A reflection on Wisdom 7:7-11

Wisdom 7:7-11

7 Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

8 I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.

9 Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, and silver will be accounted as clay before her.

10 I loved her more than health and beauty, and I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases.

11 All good things came to me along with her, and in her hands uncounted wealth.

Wise King Solomon.

Wisdom, in the Judeo-Christian sense, is impossible to attain alone, isolated, by individual achievement. It takes a reliance on God outside of yourself, reaching out to God, and talking to Him intimately. I prayed and understanding was given; I called upon God and wisdom came to me. It takes praying, calling on God, to make things happen. Prayer is a real, intimate experience with God and incalculable good comes from it.

In this passage Solomon compares wisdom to things in life that people often covet: power, money, health, and beauty. He refers to wisdom with feminine pronouns –  isn’t this fitting? She is preferred to political power, wealth is nothing compared to her, all gold is but a little sand, and even light is unnecessary as her radiance never ceases. The main point is that the pursuit of wisdom is vitally important. This is a crucial theme throughout both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament.

Today this desire for wisdom is too-often forgotten about and underemphasized, by Christians nearly as much as non-Christians. There are few things more important than being a wise person. The unwise leave themselves open to manipulation, they make poor choices that affect their lives and the lives around them, and they struggle through life to a greater degree in general. That is why it is more important today than ever to remember that, with wisdom, all good things will come along with her, and in her hands is uncounted wealth.

Erik Ritland is a journalist and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. The Weekly Ramble, released on Saturdays, compiles his many weekly articles about society, music, sports (including a football blog), religion, and many other topics. You can reach him via email here.

A Wink and a Nudge

Exploring the other side of ancient Israelite culture and the Old Testament

The traditional Sunday school stories of the Hebrew Bible (aka the Old Testament) are well-known: the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, Moses, Jonah and the whale, etc. Lesser known, though often more entertaining, are the seedier stories of the Bible, the ones that aren’t taught in Sunday school. The meanings of these stories are sometimes obscure and sometimes strange but they’re always interesting.

Abraham explaining to KingAbimelech that his wife is his sister.

For example, how many people know about Abraham – the great Jewish patriarch and, to Christians, a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ – pretending his wife was his sister? Or when Noah’s son Ham sees his father’s nakedness and evidently does something really shameful that leads to a curse? Sodom and Gomorrah is a well-known, although misunderstood story, but how often is it mentioned that Abraham’s brother Lot offers his virgin daughters to a sex-crazed crowd? Or that later his daughters get him drunk and are both impregnated by him? As I heard the “proper” stories in Sunday school I also flipped through the rest of the Bible and read these stories, sometimes with my mother (imagine how awkward that was).

Modern scholarship has dug up some interesting insight into these stories. Recent archaeological discoveries shed light on the story of Abraham pretending his wife is his sister. The Nunzi tablets, an ancient list of laws, describe the practice of a husband adopting his wife in order for her to have concurrent legal status with him. This doesn’t explain why Abraham pretends Sarah is his sister but it does shed light on the cultural context. It may seem odd to a contemporary audience but it fit in the culture of the time.

The story of Noah cursing the descendents of his son Ham because he saw him naked is easier to explain. Noah curses Ham’s son Canaan with slavery. Why he curses Ham’s son and not him isn’t explained, but it is known that the Canaanites, described in Genesis as the descendants of Canaan, were slaves to the Hebrews. This story explains that the Hebrews made the Canaanites their slaves because their immorality left them cursed.

Lot and his daughters.

Abraham’s brother Lot offering his two virgin daughters to a sex-crazed crowd, and then those same daughters getting him drunk to impregnate them, is the most interesting of the stories. It says a lot about how funny, clever, and, well, pretty mean the ancient Israelites could be.

According to the story both of Lot’s daughters has a son – Moab and Ammon, whose descendents are the Moabites and the Ammonites. Although this is not mentioned in Genesis the Moabites and Ammonites were the traditional enemies of Israel. It’s very funny, then, if understood as a tongue-in-cheek description of their enemies. It’s not enough for the ancient Israelites to simply say “we don’t like these guys”; instead they make up a story about their ancestors being twisted and incestuous. The story of Lot offering his daughters to the sex-crazed crowd is a further twist of the knife, as it implies that this type of distasteful action is typical of Israel’s enemies.

Studying the Bible is hardly boring. These are only a few of the interesting, often seedy stories that are found throughout the Bible, especially in the book of Genesis, that prove how creative ancient Israelites were.

Erik Ritland is a journalist and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. Ramblin’ On catalogs his writings on culture, music (including his own projects), sports, religion, and many other topics. You can reach him via email here.