Cloud by Day, Pillar of Fire by Night
St. Catherine's Monastery is on the Bucket List of many people. At the foot of Mt. Sinai, this library contains many first century fragments of the Gospel. With 3,500 Manuscripts of Scripture of Antiquity and 1,500 Scrolls - this Library is considered second in the world after the Vatican. This is considered to be the Mountain of Moses, God and the Commandments.
Wisdom 10:15-21
A holy people and blameless race wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors.
She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs. She gave to holy people the reward of their labors; she guided them along a marvelous way and became a shelter to them by day and a starry flame through the night. She brought them over the Red Sea and led them through deep waters, but she drowned their enemies and cast them up from the depths of the sea. Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly; they sang hymns, O Lord, to your holy name and praised with one accord your defending hand.
For wisdom opened the mouths for those who were mute and made the tongues of infants speak clearly.
Memorial Day. Yesterday we read Genesis 2 and God is providing water for the earth in abundance where the Holy Spirit is hovering. Jesus is Living Water. Another example of God never leaves or forsakes us. This is, of course, is about the creation and creation of mankind. Surprising me, the earth in Genesis is said to be tiny saplings, seedlings and not even a small bush has grown up enough. I must have missed that for all the times I've read Genesis. The bald top of the rocky mountains is actually the Genesis story. Amazing.
Thinking of Memorial Day, as I was listening to Guns and Roses 'Sweet Child of Mine', I thought of the courage of the military and the beginning of bravery in childhood for the forces fighting for Justice. To want to place lives on the line to perish - begins far before the event. Given what is recorded about military opinions - I'd say the Bible is not unfamiliar.
The Book of Wisdom is the Apocrypha. Generally not part of the Protestant Bible. Ok, fine. One is not required to love the Apocrypha to discuss this.
The earliest known copy of Wisdom would be 285–246 BC (Ptolemaic dynasty). The pseudepigraphic Letter of Aristeas to his brother Philocrates, and is repeated by Philo of Alexandria, Josephus (in Antiquities of the Jews) and by various later sources, including St. Augustine. The story is also found in the Tractate Megillah of the Babylonian Talmud:
King Ptolemy once gathered 72 Elders. He placed them in 72 chambers, each of them in a separate one, without revealing to them why they were summoned. He entered each one's room and said: "Write for me the Torah of Moshe, your teacher". God put it in the heart of each one to translate identically as all the others did.
What the Scholars could repeat, King Ptolemy considered Sacred.
The Difficulty of the Apocrypha
The Apocrypha was written during the four hundred silent years between Malachi and Matthew. Jewish sources agree divinely inspired prophetic utterance was rarely occurring during this time.
There are various opinions of Heaven, the communion of saints and works.
Bravely Recording History
The Apocrypha records and does not ignore the history of miraculous surrounding what is now Hanukkah , a Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid. This leads into explaining how the Herods came to power.
When the First Nicaean Council (St. Nicholas of Turkey is St. Pere Noel and Santa Claus) decided the Holy Spirit would reach souls with the Apocrypha. It's actually far out. However, this is ignoring Barnabas went straight to India to explain Jesus. And the Apocrypha would appeal to other cultures and the explanation of God's Power.
The Wind of the Holy Spirit is not contained from The American Revolution to Afghanistan. We include ideas of many men seeking the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ and why not read the Apocrypha even if just for discussion. Even if it is to compare and contrast.
Proverbs 3:13-18
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
To fight for Justice. To obtain Freedom. To liberate the captives. To face our horizons bravely.
The Book of Genesis contains two chapters with differences in the Creation story of mankind. Why. I don't know I"m rusty at this. And yet without researching this, I know mankind in the image of Father God is both Father and Mother. To emphasize the tenderness of God. Wouldn't we need to know this to understand the Nature of God? Yes. God tender and nurturing encouraging us to celebrate our God-given gifts. Not war without reason, but wisdom in finding the hard-won peace.
To understand God moves gently and with Love. As well as the Power of God's Word is Law. Every Word of God is filled.
Why wouldn't Solomon refer to wisdom as a woman? Solomon truly found Wisdom seemed to leave his life. Solomon begged God to speak to him again as he married 700 women and declared a good woman is hard to find. Solomon is interesting. Not platitudes, but living Word of God to consider as we journey in life.
The Apocrypha appeals to those in different cultures and in seeking wisdom. How will we include this with the New Testament and feel the continuity? Each generation and all of mankind is looking for God and wisdom.
James, the New Testament version of the Book of Proverbs. James is wondering about wisdom (like Solomon left wisdom and James left Jesus during his living years) Proverbs message of wisdom coming from God.
James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 3:17
The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
The Mission of God is to save the world. Cultures the Scriptures are concerned to bless. God to Hold in His Love and Change Hearts. We could consider the ancient Greeks and the Romans considered wisdom to be an important virtue, personified as the goddesses. Today, we might consider Hindu as the same. The Plagues found Motherless children and tried to improve Mary. Jesus told us more blessed are those doing the will of God. And God had given us His Story of Parenting with Love.
Words like Restoring Balance. Finding the Center. We have Love to bring forth in Jesus Christ.
We find the Copper Age meets the Bronze Age to the Baby Boomers and Generation X, Y and Z.
Each Generation considers itself blessed in Wisdom. And even Copper Age mankind thinks and processes include recognizing the limits of one’s own knowledge, acknowledging uncertainty and change, attention to context and the bigger picture, and using different perspectives of a situation.
Cognitive scientists believe wisdom requires coordinating such reasoning processes, as they may provide insightful solutions for managing one’s life. I reddit. If we remember Vietnam, Korea and World War II and wonder about Afghanistan - to college costs and increasing military for education, we should consider what the day to day reading is going to think about.
We have all kinds of Memorial Day fireworks, but isn't the Exodus and Numbers where the wonder of Lights in the sky began?
Abba,
We live considering our lives, deeds and words. Your Scriptures provide us to think upon the Larger Picture.
Each generation considers itself wise; as we consider our own decisions, we do the same. Your tender loving care tells us 12 Gates of Heaven are open for us all the time. You hear our prayers as lovingly held as incense. Beautiful to You.
The Blessing of Long Life and Health.
We lift up our most tender concerns and our own ideas of wisdom. Bless us as we explain to you, the merits of the cares of the heart. Thank You for Your Word, telling us of Your tender Love.
You are God seeking to bless all the world. Thank You. Thank You for the bravery of the lives serving to find Freedom and Justice. Blessings of Mercy told and lived.
We ask for ourselves, the Children of God everywhere, more Heaven on earth.
In Jesus Christ. Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †