#daily scripture

The Book of Wisdom, written by King Solomon, offers a brief account of the life of the prophet Moses and the Israelites' exodus to the promised land. This narrative, within the sapiential literature, has a very specific purpose: to teach that wisdom is essential for true leadership, and that without her, there can be no true blessedness for man. Wisdom is not merely a theoretical science but a profoundly practical one, because the story of Moses is summarized in a lesson of wisdom: "Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth, think of the Lord with uprightness, and seek him with sincerity of heart" Wisdom 1:1. And this makes sense because the sapiential literature in the Bible explains that God is the wisdom itself, that is, the spirit. And the story begins as wisdom blessed Moses to fulfill a very special spiritual mission, and filled his heart with intelligence, discernment and common sense with these words: "She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord and withstood dread kings with signs and wonders" Wisdom 10:16. Wisdom was then revealed to Moses and also gave him spiritual power to perform wonders and miracles before Pharaoh, and despite the hard-heartedness of the ruler of Egypt through the actions of Moses and the divine signs the chosen people were able to depart, teaches the Book of Wisdom. And with the departure of the Israelites, wisdom became protection and spiritual guidance for the oppressed, as the book tells Bible readers: "She guided them along a marvelous way, and became a shelter to them by day, and a starry flame through the night" Wisdom 10:17. With this, the wise man, author of the book, taught that wisdom exalts the humble but humbles the proud, and whoever has her as a friend and companion like the prophet Moses, follows the path of truth and life.

Malachi was not a political advisor like Isaiah, nor did he suffer persecution like Elijah; however, despite being a minor prophet, he is remembered as one of the most important prophets, and his prophecy about the second coming of Elijah has had a great impact on the Christian faith. Malachi lived during the Achaemenid dynasty and is considered the last prophet since, as a prophet, he succeeded Haggai and Zechariah, who were prophets of the last prophetic period, after the Babylonian exile. Although the political situation in Judea was stable due to the peace established by the Persian Empire, the religious situation was very turbulent. The prophet wrote about the corruption of the country's religious leadership; the fear of God (constancy, firmness, devotion) necessary for true worship had been forgotten, and in its place, greed and concupiscence dictated the rules. In this way, the prophet reminded everyone of the priests' obligation: "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty" Malachi 2:7. In other words, when priests fail to teach the word of God, all of society fails, because they are the teachers of the divine science. According to the prophet the priestly class had not only imposed deception, but also ignorance, causing the simple and ordinary people to suffer the consequences of oppression, and so the prophet wrote about the consequences of this whole problem: "But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi" Malachi 2:8. The Book of Malachi ends with the prophecy of a great day of the Lord, where the righteous and the sinners will be judged according to their works, and thus men will definitively return to the right path. The words of Malachi are a reminder of the importance of the prophets' work in the spiritual guidance of society, because as spiritual sentinels, they must warn when spiritual problems endanger society.