Having said that you can’t always tell by what happens in this life that the righteous are rewarded, Widom gains a bit of confidence today. Chapter 4 begins by extolling virtue, the most sought after of qualities. Even a person not blessed by God in having children, if they are a virtuous person, will be remembered and celebrated.
Illegitimate children are all show and no substance. They aren’t a true blessing from God, and they will fail eventually. So many of the things that people look at and say, “Oh that’s a blessing from God,” aren’t all they seem. Wisdom wants us to look deeper.
Then we turn to the example of Enoch. Genesis mentions this man who “walked with God.” One day he wasn’t there anymore, because God had taken him. Wisdom reflects on this man, saying that in as short lifetime he achieved such a level of perfection that God snatched him away before he could become corrupted.
For us Christians, there’s an obvious compare and contrast. Jesus lived a short lifetime, was tempted as we are, yet without sin, but wasn’t rescued by God before death. Instead he died in shameful agony in order to bring his righteousness to us all. This is different to the “us and them” mentality that Wisdom seems to be cultivating. Wisdom wants its readers to be one of “us”, the good guys even if “them” the bad guys, seem to be having all the fun. So what if the good die young? That just means they’re like Enoch - God has taken them to safety.
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