Wisdom — Chapter 10

SHE PRESERVED HIM THAT WAS FIRST FORMED BY GOD THE FATHER OF THE WORLD, WHEN HE WAS CREATED ALONE, AND SHE BROUGHT HIM OUT OF HIS SIN. Wisdom preserved Adam — both in his original creation (before the fall) and brought him out of his sin through repentance and God's mercy. Lapide on Adam's salvation: the Fathers (Augustine, Chrysostom) generally held that Adam was saved after sincere repentance. \"Father of the world\" (pater orbis terrarum) — Adam as father of all mankind. Mystically: Adam = Christ, the new Adam, who is also preserved by divine wisdom and brings humanity out of sin.

AND GAVE HIM POWER TO GOVERN ALL THINGS. Wisdom gave Adam dominion over creation (Gen 1:28) — the power of governance. Without wisdom, this dominion degenerates into exploitation; with wisdom, it becomes stewardship. Applied to the dignity of man as \"master of nature\" — but a mastery that must be exercised in conformity with divine wisdom.

BUT WHEN THE UNJUST WENT AWAY FROM HER IN HIS ANGER, HE PERISHED BY THE FURY OF FRATRICIDAL WRATH. Cain — \"the unjust\" — departed from wisdom in his anger and perished (spiritually) through his fratricide. Lapide on Cain: he is a type of all who abandon wisdom through anger and envy, and are destroyed by their own malice. Applied to the spiritual danger of anger: it leads step by step from envy to hatred to spiritual death.

FOR WHEN WATER DESTROYED THE EARTH, WISDOM AGAIN HEALED IT, STEERING THE JUST MAN BY A CONTEMPTIBLE PIECE OF WOOD. Noah's ark — wisdom steered the just man (Noah) by \"a contemptible piece of wood.\" Lapide: the wood of the ark is a type of the wood of the Cross (St. Peter Chrysologus, Ambrose), through which salvation comes to those who cling to it. The \"contemptible\" wood of the ark/Cross appears foolish to worldly wisdom but is divine wisdom in action (1 Cor 1:18-25).

SHE KEPT HIM JUST, BLAMELESS TO GOD, AND KEPT HIM STRONG AGAINST THE COMPASSION THAT HE HAD FOR HIS SON. Abraham — wisdom kept him just and blameless before God, and kept him strong against his natural compassion for Isaac at the sacrifice of Moriah (Gen 22). Lapide on the typology of the Sacrifice of Isaac: Isaac = Christ; Abraham = the Father offering His Son; the ram caught in the thicket = Christ's humanity. The faithfulness of Abraham in offering Isaac is the supreme Old Testament act of divine wisdom.

WISDOM RESCUED THE JUST MAN WHEN THE WICKED WERE PERISHING, AS HE FLED FROM THE FIRE WHICH DESCENDED UPON THE FIVE CITIES. Lot — wisdom rescued him from the destruction of the five cities (Sodom, Gomorrah, etc.) while the wicked perished (Gen 19). Lapide on Lot's rescue: a type of the just man's deliverance at the Last Judgment, while the wicked suffer eternal fire. The fire of Sodom = the fire of hell, which destroys the unrepentant but from which wisdom rescues those who flee.

OF WHOSE WICKEDNESS EVEN TO THIS DAY THE WASTE LAND THAT SMOKETH IS A WITNESS, AND PLANTS BEARING FRUIT THAT NEVER COME TO RIPENESS: AND A STANDING PILLAR OF SALT IS A MONUMENT OF AN UNBELIEVING SOUL. Three monuments to the punishment of Sodom: (1) the smoking wasteland (the Dead Sea region); (2) trees bearing fruit that never ripens (described by ancient historians); (3) Lot's wife turned to a pillar of salt (Gen 19:26), a monument of unbelief and disobedience. Lapide on Lot's wife: she looked back in disobedience and love of the world she was commanded to leave — a type of the soul that turns back to the world after having begun to follow God.

BUT WISDOM HATH DELIVERED FROM SORROW THEM THAT ATTEND UPON HER.

Wisdom delivers her faithful servants from sorrow — not necessarily from all external suffering, but from the deepest sorrow, which is the sorrow of sin and its consequences. Applied to the spiritual life: the consolations that wisdom brings to the soul exceed all earthly sorrows. Lapide cites the example of the martyrs who suffered externally but were filled with inner joy.

SHE CONDUCTED THE JUST, WHEN HE FLED FROM HIS BROTHER'S WRATH, THROUGH THE RIGHT WAYS, AND SHEWED HIM THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND GAVE HIM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY THINGS, MADE HIM HONOURABLE IN HIS LABOURS, AND ACCOMPLISHED HIS LABOURS.

Jacob — wisdom guided him fleeing from Esau's wrath (Gen 27-28), showed him the kingdom of God (the vision of the ladder at Bethel, Gen 28:12), gave him knowledge of holy things, and honored his labors. Lapide on the vision of Bethel: the ladder reaching to heaven = Christ (Jn 1:51); the angels ascending and descending = the interchange between heaven and earth established by the Incarnation. Wisdom's guidance of Jacob = divine providence ordering all things for the good of the elect.

IN THE COVETOUSNESS OF THOSE THAT OVERREACHED HIM, SHE STOOD BY HIM, AND MADE HIM HONOURABLE.

