The Wisdom of Solomon – Chapter 5

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• Exaltation contrasted with shame. 
• Vindication contrasted with remorse. 
• Acknowledgment of the righteous’s wisdom and the wicked’s guilt of mockery and oppression.  
• When the wicked’s sorrow and remorse for their folly comes too late. 

1 Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours. 2 When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for. 3 And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, This was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach: 4 we fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honour: 5 how is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints! 6 Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us. 7 We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction: yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way: but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it.

Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Revelation 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Aleph Tav, the first and the last, the beginning and the end…Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

These themes are everywhere! Romans 2:6 He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

Reward contrasted with condemnation. Actions on earth have eternal consequences.

2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will suffer the punishment of aiōnios destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed…   

Let’s look at the Hebrew word for Punishment (עֹנֶשׁ, onesh) Ayin Nun Shin.

Ayin represents vision or seeing, Nun signifies life, and Shin means destruction or consumption. Together, these letters tell is a story: punishment comes when one’s vision is clouded by unrighteousness, and thus life is consumed by destructive choices. There are two types of people in this world builders and destroyers – that’s it!

Tikkun is the central core, the restoration of the soul through purification. The unrighteous in Wisdom of Solomon 5 lack Tikkun; they refuse the divine wisdom that would have purified and healed them from their former pain in youth. 

Wisdom is truly a protective force, guiding the righteous through life bringing us into alignment with the divine will, while the wicked remain lost in their futile pursuits.

8 What hath pride profited us? or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us? 9 All those things are passed away like a shadow, and as a post that hasted by; 10 and as a ship that passeth over the waves of the water, which when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot be found, neither the pathway of the keel in the waves: 11 or as when a bird hath flown through the air, there is no token of her way to be found, but the light air being beaten with the stroke of her wings, and parted with the violent noise and motion of them, is passed through, and therein afterwards no sign where she went is to be found; 12 or like as when an arrow is shot at a mark, it parteth the air, which immediately cometh together again, so that a man cannot know where it went through: 13 even so we in like manner, as soon as we were born, began to draw to our end, and had no sign of virtue to shew; but were consumed in our own wickedness.

Oh…there will be torment – their fate is secured, it’s too late for them to change.

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…Then they will go away to aiōnios punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Refined as gold – (בָּרוּת, Barut) 

Bet – Resh – Vav – Tav  

Bet – house or dwelling, the container or vessel. Resh – head or the beginning, leadership or the start of a journey. Vav – what connects, the link between the present and the future. Tav – the sign or mark, meaning the result of the journey – the seal of completion.

This journey began with the wisdom (Bet) of the Son, and proceeded through trial (Resh), and was sustained by keeping a divine connection (Vav), and culminates in spiritual maturity and completion (Tav) of the journey called life!

Fiery trial – (נִסָּיוֹן, Nissayon) 

Nun -Yod-Samekh-Vav-Nun.

Nun-a fish or movement, the continuity or life. With Yod – hand or deed, implying action and Samekh – support or prop – stability in a trial. Vav -links, creates the bridge between experiences. The receptive second Nun brings to light the cycle of life and resurrection.

So…all that to say this; the fiery trial is the process where our soul is tested but also strengthened. The fire purifies and supports us, actually enabling us to grow through these challenges and ultimately return us to the source of life, which is His presence.

Shining like the sun (זָהַר, Zahav):  

Zayin – Hey – Resh. 

Zayin – sword or weapon, spiritual battle or action. Hey –  revelation or insight, divine illumination. Resh – head or beginning, the point of authority or beginning of new things when we accepted Yahusha’s yoke! 

So be at peace as you’ re refined through the trials of life, keep positive – shine brightly as you reflect  truth; because that wisdom becomes the very sword that cuts through the darkness, revealing the light of Elohim to the world.

Purification through judgment, even if it requires refining through judgment. Is it possible, is it probable that the crucible is not eternal torment, but a transformative process, wherein all creation is restored, ultimately fulfilling יהוה’s plan for salvation, just asking for a friend! 

14 For the hope of the ungodly is like dust that is blown away with the wind; like a thin froth that is driven away with the storm; like as the smoke which is dispersed here and there with a tempest, and passeth away as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day. 15 But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High. 16 Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord’s hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.

17 He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armour, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies. 18 He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet. 19 He shall take holiness for an invincible shield. 20 His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise.

2 Corinthians 4:17: For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

21 Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark. 22 And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them. 23 Yea, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.

The struggle between the forces of darkness and light really comes into view, the wicked are subjected to the power of divine rebuke, represented as a refining fire – suffering and purification.

