Day 65: Sirach Chapter 10

We are assured that God oversees our rulers. He makes sure we get the rulers we need. Hmmm. I think we have to make do with the rulers we deserve, more often.
“The Creator never intended for human beings to be arrogant and violent.” Well, we learned fast. We specialise in pride and destruction, perhaps because it is easier to destroy than to create.
But Sirach would have us learn humility, to shun the dangers of pride. Value yourself at your true worth, he says.
Wise words.

Day 64: Sirach Chapter 9

Some sexual advice this morning - flee temptation. Don’t look. Sirach understands how men are led by their eyes, and so his advice is simple: don’t look. I wish our culture had taken this on board, but it hasn’t. The opposite is true, and everywhere there are open invitations to ogle, to gaze, to peek, to pry, to stare. And it’s very hard not to.
I like the line, “friendship is like wine, it grows better as it gets older.” Old friends are a precious resource, and need nurturing.
There’s lots of advice about keeping the right company. All common sense stuff, but |i can’t help thinking it’s the opposite of what Jesus did. He sought out the company of the disreputable, not being afraid of the damage it might do to him, but thinking instead about how his influence might rub off on them.

Day 63: Sirach Chapter 8

Common sense advice today: don’t provoke people who’ve got the power to hurt you - you’re asking for it if they retaliate. Even more spiritual subjects are backed up with a pragmatic “it’ll be worse for you if you do” comment - for instance, “ You should not provide a sinner with more opportunity to sin. You might get hurt yourself” from verse 8.
Chapter 7 with its theme of God’s sovereignty might have capped this piece of advice with a word about God’s ultimate authority to punish, but here , it’s all more mundane and matter of fact. So there are two reasons to do the right thing - a spiritual one (God isn’t pleased with your sin) and a practical one (harmful actions will damage you in the end).

Day 62: Sirach Chapter 7

A ragbag of advice today, perhaps summed up by these words from verse 17: “Be very humble, because the decay of death awaits us all.”
The fault that seems to be under attack in these aphorisms is that of arrogantly thinking that you are captain of your own destiny. God will intervene and leave you powerless. He raises people up, and he casts people low. It’s not your own doing.
This is one of the prevailing themes of Wisdom literature: don’t forget God.
But of course, we all do.

Day 61: Sirach Chapter 6

Sirach turns to the subject of friends. We’re in familiar “Proverbs” territory, with sage advice about how to avoid being led astray, how to make friends who will truly help. There’s a hint that Sirach was a wealthy individual - he talks about some friends sticking close to you while times are good, even “giving orders to your servants.”
Then there are more exhortations to persevere in your quest for Wisdom. He implies that it will be hard at first, and undisciplined people will give up, but it is necessary to accept her bonds. In words reminiscent of Jesus saying “take my yoke upon you and learn from me,” Sirach urges us to take up the burden of Wisdom.
A crown might be heavy, but you are royalty if you wear it.

Day 60: Sirach Chapter 5

The key point of the advice in this chapter is about wanting to be independent. You might try to rely on money to enable you to manage without God, you might think that you can please yourself and he won’t punish you, but he will catch up with you in the end. So turn back to him before it’s too late! People cannot disconnect themselves from God, and live their lives without reference to him completely. They might try, kidding themselves that they are their own masters, but God is only being merciful, and hasn’t started punishing them yet.
Similarly, the opposite is true - we shouldn’t be so connected to other people that we get led astray by them into behaving in an ungodly way. God is not fooled, even if we are.

Day 59: Sirach Chapter 4

Chapter 4 continues with the thought about almsgiving, and returns to the subject of humility. Be like this, he says, and God will love you more than your Mum.
It’s hard to say no to any of this, it’s all good sensible stuff, but hardly revolutionary or deep. Why did Grandson think it was worth translating? Or was he just being humble and obeying instructions?
Moving on, the advice is that in following Wisdom you need to go through the pain barrier. At first, following her requirements will seem hard, because she is testing you. but persevere, and she will come to you with no delay. This implies that sometimes the way of the wise will seem counter-intuitive, or even against your self-interest. Sometimes the right thing to do will bring harm to you, although it will benefit others. Jesus could tell you that.

Day 58: Sirach Chapter 3

Chapter 3 first gives us some familiar instructions about honouring parents. Clearly this is aimed at grown up children honouring their elderly parents and, although not stated explicitly, it derives from the fact that this command when first given in the 10 commandments was accompanied by a promise, that those who obeyed it would live long in the land.
Then there is the injunction to be humble. Don’t concern yourself with matters that are beyond you. Have quiet faith, sit back and trust that God will do what is right. This is hard to swallow in today’s culture, when we all believe we have the right to know everything, and to be told that something is “none of your business” is an insult. Would it have been the same then? Plenty of people in the Bible questioned God  - the Psalmist asked repeatedly why his prayers were not answered, or why underserved suffering came his way. If he’d listened to Sirach, we’d have had a shorter Psalter.

Day 57: Sirach Chapter 2

More on the ultimate prize for a devoted Jew - the gift of Wisdom.
First, a plea for patience - something that Jewish people have always needed. Familiar words about gold being tested by fire are used again: if any race should be pure and valuable surely it is the Jews, who have been through the furnace more times than most.
So hang in there! Has anyone ever trusted in the Lord and been disappointed? asks Sirach. I’m tempted to reply, “Yes!” but he responds with a blast against those who give up and lose heart.
He finishes with a lovely verse: “Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, but not into the hands of mortals.”
If you’re going to fall, make sure God catches you.

Day 56: Sirach Chapter 1

Another Wisdom book to begin - and this one is unusual in that it begins with a helpfully informative Prologue.
The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach, a book which I previously knew as Ecclesiasticus, starts by explaining where it came from. It is a translation by a Jewish exile living in Egypt, of his grandfather’s book. he translated it from Hebrew into Greek. This man is a fan of Wisdom, that Jewish concept that is part knowledge and understanding, and part personification of attributes of God. Let’s see what his granddad had to say.
Verse 1 sums up my definition of Wisdom above:  “All wisdom comes from the Lord,
     and Wisdom is with him forever.”
Wisdom was God’s first creation, and understands the mysteries that puzzle human minds. God pours her out on people - a little to everyone, but a lot on those he favours. So, fearing God is the first step to Wisdom, because she is a gift from God. Those who approach God with a sincere heart will receive their reward.

Day 55: Wisdom Chapter 19

The story continues, with the Egyptians enraged pursuit of their departing slaves. Another chance for gloating as the writer pictures the Israelites skipping with glee across the dry bed of the Red Sea.
The Egyptians are being punished for not showing hospitality to strangers, because although they initially welcomed the family of Jacob, later they enslaved his descendants.
To release them from slavery, God plays a new chord on the harp of Creation. A wonderful way to finish this thought-provoking book - a very rich and inventive metaphorical description of miracle.

Day 54: Wisdom Chapter 18

Meanwhile, the light was shining for the Israelites. While they were on their journey through the wilderness, God led them by a pillar of fire.
In poetic terms, the writer revisits the last plague of all - the death of the first born. As Egypt’s sons died, they realised finally that Israel was God’s son.
In the midst of this terrible fear and grief, a hero stood up. Aaron confront the angel of death and faced him down with his prayers. Clad (anachronistically) in his priestly robes, he claimed God’s promises and drove away the fearful instrument of God’s wrath.
All very dramatic and not to be taken too literally. Firstly, Aaron was not that much of a hero. Secondly, this account makes it sound as if God’s anger would have spilled over onto the Israelites were in not for the prayers of brave Aaron. What about the lamb’s blood splashed on the lintels of their doors? That part of the story is forgotten. Never mind, We’ll allow the writer his dramatic license.

Day 53: Wisdom Chapter 17

The writer returns to the plight of the Egyptians, cowering under the impact of the plagues. There is a certain delight in the way he dwells on their suffering, relishing the enemies of God getting their comeuppance. This is a common theme in the bits of the Apocrypha I’ve read so far. A small and persecuted people would enjoy any tales of their enemies being put to shame, wouldn’t they?
But the psychology is spot on - someone with a guilty conscience will always imagine things to be worse than they really are. I could add that the view of the world at 3am, in the middle of a sleepless night, is a lot more bleak and comfortless than at 3pm in the afternoon sunshine.

Day 52: Wisdom Chapter 16

Continuing his attack on the Egyptians, the writer calls to mind their punishment in the plagues, and sets it against the mercy God showed to the Israelites - feeding them in the wilderness, saving them from the attack of snakes. We’ve been here before in this argument, but coming round to it a second time after the profound thoughts about idolatry makes it more convincing.
Rise tinted glasses affect the opinion of manna. The writer calls it food for angels, conveniently forgetting how fed up the Israelites got with it. What precipitated the snake attack was their moaning about having to eat this disgusting stuff day in day out. According to Wisdom. the manna tasted different to each person who ate it. Exodus never mentions that. I think that manna took on some legendary qualities as the years passed. Nevertheless, the writer uses it as a powerful example of God’s provision for the world.

Day 51: Wisdom Chapter 15

Back to us. We will live, because we have not been led astray but a false god. We will endure, because the God who gives life is the one we trust in.
Wisdom started off by talking about deceiving appearances - the ungodly appear to flourish whereas the righteous don’t. Now it’s worked back round to that theme and is able to say with a new confidence that we who are righteous will be rewarded.
Those who think life is just a game, a market in which to make profit, they are the ones who are deluding themselves.
And then there’s some rude words for the Egyptians, and all God’s enemies. So ends chapter 15.

