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[Yahweh] did not make death,
And he does not delight in the death of the living.
For he created all things so that they might exist;
the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them,
and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
For righteousness is immortal.
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[Yahweh] created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity,
but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it.
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This is the Track 2 optional Old Testament selection that will be read aloud on the sixth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 8], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It is important because it states the wisdom that says human beings – souls in bodies – are born for eternal life. If not for the lures of sin, everyone on earth would personally know Yahweh.
In the Hebrew text for this reading, a ‘double yod’ [or ‘two yuds’] is written [“י י”], which is said to be an abbreviated form of the name “Adonai,” also recognized as “HaShem.” The word “Adonay,” like “elohim,” is the plural number form of “adon,” such that the actual translation is as “lords.” As such, these words of wisdom can be questioned, as to whether or not they directly refer to Yahweh, or the lesser “lords” of the material world, who are under the control of His Spirit. By having this forewarning, one can read the following assessment with that extra insight. The following was originally posted for consumption [written by this author] in 2018. Only minor changes have been made to this, as everything written then still applies today.
It should be recognized that this reading selection comes from an Apocryphal book, which means it is a “Hidden” text that is not officially part of the Christian Bible. As a work that has been denied free access with those deemed most holy, without doubt, it has been scrutinized by scholars “after the fact,” searching for clues of authorship. As such, it has been determined that this is not a work written by King Solomon; and, it is not thought to have been written by only one human being. This focus on perceived flaws is not how one should address this book, and thus this reading.
The assumption that must be made is that Solomon, who as a child, loved Yahweh. Yahweh knew that Solomon had an “upright soul.” In a dream, before Solomon would assume control of the throne of Israel, Yahweh asked Solomon what assistance He could give this young man. Solomon asked for the gift of wisdom, in the sense that he wanted “understanding” and “discernment capabilities for good and evil,” so he could properly “judge” the way the Israelites should go, as they had been led by David. Solomon was granted that wish by Yahweh; but Solomon was never the author of any wisdom he spoke.
All true wisdom comes from Yahweh, flowing through one who is committed in their hearts to receive His thoughts. Therefore, the “Wisdom of Solomon” is from the same source, whether it flowed through a king of Israel, or a Prophet of YAHWEH, before or after the fall of Israel and Judah. It is the same flowing through Jesus and then the Apostles in his name, all as the Christs [Anointed ones] of Yahweh, who will always be tested in the wilderness.
Wisdom exceeds the bounds of knowledge that humans can master, as it accepts the unknown readily, understanding what had been hidden from sight. Experience becomes the foresight of the future, from a clarity generated by hindsight.
When this view is understood, Yahweh is known to be the author. With Him accepted as the author, the test of that authorship is the truth. Each line of prose or poetry must pass this test. Regardless of who wrote the words down on parchment, the truth they expose is the proof that the One God is the source of all wisdom and knowledge.
This selected reading consists of five verses, three from chapter one and two from chapter two. From two arcs on a circle, one circuit of thought is connected. The first verse (verse 13) states (literally): “that Adonai not tested death. not desire destruction of life.” The Episcopal Church shows, “God did not make death, And he does not delight in the death of the living.” The Hebrew text shows the presence of a period mark, making two separate, but relative statements. These boil down to: “Adonai does not test death” and “Adonai does not desire the destruction of life.”
This points out that God is the Creator, not a destroyer. God only makes “life” in the spiritual realm, with the material real the opposite of “life,” as the absence of “life” is “death.” Neither a soul nor dead matter can ever be lost from Creation, although both can change states, simulating birth and death.
Samael, the Destroyer who sows destructive poison
God brought forth life into death, as a soul animating a body of flesh. Death is not the “destruction” of “life,” as a soul is eternal. However, the “test” of “death” is placed on the soul to be married to Yahweh and allow Him to be the “Lord” [“Adonai”] of “life” in “death,” so the soul can return to the realm of the living [Yahweh]. Thus a soul “not “ able to pass the “test” of the material realm, whose “lord” is self, influenced by Satan, will return to that realm after a body of flesh returns to matter, as “death.”
