Chapter Reflection

This chapter pivots sharply from a desperate, sweeping plea for national deliverance to an intimate observation of domestic stability. It begins with a cry for God to shatter the arrogance of nations who claim self-sufficiency, asking Him to prove His unique divinity through visible, terrifying wonders. The tension lies in the request for God to both destroy enemies and reveal Himself to them, so that the whole earth might acknowledge His eternity. Suddenly, the focus shifts to the discernment of the human heart, comparing the ability to detect false speech to the palate tasting meat. The final movement presents the home and a virtuous wife as the ultimate 'pillar of rest' for a man. Without this foundational relationship, a person is depicted as a wandering, untrusted thief without a hedge to protect his life.

Divine SovereigntyRestoration of JacobDomestic Stability

Sirach 36

1Have mercy upon us, O Lord God of all, and behold us:

2And send thy fear upon all the nations that seek not after thee.

3Lift up thy hand against the strange nations, and let them see thy power.

4As thou wast sanctified in us before them: so be thou magnified among them before us.

5And let them know thee, as we have known thee, that there is no God but only thou, O God.

6Shew new signs, and make other strange wonders: glorify thy hand and thy right arm, that they may set forth thy wondrous works.

7Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath: take away the adversary, and destroy the enemy.

8Sake the time short, remember the covenant, and let them declare thy wonderful works.

9Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire; and let them perish that oppress the people.

10Smite in sunder the heads of the rulers of the heathen, that say, There is none other but we.

11Gather all the tribes of Jacob together, and inherit thou them, as from the beginning.

12O Lord, have mercy upon the people that is called by thy name, and upon Israel, whom thou hast named thy firstborn.

13O be merciful unto Jerusalem, thy holy city, the place of thy rest.

14Fill Sion with thine unspeakable oracles, and thy people with thy glory:

15Give testimony unto those that thou hast possessed from the beginning, and raise up prophets that have been in thy name.

16Reward them that wait for thee, and let thy prophets be found faithful.

17O Lord, hear the prayer of thy servants, according to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, that all they which dwell upon the earth may know that thou art the Lord, the eternal God.

18The belly devoureth all meats, yet is one meat better than another.

19As the palate tasteth divers kinds of venison: so doth an heart of understanding false speeches.

20A froward heart causeth heaviness: but a man of experience will recompense him.

21A woman will receive every man, yet is one daughter better than another.

22The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance, and a man loveth nothing better.

23If there be kindness, meekness, and comfort, in her tongue, then is not her husband like other men.

24He that getteth a wife beginneth a possession, a help like unto himself, and a pillar of rest.

25Where no hedge is, there the possession is spoiled: and he that hath no wife will wander up and down mourning.

26Who will trust a thief well appointed, that skippeth from city to city? so who will believe a man that hath no house, and lodgeth wheresoever the night taketh him?

Who God is

How does God’s role as the 'eternal God' of the whole earth reconcile with the specific, jealous affection He shows for Israel as His 'firstborn'?

The condition of man

What does it mean for your life to have a 'hedge' around it, and what happens to the human spirit when it lacks a place of rest or a companion 'like unto' itself?