calamity

March 22, 2017

The priests and the idols (Bar 6:48-6:52)

“When war

Or calamity

Comes upon them,

The priests consult together

As to where

They can

Hide themselves

With their gods.

How then can anyone

Fail to see

That these are not gods?

They cannot save themselves

From war

Or calamity.

They are made of wood,

Overlaid

With gold

Or silver.

It will afterward

Be known

That they are false.

It will be manifest

To all the nations,

To all the kings,

That they are not gods

But the work of human hands.

There is no work

Of God

In them.

Who then can fail

To know

That they are not gods?”

What happens when war or calamity comes to these priests and their idol gods? The priests consult together on where they can hide themselves with their gods. All can see that these are not gods. They cannot save themselves from either war or calamity, since they are made of wood, overlaid with gold or silver. Afterwards, everyone will know that these were false gods. It is will be clear to all the nations and all the kings that they are not gods. As they were the work of human hands, there is no work of God in them. This author asked the question, who would not recognize that these idols are not gods?

March 5, 2017

The sinful ancestors (Bar 1:19-1:20)

“From the time

When the Lord

Brought our ancestors

Out of the land of Egypt

Until today,

We have been disobedient

To the Lord,

Our God.

We have been negligent,

In not heeding

His voice.

So to this day,

There have clung to us

The calamities,

The curse,

That the Lord declared

Through his servant

Moses

At the time

When he brought

Our ancestors

Out of the land of Egypt

To give us

A land flowing

With milk and honey.”

The Lord brought their ancestors out of Egypt. However, even from the beginning of this relationship, their ancestors were negligent, not listening to the voice of God. They would rather be cursed and live in calamity than follow their God. Moses his servant was clear. God was going to lead them into a land flowing with milk and honey. How many times have you heard that? Their ancestors had set the stage for the later disobedience and negligence towards God.

June 7, 2016

The destiny of the impious and their children (Sir 41:5-41:10)

“The children of sinners

Are abominable children.

They frequent

The haunts of the ungodly.

The inheritance

Of the children of sinners

Will perish.

On their posterity

Will be a perpetual reproach.

Children will blame

An ungodly father.

They suffer disgrace

Because of him.

Woe to you!

The ungodly!

You have forsaken

The law of the Most High God!

If you have children,

Calamity will be theirs.

You will beget them

Only for groaning.

When you stumble,

There is lasting joy.

When you die,

A curse is your lot.

Whatever comes from earth,

Returns to earth.

Thus the ungodly go

From curse to destruction.”

Sirach draws a clear line from parent to child when it comes to sinners. The children of sinners are abominable. These children will live among the ungodly, since their inheritance will be lost. These children of sinners will blame their sinful ungodly father because they suffer a perpetual disgrace due to him. Then Sirach turns directly to these ungodly folks claiming that they have forsaken the law of the Most High God. Calamity and groaning will come to their children. When they stumble, everyone will be happy. When they die, they will receive a curse. Whatever comes from earth returns there. Thus the ungodly will go from a curse to total destruction.

March 1, 2016

Life is a game of chance (Eccl 9:11-9:12)

“Again I saw that under the sun.

The race is not to the swift.

Nor is the battle to the strong.

Nor is bread to the wise.

Nor is riches to the intelligent.

Nor is favor to the skillful.

But time happens to them all.

Chance happens to them all.

No one can anticipate

The time of disaster.

Like fish taken in a cruel net,

Like birds caught in a snare,

So mortals are snared

At a time of calamity.

When it suddenly falls upon them.”

Qoheleth sees human life under the sun like a game of chance. The swiftest runner does not always win the race. The strongest do not always win the battle. The wise do not always have the best food. The intelligent are not always rich. The skillful do not always succeed. Time and chance play a role. No one can predict when disaster will come. Just as fish and birds get stuck in nets and snares, so too mortals get caught when calamity suddenly happens to them.

February 12, 2016

The evil enemies (Prov 24:15-24:20)

“Do not lie in wait,

Like an outlaw,

Against the home of the righteous.

Do no violence to the place

Where the righteous live!

Although the righteous fall seven times,

They will rise again.

But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

Do not rejoice when your enemies fall!

Do not let your heart be glad when they stumble!

Yahweh will see it.

He will be displeased.

He will turn away his anger from them.

Do not fret because of evildoers!

Do not envy the wicked!

The evil have no future.

The lamp of the wicked will be put out.”

Do not attack the righteous like an outlaw. Do not wait for them or do any violence to them where they live. The righteous will fall 7 times, but they will still get up. However, the wicked are easily overthrown by calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemies fall. Don’t be happy when they stumble. Yahweh sees all this. He will be displeased. He will probably turn his anger away from them. Don’t worry about evildoers or envy the wicked ones. Just remember that they have no future. Their lamp will go out never to burn again.

