The great sin of our life is giving up. Despair with suicide is the decisive act of giving up, the ultimate sin against trust. The final act of despair is suicide. Without a belief in a forgiving caring God, life may seem more troublesome than the permanent sleep of death. There are always people willing to help. The worst answer to any problem is suicide. You do not get any second chances after suicide. The game is over. You are dead. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary life problem.
great sin
King Jeroboam (Sir 47:23-44:25)
“Then Jeroboam son of Nebat
Led Israel into sin.
He started Ephraim
On its sinful ways.
Their sins increased
More and more,
Until they were exiled
From their land.
They sought out
Every kind of wickedness,
Until vengeance came upon them.”
Interesting enough, Sirach talked about the king who led the Israelite northern kingdom, who was not in the Davidic line of kings. Sirach was very harsh in his judgment about the northern rebels. Their kingdom was in fact called Israel, while the southern kingdom was called Judah. Jeroboam the son of Nebat was from Ephraim, just north of Judah and Benjamin. He actually had worked for Solomon in his administration, as indicated in 1 Kings, chapters 11-14. A prophet told Jeroboam that he would be king. After a meeting with Rehoboam, Jeroboam set up a new kingdom at Shechem. His great sin was that he did not want the people to go to Jerusalem to worship. Thus he setup his own worship places. This false worship led to the downfall of the northern Kingdom of Israel (721 BCE) before that of the Kingdom of Judah (587 BCE). The wickedness of this kingdom deserved the vengeance that came to it.
