Wisdom
Chapter 15
To Know You Is Perfect Justice
But you, our God, are kind and truthful; you endure evil patiently and govern everything with mercy.
Even when we sin, we belong to you and acknowledge your power, but knowing we belong to you, we shall not sin.
To know you is perfect righteousness, and to acknowledge your power is the foundation of immortality.
So we have not been misled by a false invention of human effort—the sterile work of painters—these idols painted with colors,
the sight of which stirs longing in fools attached to the lifeless face of a dead image.
Really, idol-makers and those who serve and worship them seek disgrace and deserve to have false hope.
Clay Idols
The potter, carefully shaping the soft clay, creates each object for our use, and from the same clay, he molds vessels—some for food and others for disposal. The potter produces vessels for both clean and unclean purposes, deciding what each one is meant for.
In the same way, and from the same clay, he forms a helpless god—a cursed effort by a man recently made from clay, who will soon return to clay when called to surrender his soul.
He has no thought of dying soon, no awareness of life’s brief span. Not at all. He competes with those working in silver and gold, and like the smith, he takes pride in making a counterfeit of God.
Ashes—that is what his heart is; his hope is cheaper than dust;
his life is worth as much as clay, for he has not recognized his Maker, who has breathed into him an active soul, a living spirit.
He sees life as a game, and its length as a market full of deals, for as he says, “a man must make the most of life whether by fair means or foul.”
For these, more than others, understand that they sin by shaping vessels and sculpting gods from the same clay.
Deified Animals
But utterly foolish and more pitiable than the soul of a newborn infant were the enemies that oppressed your people.
They accepted as gods all the idols of the nations—idols that have no eyes to see, no nostrils to breathe the air, no ears to hear, no fingers to feel with, or feet that can walk. For these gods are the work of a man, a creature of borrowed breath who made them.
Man cannot even create a god that resembles himself;
a mortal’s unholy hands produce a lifeless god. In fact, he is superior to what he worships, since he at least lives, but they will never live.
People worship the most repulsive animals, the most foolish of all, which, unlike other animals, are devoid of beauty;
these are unattractive creatures who have missed the blessing of God and are not fit to give him praise.
Commentaries
Idolatry.
The historical judgments are paused—they will resume in chapter 16—and a strong critique of polytheistic idolatry emerges. This message remains highly relevant today. Idols are increasing in our society—power, money, pleasure. Their effects are clear: cynicism, injustice, destruction… Believers still have the responsibility to speak out against these issues and to offer hope.
To Know You Is Perfect Justice.
The first part of chapter 15 focuses on two experiences: divine goodness, faithfulness, patience, and mercy (1; Ex 34:6f), and the understanding that knowing God is equivalent to recognizing perfect justice or the principle of immortality (3; Jn 17:3). Knowing God is an experience. It is a complete experience even here on earth because He is good, faithful, patient, and merciful. This is how He shows His strength and justice.
Clay Idols.
As in the description of wooden idols (13:10-19), we now refer to clay idols (Is 45; Rom 9:21), but with one difference: here, the focus is not just on idolatry, but on how the human creator is unaware of his own life. For example, he does not worry about dying (9), his mind is ashes (10), he considers life a game (12), etc., for even though he makes figures of clay, he is still part of God’s creation (Gn 2:3; 3:19). Why do humans try to highlight their works or compete with each other as if life were a game? What if they saw themselves as sons and daughters in God’s hands, or viewed others as unique beings, images of the one who created them?
Deified Animals.
The theme of idolatry ends here, once again recalling the Egyptians and their idols, which serves as a transition to what we will see in chapter 16. The criticism of deified animals is similar to that in Psalms 115:5-7; 135:16-17, likely also reflecting the past of religious syncretism experienced in Israel during the Hellenistic period (200 years ago). When the environment around the believer destroys their own convictions, and loneliness and despair grow, remember that truth does not belong to the majority, nor is God where idols or worship are most numerous. Instead, truth exists beyond those who try to capture it, revealing the meaning of things, and God dwells, like a sacrament, in people.