The Deed-Consequence Nexus

Continuing my exploration of the issue of reward and retribution in wisdom literature, here is a quote from Michael V. Fox on the so-called "deed-consequence nexus."

Wisdom literature does tend to formulate retribution as an automatic process of cause and effect. Warnings thus formulated are more believable One need not feel God's immediate presence to get the point: Bad deeds hurt you. Rather than excluding divine judgment, the formulation of retribution as a causal connection, which I would call "intrinsic retribution," emphasizes the omnipresence and immediacy of God's justice in human affairs. Since God created a just world and rules it constantly, any deserved consequence can be regarded as divine judgment (thus in Pss 7:11-14; 9:16-17). In other words, God's judgment subsumes natural causality rather than the other way around.
A favorite means of encapsulating the idea of intrinsic retribution is the "pit" topos: "He who digs a pit will fall into it" (Prov 26:27; cf. Pss 7:16, 17; 9:16; Sir 27:25-27). Various images are used to elucidate this principle, such as the net catching the one who spread it (Ps 9:16) and a stone falling down on the head of the one who threw it up (Sir 27:25).

Reference: M.V. Fox. 2000. Proverbs 1-9. Anchor 18A. New York: Doubleday, 91-92.

Random Verse: Sirach 33:1

Yes, it is completely random and unrelated to my last post that I happened to land in Sirach for the random verse. My paperback NRSV with Apocrypha was the closest Bible at hand on my nightstand (of course, I also have 2 ESVs within an arm’s length). I thought it might look suspect so I flipped again, but my conscience demanded that I return and post the very first verse that I’d landed on. No “best of three” allowed.

Sirach 33:1 (NRSV)

No evil will befall the one who fears the Lord, but in trials such a one will be rescued again and again.

While this is a potentially comforting verse and vague enough to be relevant, I’m awarding the point to Randomness because I don’t think this verse is true-to-life. It’s not realistic and could give someone a false hope. There are plenty of examples of evil befalling those who fear the Lord with no rescue in sight. I can say Ben Sira is wrong because he’s only in the Apocrypha, not the “real” Bible.

On the other hand, is this any different than the idealistic platitudes of Proverbs? Take Prov 10:3, for example:

The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. (NRSV)

What should we do with these types of statements in wisdom literature? Obviously they shouldn’t be taken as absolute truths, so what’s the point? More anon. In the meantime, any comments or suggestions?

Pun of the Day

From the introduction to Scribes, Visionaries, and the Politics of Second Temple Judea by Richard Horsley:

“We have it in writing, but Ben Sira represents his own teaching as oral and his listeners’ learning as aural.” (p.11)

I’m not sure if it technically qualifies as a pun, but I thought it was a clever turn of phrase. Hopefully, the rest of the book turns out to be just as clever.