In the face of Laban's greed and deceit (Gen 29-31), wisdom stood by Jacob and made him honorable. Lapide: a just man may be surrounded by the unscrupulous, but wisdom defends and vindicates him. Applied to the Christian in the world: surrounded by avarice and deceit, but wisdom protects those who trust in her.

SHE FORSOOK NOT THE JUST WHEN HE WAS SOLD, BUT DELIVERED HIM FROM SINNERS: SHE WENT DOWN WITH HIM INTO THE PIT.

Joseph — sold by his brothers, wisdom did not forsake him. \"She went down with him into the pit\" (cistern, then the Egyptian prison, Gen 37; 39). Lapide on wisdom's faithfulness to the afflicted: it is precisely in the pit of greatest adversity that divine wisdom most powerfully assists the just man. Applied to Christ's descent into death (the pit) — from which wisdom raised Him in the Resurrection.

AND IN BONDS SHE LEFT HIM NOT, TILL SHE BROUGHT HIM THE SCEPTRE OF THE KINGDOM, AND POWER AGAINST THOSE THAT OPPRESSED HIM: AND SHEWED THEM TO BE LIARS THAT HAD ACCUSED HIM, AND GAVE HIM EVERLASTING GLORY.

Wisdom did not abandon Joseph in prison but ultimately gave him power and vindication. Three rewards: (1) the sceptre of the kingdom (power as viceroy of Egypt); (2) confutation of his accusers (Potiphar's wife's false accusation refuted); (3) everlasting glory (remembered as a type of Christ, the greatest honor). Lapide on Joseph as the most detailed type of Christ in the Old Testament: beloved son, sold for silver, descending into the pit, raised to royal dignity, forgiving his brothers.

SHE DELIVERED THE HOLY PEOPLE AND BLAMELESS SEED FROM THE NATIONS THAT OPPRESSED THEM.

Moses and the Exodus: wisdom delivered the holy people (Israel) from the oppression of Egypt. \"Blameless seed\" (semen sine macula) — Israel as God's consecrated people, set apart for holiness. Lapide on the typology of the Exodus: Egypt = the slavery of sin; the crossing of the Red Sea = Baptism; Moses = Christ; the promised land = heaven.

SHE ENTERED INTO THE SOUL OF THE SERVANT OF GOD, AND STOOD AGAINST DREADFUL KINGS IN WONDERS AND SIGNS.

Wisdom entered Moses' soul, empowering him to stand before Pharaoh with \"wonders and signs\" — the Ten Plagues. \"The servant of God\" (servus Dei) = Moses, the paradigmatic servant. Lapide on the divine condescension that uses human weakness as the instrument of divine power: Moses the stutterer becomes the mouthpiece of God's omnipotence before the mightiest king on earth.

SHE RENDERED TO THE JUST THE WAGES OF THEIR LABOURS, AND CONDUCTED THEM IN A MARVELLOUS WAY: AND SHE WAS TO THEM FOR A COVERT BY DAY, AND FOR THE LIGHT OF THE STARS BY NIGHT.

Wisdom rewarded Israel and guided them through the desert: the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exod 13:21-22). Lapide on the typology of the cloud and fire: Christ is the light and protection of the Church in her journey through this world. Applied to the sacraments: wisdom guides the Church through the cloud of faith (obscure in this life) and the fire of charity (anticipating the light of glory).

AND SHE BROUGHT THEM THROUGH THE RED SEA, AND CARRIED THEM OVER THROUGH A GREAT WATER.

The crossing of the Red Sea — wisdom's supreme act of liberation for Israel. Lapide on the typology: the Red Sea = death and sin; crossing it = Baptism (St. Paul, 1 Cor 10:2); the Egyptian army drowned = the drowning of sin in the baptismal waters. The early Fathers (Origen, Ambrose, Cyril of Jerusalem) are cited on this baptismal typology.

BUT THEIR ENEMIES SHE DROWNED IN THE SEA, AND FROM THE DEPTH OF HELL SHE BROUGHT THEM OUT.

The Egyptians drowned — the enemies of wisdom (those who oppose God and oppress His people) are overcome. \"From the depth of hell she brought them out\" — either (a) bringing Israel up from the \"depths\" of Egyptian slavery (Egypt as a type of hell/bondage), or (b) raising the just from the realm of death. Lapide prefers the latter: wisdom rescues the just from the depths of affliction (the pit, slavery, imprisonment) and ultimately from the power of death itself.

THEREFORE THE JUST TOOK THE SPOILS OF THE WICKED, AND THEY SUNG TO THY HOLY NAME, O LORD, AND PRAISED WITH ONE ACCORD THY VICTORIOUS HAND.

The Israelites took the spoils of the Egyptians and sang the canticle at the Red Sea (Exod 15). Lapide on the Canticle of Moses: a type of the heavenly liturgy (Apoc 15:3), in which the saints sing the praise of God's victorious wisdom. Applied to the Eucharistic liturgy: the Mass as a participation in the eternal song of praise.

FOR WISDOM OPENED THE MOUTH OF THE DUMB, AND MADE THE TONGUES OF INFANTS ELOQUENT.

Wisdom opened the mouths of the mute — Lapide reads this literally (the Israelites who could not speak freely in Egypt suddenly burst into song) and typologically (the Church, long silent under pagan oppression, suddenly singing God's praises at Pentecost). Applied to the preaching mission of the Church: wisdom gives eloquence to those whom the world considers ignorant and unlettered (the Apostles, 1 Cor 1:27).