February 6, 2016

Be careful (Prov 22:5-22:8)

“Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse.

The cautious will keep far from them.

Train children in the right way.

Then when they are old,

They will not stray.

The rich rule over the poor.

The borrower is the slave of the lender.

Whoever sows injustice

Will reap calamity,

The rod of anger will fail.”

The way of the perverse is full of thorns and snares, so keep away from them. If you train children correctly, they will not stray when they are old. The rich will rule over the poor. The borrower becomes the slave of the lender. If you sow injustice, you will harvest calamity. Beatings in anger will fail.

January 30, 2016

The senseless (Prov 17:18-17:20)

“It is senseless

To give a pledge.

It is senseless

To becomes surety for a neighbor.

Whoever loves transgression

Loves strife.

Whoever builds a high threshold

Invites broken bones.

The crooked of mind do not prosper.

The perverse of tongue fall into calamity.”

Do not give a pledge for your neighbor. If you love transgressions, then get ready to love strife. If you build a high threshold, you are inviting danger because some tall strong people might come into your house to hurt you. This might also be a sign that you are showing pride. The crooked and the perverse do not prosper, but fall into calamity or danger.

January 2, 2016

They refuse wisdom (Prov 1:24-1:33)

“I have called.

But you have refused.

I have stretched out my hand.

Yet no one has heeded it.

You have ignored all my counsel.

You would have none of my reproof.

I also will laugh at your calamity.

I will mock you

When panic strikes.

When panic strikes you

Like a storm.

Your calamity comes like a whirlwind.

When distress and anguish comes upon you,

Then they will call upon me.

But I will not answer.

They will seek me diligently.

But they will not find me.

Because they hated knowledge

They did not choose the fear of Yahweh.

They would have none of my counsel.

They despised all my reproof.

Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way.

They shall be sated with their own devices.

Waywardness kills the simple.

The complacency of fools destroys them.

But those who listens to me

Will be secure.

They will live at ease

Without dread of disaster.”

Wisdom continues to speak in the first person singular. Wisdom called but they refused to listen. Wisdom stretched out her hand but no one heeded her. They ignored all her counsel. They would not accept her criticism. Now the tables were turned. When calamity and panic hit them like a storm, she would then laugh and mock them. When they might be in distress and anguish, they might call on wisdom, like they did Yahweh. However, wisdom was not going to answer. They might seek her, but they will not find her. They have chosen not to fear Yahweh so that wisdom will not come to them. They hate knowledge and do not accept her counsel. They despised her criticism so that they will eat the fruit of their way. They are full of their own devices. Waywardness kills the simple. Complacent fools destroy themselves. However, those who listen to wisdom will be secure, at ease, and without any fear of disaster.

July 23, 2015

The apologia of Job (Job 31:1-31:4)

“I have made a covenant with my eyes.

How then could I look upon a virgin?

What would be my portion from God above?

What would be my heritage from the Almighty Shaddai on high?

Does not calamity befall the unrighteous?

Does not disaster fall on the workers of iniquity?

Does he not see my ways?

Does he not number all my steps?”

Now Job goes into high drive as he proclaims why he is right and the others are wrong. This is an apologia for his life. It is a kind of negative confession as he explains what he did and why it is not wrong. His covenant is with his eyes. Somehow the eyes reveal all the secrets of a person. As for the virgin, did he have any evil intentions? What is God going to give him? What will be his heritage from the almighty high Shaddai? He agreed that calamity and disaster fall on the unrighteous and the iniquitous people. However, he asked God to see his ways. He recognized that God had numbered his steps.

July 13, 2015

Do the wicked really suffer? (Job 21:17-21:26)

“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?

How often does calamity come upon them?

How often does God distribute pains in his anger?

How often are they like straw before the wind?

How often are they like chaff that the storm carries away?

You say.

‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.

Let it be paid back to them.

Thus they may know it.

Let their own eyes see their destruction.

Let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty Shaddai.’

What do they care for their household after them?

When the number of their months is cut off?

Will any teach God knowledge?

He judges those that are on high.

One dies in full prosperity.

They are at ease and secure.

Their loins are full of milk.

The marrow of their bones is moist.

Another dies in bitterness of soul.

They have never tasted of good.

They lie down alike in the dust.

The worms cover them.”

Job wondered whether the wicked were really punished at all. The wicked people seem to be surviving pretty well. Where is their pain and calamity? They do not seem to be like chaff or straw in the wind. As for their children getting the punishment, what do they care about that? What do they care about their inheritance after they have died? They seem to die at ease and secure with their prosperity. What else could you ask for? They die like everyone else. Dust and worms will cover them up whether they were prosperous or not, whether they were wicked or not. Where is God’s punishment to them since they do not seem to care or know about God?