Transition is a state of change in life. The scientific-philosophical mind believes that since Creation there has been no new matter created and no original matter lost. All that was then is now and will be forever, with everything in between merely the natural states of change and transition. Therefore, the “death of the living” has nothing to do with the material universe, as it refers to souls.
In verse 14 we read, “For he created all things so that they might exist; the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them, and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.” This states that all things are designed to go through changes.
There are seasonal fluctuations, where growth and recession are natural. There are the global transitions, where tectonic plates move, volcanoes eject the inner earth onto the surface and sedimentary formations are from natural growth and rebirth cycles over ages. The temperature changes brings ice ages and global warming, where oceans rise and fall, and rivers, lakes, and streams go from dry to overflowing. All of this is normal life. What appears to be destructive is natural transformation.
The souls of human beings are given creation amid this flux, where changes from one body to the next are as natural as flowers blooming and then wilting away. Hell, which destroys souls, is not part of this world created by God.
When verse 15 then states, “For righteousness is immortal,” the purpose of life is to find righteousness. Righteousness is beyond wholesome. Righteousness is the creation of Yahweh’s Spirit within one who rejects the destructive poisons planted by Satan. Righteousness is the human soul’s choice to make, by choosing to serve Yahweh over Satan. The reward of righteousness is everlasting life in the Spiritual realm.
In the leap to the last two verses of chapter two, the King James Version shows “immortal” being the translation, rather than “incorruption.” As such, it is written in verse 23: “God created man to be immortal, and made him (man) to be an image of his own eternity.”
The plural pronoun “us” is “man,” such that it is written in Genesis, “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,” (Genesis 1:26) where the LORD of lords (YHWH elohim), the God who made the gods (“In the beginning [YHWH] created gods [elohim] – Genesis 1:1) is the One God from which all Creation of souls (immortal souls and mortal with immortal souls) come.
More than being in the image of God by having a head, two arms and two legs – all attached to a trunk – the image of God (and gods) is that of the immortality of a soul. A soul cannot be corrupted by death. However, a body with a soul can be corrupted, leading the soul to pay for that corruption.
In the final verse of chapter two, which says, “but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it,” the corruption of a body with a soul is due to Satan’s envy of mankind. This verse tells of the division in Heaven between the “elohim” of the “gods.” Those of “his company” are the angels that rebelled against God’s command to serve mankind. These were cast within the earth, which makes them like Man, as eternal souls trapped in bodies. However, there is no release from those bodies as those souls are death.
"Throw upon him hurled and pointed stones, covering him with darkness; There shall he remain forever; cover his face, that he may not see the light. And in the great day of judgment let him be cast into the fire." (1 Enoch 7-9)
As an optional reading for the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry should be underway, this wisdom speaks of the lure away from eternal life and towards the trappings of the devil. It is the envy of Satan, brought on because God made Man as wholesome and immortal, that makes Satan thrive on misleading humankind away from its promise. As long as Man’s soul remains uncorrupted, Satan will continue to whisper, “God will still take you in Heaven if you only do this sin. God is forgiving.”
That lure is heard because one has not sacrificed the self for the protection of Jesus Christ within one’s soul. A human soul is too wholesome to not be tricked without that care from the Holy Spirit, which can only come from a total commitment to God (marriage). This is the lesson from Genesis, of Eve being deceived by the serpent and Adam following along. Their human forms with eternal souls were separate from God’s presence.
Ministry means having made that sacrifice, so one speaks from knowledge of faith and can guide others to the same protection and reward of eternal life with God. Ministry means opening the eyes and the ears of human bodies holding souls, so they can know the truth. Ministry means speaking the Wisdom of Solomon. Otherwise, the lies of Satan will lead soul after soul to corruption.
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Note:
The Hebrew website Sefaria translates to English this reading as such:
13 For ye have not chosen death. And did not desire the loss of life:
14 To set them up for ever, and the peace of the people of the land is in their hand. The
wrath of doom is not among them, and Saul is not in the dust of his power:
15 For righteousness shall not die. And the wickedness of death:
23 For he created man to revive him eternal life. And he shall make it in his image after the
likeness of it;
24 And in the envy of the devil death rose up in the world. And who in his destiny will be
supported: