This particular book is not well-known to some and the part I quoted here seems appropriate to commentary from everyone. Since I am working front to back through the Canon it would be a long time coming and I thought y'all might like to see it now:
The concept of Eternal Life was really not new to the Jews of Jesus’ time. This is illustrated in the book of
Wisdom* which, in part, answers the question: Why is it so important for us to know there is life beyond life and no such thing as “death?”
The book of
Wisdom was written about 100B.C. In part, the book deals with those who do not know God, this book, unlike most of the OT, is in Greek and the word for these kinds of men variously translated “wicked, evil or godless” is
a’ theist – that is: "without God."
The Sacred Writer tells us that thoughts and beliefs of the
a theist, who may actually be a Jew of course, as well as a pagan, are the result of disbelief in Eternal Life in Chapter 2. The writer makes an ineluctable conclusion that leads to an Eternal Truth: Sin is the result of a belief in death. Ultimately, death, itself, is the consequence of that belief.
To begin:
Quote:
…God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living, for he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the nether world on earth, For justice is undying. It was the godless men who, with hands and words, invited death, considered it a friend, and pined for it and made testimony to it, by which they placed themselves in its possession.
Since God did not make death, only those who are without God can exist in a subjective state that includes death. The death referred to here is not “dying.” Dying is the event. “Death” is the aftermath of dying. These men in the Scripture are not befriending a heart attack or being run through by a spear. The death they attach themselves to is nothingness. Nonexistence. They, the
a theists, say:
Quote:
"Brief and troublous is our lifetime; neither is there any remedy for man's dying, nor is anyone known to have come back from the nether world. For haphazard were we born, and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been; Because the breath in our nostrils is smoke and reason a spark at the beating of our hearts. When this is quenched, our body will be ashes and our spirit will be poured abroad like unresisting air.
Even our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will recall our deeds. So our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and will be dispersed like a mist pursued by the sun's rays and overpowered by its heat. Our lifetime is the passing of a shadow; our dying cannot be deferred because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns.
“Reason is a spark at the beating of our hearts…” These men believe no outside force or intent, no God, causes them, makes reason function. Their self exists, but only through the mechanical action of a physical thing: the heart beating. When that heart stops beating, the “spirit will be poured abroad like unresisting air.” “Spirit” here is not a reference to soul, but as used in the Old Testament, simply means the breath and the energy that keeps one alive. In other writings, the spirit is said to return to God, (
Ecclesiates 12:7) to these men, it dissipates into nothingness.
The
a theists believe in death: non-existence coupled with being forgotten as if they had never existed. What happens as a result of their belief in their own “nothingness?”
Quote:
Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are real, and use the freshness of creation avidly. Let us have our fill of costly wine and perfumes, and let no springtime blossom pass us by; let us crown ourselves with rosebuds ere they wither. Let no meadow be free from our wantonness; everywhere let us leave tokens of our rejoicing, for this our portion is, this our lot.
Let us oppress the needy just man; let us neither spare the widow nor revere the old man for his hair grown white with time. But let our strength be our norm of justice; for weakness proves itself useless. Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training.
“Come,
therefore,…”
Because of their belief in death, that their lives are meaningless and their deaths final, they make the choices outlined above.
“The good things that are real,” refers to things here in the physical world, for this is all there is, to them. So, they want not just their fill of wine, but “costly” wine. Fresh flowers, spring rosebuds, sound like benign desires, but lead to “wantonness” and leaving “tokens of our rejoicing.” These are actually references to sexual excess: crowning yourself with rosebuds, the deflowering of a virgin. The “tokens of our rejoicing” they wish to leave everywhere are their offspring. This is the way the godless men will acquire the eternal life they do not believe in, but do long for, by leaving evidence of their existence behind in the form of many children.
These men have said “dying cannot be deferred” and “this is our portion.” They declare themselves powerless and so substitute perceived earthly power for God’s grace. Those who believe in death have no hope, but like all of us, they have an innate desire for joy. In the body, the unenlightened mistake bodily pleasure for transcendent joy, but wine and sex are poor substitutes and leave them frustrated and feeling helpless to get what they need. The true Source of joy and the path to get to that is hidden from them because they have cut themselves off from revelation. To exert their power, to experience themselves as powerful, they exploit those weaker than themselves.
The the
Wisdom writer describes how far this disordered thought process can take the
a theist, and seems to segue into Prophecy 100 years before the Nativity:
Quote:
Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; just seeing him is a hardship for us, Because his life is unlike other men's, and his ways are different. He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”
What have those without knowledge of God done? Invented a god they have already decided they do not believe in, inevitably constructing a false god. “For if this just one be a son of God, he will protect him and deliver him from his enemies.” Because they believe dying the worst possible event, the end of life, their version of a loving, caring god is one who would not allow his son to die.
They had made up for themselves the test of what is “god” and what is not. They wanted what they made up in their own minds: if “God is on your side” nothing bad can ever happen to you. The worst of “bad things” being to die.
This idea of God was generated by their own fear, and fear is so “anti-God” that it must always end in an unTruth. They believed their own lie, that if there was a God, he would act in a specific way.
And if God would only act the way they expected, then they could have faith.
But Elephants aren’t kangaroos because we think they should be. And Sons of God can die on crosses and still be Sons of God. And if we make up in our own minds what the Truth of things will be, then, we make
a theists of ourselves. And if our god of the moment doesn’t perform to expectations, we might sell him out for thirty pieces of silver.
Quote:
These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their godlessness blinded them; they knew not the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls' reward.
*For anyone who may be using one of the versions of Scripture that omit some of the books of the original Canon, Wisdom will be found in any Bible that includes the “apocryphal” or “deuterocanonical” books. (Incidentally, these books were included in the original 1611 King James translation and still are in many publications of the KJV outside of the United States.)