The weapons of His warfare are sharp and powerful, and the power of His rebuke is like a refining fire. So divine judgment is a sword and a fire used in the refinement process. The sword represents truth and justice cutting through deception, while the fire represents purification.

In his latter years Solomon contacted 72 spirits from the council, as he attempted to control and dominate these spirits. He was seeking authority over both heavenly and earthly realms. 

He would invoke divine authority to banish evil through ritual purification, just like the fire that purifies gold and reveals its true form. 

So could the “refining fire” could be understood as the spiritual refinement of the righteous through trials, and a purification of the world, which mirrors the concepts of exorcism and spiritual purification seen in the Solomonic traditions.

The numbers 70 and 72 are found throughout scripture and Hebrew thought, and they connect with themes of divine order, purification, spiritual realms, and historical cycles. 

70 Souls Went Down into Egypt (Genesis 46:27)

In the Masoretic Text (MT), 70 souls went down to Egypt with Jacob, forming the foundation of the nation of Israel but the Septuagint (LXX) says it was 72, is it possible that the discrepancy is because additional tribes or extended members of Jacob’s family were counted?

We know 70 represents the totality of the nations – a complete set of people destined for יהוה’s purposes! 

So…there’s a view between the completeness of Israel as the foundation for all nations versus an extended, more Sode understanding of divine inclusiveness — 72 suggesting the fullness of creation, covering all aspects of existence. My point in chapter 3. 

The 72 titles of יהוה:

come from three verses in the Book of Shemot (Exodus 14:19-21) with the  parting of the Red Sea. These 72 titles are used in divine prayer and have immense power for protection, healing, and spiritual ascent.

Exodus 14:19-21: And the angel of יהוה that went before the camp of the children of Israel removed and went behind, and the pillar of the cloud also removed from before them and stood behind them. 20 And it went between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and stood; and there was darkness and blackness; and the night passed, and they came not near to one another during the whole night. 21 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the Lord carried back the sea with a strong south wind all the night, and made the sea dry, and the water was divided.

You take the first letter of each of the three consecutive verses (Exodus 14:19-21), forming three-letter sequences:

Verse 19: The first letter of each word: Yod (י), He (ה), Vav (ו), giving the first name.

Verse 20: The next set of three letters: Yod (י), He (ה), Vav (ו), giving the second name.

Verse 21: The next set of three letters: Yod (י), He (ה), Vav (ו), giving the third name.

Solomon believed The 72 titles served as an access points to divine energy – the s keys that open spiritual gates, guiding those who practice it  towards greater insight, protection, and spiritual elevation.

They’re really a manifestation of יהוה’s will and presence in the world, associated with specific attributes of יהוה.

Exodus 14:19:

First Verse: The first three words are:

• וַיִּסְעַף (Vayisa’f) – “And he moved”
• מַלְאַךְ (Mal’akh) – “Angel”
• הָאֱלֹהִים (HaElohim) – “Of God”

The first letters of these words are:

• ו (Vav)
• מ (Mem)
• ה (He)

Exodus 14:20:

Second Verse: The first three words are:

• וַיָּבֹא (Vayavo) – “And he came”
• בֵּין (Bein) – “Between”
• הַמַּחֲנֶה (HaMachaneh) – “The camp”

The first letters of these words are:

• ו (Vav)
• ב (Bet)
• ה (He)

Exodus 14:21:

Third Verse: The first three words are:

• וַיִּטְּ (Vayite) – “And he stretched”
• מֹשֶׁה (Moshe) – “Moses”
• יָדוֹ (Yado) – “His hand”

The first letters of these words are:

• ו (Vav)
• מ (Mem)
• י (Yod)

By combining these letters from the three verses, you create 72 three-letter titles. 

1. Vav, Mem, He
2. Vav, Bet, He
3. Vav, Mem, Yod

And so on, forming 72 total combinations.

Some of the 72 titles:

For example:

1. Vav Mem He – Associated with spiritual strength, divine will.
2. Vav Bet He – Symbolizing protection and divine justice.
3. Vav Mem Yod – Representing divine transformation, energy, and healing.

• Spiritual Use: The 72 titles can be used in prayer, meditation, and rituals like baptism.
• Protection: Used for petitioning protection, healing, and spiritual guidance.
• Sode level: The titles are keys to unlock the divine mysteries and help the us grow closer to His will.

It’s the power, will, and action of יהוה manifest.

So…then 72 in this context represents the spiritual dimensions that are activated through understanding divine attributes. Each of the 72 titles are associated with different qualities and aspects of יהוה’s nature.