Wisdom of Sirach

Objective: 

• Faith in God

• Honoring your father and mother

Resources:

• Fr Tadros Y Malaty Commentary
• Catena Bible Commentary
• Fr Dawoud Lamie Bible study (Arabic)

Reading:

• Sirach 2: 1-11
• Sirach 3: 1-34
• Sirach 4: 1-11
• Sirach 6: 1-17
• Sirach 24: 1-17
• Sirach 38: 1-15
• Sirach 51: To be prayed at the end as a group prayer

Key verse(s):

“You that fear the Lord, believe him; and your reward shall not fail” Sirach 1:8

Comments:

• Also known as Joshua the Son of Sirach
• The last of the Wisdom Books
• It is the longest of the Wisdom Books
• We read multiple chapters/paragraphs during the Great Lent in our Coptic Lectionary
• Sirach was written close to the Nativity of our Lord
• It was originally written in Hebrew and then translated into Greek
• The Book contains plenty of virtues and practical and reflective wisdom
• Sirach 51 is a thanksgiving prayer by Joshua
• Ch.2
  • V.1: When we grow spiritually, the devil will increase the wars as long as we are getting closer to Christ as he wants us to fail
    • This is opposite to the people who think that being close to God will prevent temptations from them
  • V.5: As gold gets more purified when tried in fire, the man also increases spiritually and gets purified more when he resists the devil
  • V.11: God took care of the people before us and took care of us before in our lives, He will not stop!
• Ch.3
  • Ch. 2 talks about how to honor your father and mother
  • This chapter expands on the commandment that God gave Moses
  • V.1: The spiritually wise people come together to form the Church
    
  • V.19-34: Talks about the difference between a pure heart and an unwise heart
• Ch. 4
  • V.1-11: The importance of giving donations and supporting those who are in need
  • This has to be done with wisdom lest we give money to people who use it in bad/wrong means
  • V.11: If you support the poor, you become a child of God
• Ch.6
  • The importance of a Godly friend
  • V.17: Fearing god = Choosing friends who fear God too = Healthy friendships
• Ch. 24
  • The Fathers understand this chapter to be a reference to Christ
  • V.5: Begotten from the Father before all ages
  • V.7: He is a heavenly God
  • V.13: He incarnated as a seed of Jacob
  • V.14: He is an Etenral God
  • V.17: He was exalted on the Cross in front of multitudes
• Ch. 38
  • Medicine and medications are from God
  • V.2: God has blessed us with medicine and medications
  • V.3: The knowledge of a doctor is a talent that God gave to use for the glory of His name
  • V.4: Taking medications is not against the faith. We understand that God blessed us with these. The herbs are created by God that cause the cure
  • V.9: Being sick should encourage the person to pray more, not an excuse to not pray
  • V.9-12: shows the correct order. You pray and repent first, and then rely on medicine
  • V.14: A message to the doctor. Don't forget God's hand and always pray for the patients
  • V.15: Sometimes God uses the disease for people to pray and repent (e.g. Covid 19)
• Ch. 51: To be prayed at the end as a group prayer.

Review/recap questions:
**Servant may add more questions

Homework:
**Servant may add more questions