Wisdom chapter 11
[This chapter is in Orthodox and Catholic Bibles] The exodus from Egypt. The limitless mercy of God.
The Book of Wisdom is recognized as Deuterocanonical Scripture by the Orthodox and Catholic Churches
THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT
VERSE 1. She prospered their works in the hand of a holy prophet.
a holy prophet. That is, Moses.
VERSE 2. They traveled through a desert without inhabitant, And in trackless regions they pitched their tents.
VERSE 3. They withstood enemies, and repelled foes.
VERSE 4. They thirsted, and they called upon you, And there was given them water out of the flinty rock, And healing of their thirst out of the hard stone.
VERSE 5. For by what things their foes were punished, By these they in their need were benefited.
they in their need were benefited. What the Egyptians experienced as plagues turned out to be blessings for the children of Israel, as we see in verse 13 below.
The LORD God can salvage good out of bad situations. He can turn the worst things around for us. He can cause all things to work together for our good. Read more »
VERSE 6. When enemies were troubled with clotted blood instead of a river’s ever-flowing fountain,
a river. That is, the Nile River.
VERSE 7. to rebuke the decree for the slaying of babies, you gave them abundant water beyond all hope,
VERSE 8. having shown by the thirst which they had suffered how you punished the adversaries.
VERSE 9. For when they were tried, although chastened in mercy, they learned how the ungodly were tormented, being judged with wrath.
VERSE 10. For you tested these as a father admonishing them; but you searched out those as a stern king condemning them.
VERSE 11. Yes and whether they were far off or near, they were equally distressed;
VERSE 12. for a double grief seized them, and a groaning at the memory of things past.
VERSE 13. For when they heard that through their own punishments the others benefited, they recognized the Lord.
through their own punishments the others benefited. What the Egyptians experienced as plagues turned out to be blessings for the children of Israel, as we saw in verse 5 above.
The LORD God can salvage good out of bad situations. He can turn the worst things around for us. He can cause all things to work together for our good. Read more »
VERSE 14. For him who long before was thrown out and exposed they stopped mocking. In the end of what happened, they marveled, having thirsted in another manner than the righteous.
VERSE 15. But in return for the senseless imaginings of their unrighteousness, wherein they were led astray to worship irrational reptiles and wretched vermin, you sent upon them a multitude of irrational creatures for vengeance;
VERSE 16. that they might learn that by what things a man sins, by these he is punished.
sins, by these he is punished. We reap what we sow.
There is a law of “sowing and reaping” throughout the Bible. How shall we reconcile it with grace and mercy? Here are the verses we’ve found »
THE LIMITLESS MERCY OF GOD
VERSE 17. For your all-powerful hand that created the world out of formless matter didn’t lack means to send upon them a multitude of bears, fierce lions,
VERSE 18. or newly-created and unknown wild beasts, full of rage, either breathing out a blast of fiery breath, or belching out smoke, or flashing dreadful sparks from their eyes;
VERSE 19. which had power not only to consume them by their violence, but to destroy them even by the terror of their sight.
VERSE 20. Yes and without these they might have fallen by a single breath, being pursued by Justice, and scattered abroad by the breath of your power; but you arranged all things by measure, number, and weight.
VERSE 21. For to be greatly strong is yours at all times. Who could withstand the might of your arm?
VERSE 22. Because the whole world before you is as a grain in a balance, and as a drop of dew that comes down upon the earth in the morning.
a grain in a balance. On a balance used to measure things, a “grain” was the tiniest weight.
VERSE 23. But you have mercy on all men, because you have power to do all things, and you overlook the sins of men to the end that they may repent.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Wisdom and from the entire Bible.
You have mercy on all. We cannot envision the greatness of God’s mercy. It is a vast ocean.
There’s enough for everybody, even people in far-away Alexandria where this book was written.
Compared to God’s infinite mercy, the whole universe is just a little grain of sand.
you overlook the sins of men. The extent of God’s mercy is beyond our limited powers of human comprehension.
We can’t even imagine it.
God pours out mercy on all, even the very people we might despise. Even our enemies.
VERSE 24. For you love all things that are, and abhor none of the things which you made; For you never would have formed anything if you hated it.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Wisdom and from the entire Bible.
you love all things that are. Some people feel despised or judged, rejected or hated.
Maybe it is from family or friends, society or churchgoers. That rejection hurts them deeply. It can even make them feel that God rejects them.
Many people have felt the sting of rejection. Maybe it was from family or friends, society or even churchgoers.
Perhaps to a trusted person they are able to share their pain of how they were despised or rejected, judged or hated.
Some have been so wounded by others that they might ask:
Why does God hate me?
Have you ever felt like that?
Here is a biblical truth: God loves you, just as you are.
God would not have created you, if he were not going to love you. God wishes for you to exist; he longs for your love.
You are important and precious and loved. To God, you are a treasure, a pearl of great price.
VERSE 25. How would anything have endured unless you had willed it? Or that which was not called by you, how would it have been preserved?
VERSE 26. But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Sovereign Lord, you lover of lives.
NAB translation:
You spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Wisdom and from the entire Bible.
lover of souls. God is the lover of souls!
Isn’t that great? The Bible says God is the “lover of souls.”
Is anyone beyond the reach of God’s love? Is anyone beyond God’s mercy?
The Holy Spirit is at work, right now, in the hearts and lives of people everywhere, simultaneously.
The Lord Jesus is actively seeking out every person on earth. He eagerly thirsts for their invitation for him to enter their lives and accept his infinite love for them.
Do you know anyone, maybe a friend or coworker, a family member or acquaintance, who feels despised or judged or rejected?
That person is not a mistake. That person is of infinite value.
The Lord Jesus Christ would have done it all, just for that one. In Christ, that person has nothing to loose and everything to gain.
For the sake of that person in your life, we invite you to become the very mercy of God.
WISDOM
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Chronology
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.