Indeed, before you the whole universe is like a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. 23 But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook sins for the sake of repentance. 24 For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for you would not fashion what you hate. 25 How could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? 26 But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Ruler and Lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things!' 2 Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, Lord!'
These verses in the Book of Wisdom were written about the mercy God showed the Egyptians by giving them time for repentance that would allow God to forgive them. For example, the Egyptians worshipped animals so during the Exodus God sent plagues with animals to punish them – frogs, flies, locusts – which hurt them but did not kill them giving them time to repent.
In God’s working of Divine Wisdom, “One is punished by the very things through which one sins (Wis 11:16).” The author speaks of God’s greatness and power over the universe and how relatively insignificant the universe is compared to God. God loves all that he has created and in his love, mercy, and omnipotence he forgives the sins of man if man repents (vv. 23-24). God sustains all things and shows mercy to all mankind. He is master over souls and loves all souls because he has put his eternal Spirit in the souls of men (vv. 25-26). God warns and reminds sinners of their sins little by little so that they may turn away from their wickedness and believe in him.
Almighty and merciful God, our souls yearn for you because we were created by you and are sustained by you. Help us to accept your gift of faith so that we may repent of our sins and turn to you and be forgiven. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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