Day 50: Wisdom Chapter 14

Continuing with the theme of worthless idols, the writer develops in an interesting way. He has been talking about pieces of wood, fashioned into a shape that then is worshipped, that people put their trust in, and he goes on to talk about another piece of wood that people put their trust in - a boat.
This is a good and worthy use of skill, enabling human endeavour and exploration, and God is kind to seafarers and brings them safe to port. But those who make their wood into idols are under a curse.
He has an interesting take on the origins of idolatry. Sometimes it is love gone astray. If a father loses a child, he might carve a likeness of his child, and adore it, and end up worshipping it. A king might command an image of himself to be made, for people to venerate, but the craftsman’s skill might be such that the image is more beautiful than the man it represents, and it ends up being worshipped. Love of one’s family, honour for one’s ruler - these are good things, but if twisted and stretched they become evil idolatry.
This is sophisticated thinking - I like this. The last few chapters of Wisdom have been deep.
Finally in this chapter, the writer goes on to think about the effects of idolatry. If good instincts have been twisted and stretched into unnatural shapes, then people will lose their grip on goodness completely. They will call war, peace; they will call lies, truth; they will abandon faithfulness, goodness and kindness and all manner of evil will prevail. Society will decay and collapse, and this is God’s punishment on them for their sin.

Day 49: Wisdom Chapter 13

Warming to his theme, the writer of Wisdom tackles the folly of idolatry. As far as he is concerned, the existence of almighty God is obvious. You have to be foolish not to notice that there is a creator God who has set up the universe and who loves and cares for it still.
But people get so obsessed with the wonder and beauty of created things, they conclude that these themselves are worthy of worship, and don’t look beyond them to the one who made them. However, he is not too condemning of such people. They are halfway there, he concludes.
Worse than that though, are the people who choose to worship things that they have made themselves. Where’s the sense in making a statue and bowing down to it? How can a thing be greater than the one who made it?

Day 48: Wisdom Chapter 12

Ah, interesting. Wisdom reaches the thorny topic of driving the Canaanites out of their land, so that the Israelites could have it. People who’ve been following me through the Bible will know that this has been a bone of contention in my journey for a long time.
This book has a particular take on it. the Canaanites, apparently, were uniquely evil as a race, and deserved what was coming to them. God was in fact merciful, he could have wiped them out in a blink of an eye, as their sins deserved, but he allowed them to be eradicated gradually, giving them time to repent.
Whatever you may think of the rights and wrongs of one nation dispossessing another, it is interesting that Wisdom here tries to find a justification for it. It suggests that there is some guilt in the Israelite psyche for what they did.
I suppose I’d better tell you what I think.
I don’t condone colonial dispossession of people from their lands, but I acknowledge that it’s always happened. Western Europeans did it to native Americans, to Australian aborigines, to Africans and Indians and many others. The Canaanites themselves displaced others who had lived in the fertile land before them, and that part of the world has been fought over constantly throughout history. Competition over good land is a fact of life. Where it gets difficult is where one group asserts a divine right to own the land, and uses that to justify their occupation and oppression of others. Modern day Israel, I’m talking to you!

Day 47: Wisdom Chapter 11

The journey continues, with the emphasis on how Wisdom taught the people of God through the wilderness experience of the exile. They learned that God provided for them, while their enemies learned that he had power to punish and judge. Wisdom was their teacher, as they made their way through the desert. When they slipped up, by worshipping creatures like snakes, God punished them. But his punishment of his own people was light compared to the horrors he unleashed on the Egyptians, the enemies of his chosen race. The righteous never suffered thirst like theirs, writes Solomon.
So all this proves that God loves the world, and his own chosen people. If God did not love the world, it would not still be here, because God in his great power could burn it up in a moment.
If you believe that your God is so powerful, then you believe you are blessed indeed.

Day 46: Wisdom Chapter 10

The career of Wisdom in human history is traced.
Wisdom was there, helping Adam in the beginning, She helped him recover from his sinful act, and helped him resume of control of the wild earth. She guided Noah in his frail boat over the furious floods. She watched over Abraham in his travails, and kept him faithful to God. She rescued Lot, kept Jacob and Joseph safe, and led the Israelites out of Egypt.
In all these things, What is attributed to Wisdom here is more commonly attributed to God elsewhere in the Bible.

Day 45: Wisdom Chapter 9

In chapter 9, we hear Solomon’s prayer as he asks for Wisdom. All this is an expansion and reflection on 1 Kings 3, when Solomon had a dream in which God appeared and asked him what he would like. There, he was humbler and asked for wisdom, saying he didn’t know how to rule. God was pleased that he didn’t ask for wealth or victory over his enemies, or long life for himself, so promised to give him those other things too.
In this prayer, again, Solomon is humble. “ I am only human. I am not strong, and my life will be short. I have little understanding of the Law or of how to apply it.”
But in this prayer Wisdom is much more strongly personified, with Solomon asking God to send her down from heaven, from the side of his glorious throne, to show Solomon what to do in life. How else will I know anything? All humans can do is make guesses about what they see, they can never truly know. Solomon is being scathing about scientific knowledge, which can actually amount to a lot as we know, but always in the end is accurately described as guesses about things that we can’t know for certain. These guesses have to be changed and refined as our knowledge grows and changes, and Solomon wants more than that.