as she leads God’s humanity to a place of deliverance; hearing the powerful Word of God, and recognizing how that Word acts among us; and finally, learning with all God’s people to praise and to turn to the living God, away from the deception and darkness of shadows and pretend-gods. In our Theophany service, coming up this week, we hear the priest declare this three times: “Great art Thou, O Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and no word sufficeth to hymn Thy wonders.” This priestly declaration comes very close to the word of Wisdom of Solomon 17:1—“Great are Your judgements and hard to explain.” They may be hard to explain, but this book does much to shed light on the complexity of our world, and God’s interactions with us in it. We know that “the whole creation …was fashioned…to serve” God (19:6), and can look back at His intimate presence with the Hebrew people, seen in the cloud and the pillar, as He sheltered the whole nation with His hand (19:7) during their sojourn. We too, are on the expedition of our own lives, and know that all that comes to us brings with it lessons. This is even a deeper truth for us, since we have seen God’s Wisdom and Word in Jesus, and know His Spirit through our life in the Church. We know that “in everything” God has “exalted” and “not neglected” His people, and so, like the Hebrews, we can “graze” safely on what He has given us and “leap about like lambs” (19:9) praising Him for all that He has done, is doing, and promises to do on our behalf.
Or, perhaps, we can change the metaphor to that used in Wisdom 14, where we can picture ourselves on a boat guided on its course by our man-loving God: “Wisdom was the crafter who built the boat, but your providence, O Father, governs its course, because You have given it a path in the sea and a safe track in the waves, showing that You can save from every danger… and bring us safely through” (14:3-5). This is, I think, a good picture for the New Year, as we sail into it, knowing even more than Solomon about the Fatherhood of God, the power and love of the Word, and the indwelling Wisdom of God’s Holy Spirit, who sustains the Church until we all reach the stature of the perfect man.
Edith M. Humphrey 