Context No. 3075 of 4322 · Wisdom

Wisdom 5:17-23: in context

17He will take his zeal as complete armor, and will make the whole creation his weapons to punish his enemies: 18He will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and will wear impartial judgment as a helmet. 19He will take holiness as an invincible shield. 20He will sharpen stern wrath for a sword. The universe will go with him to fight against his frenzied foes. 21Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim. They will leap to the mark from the clouds, as from a well-drawn bow. 22Hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult. The water of the sea will be angered against them. Rivers will sternly overwhelm them. 23A mighty wind will encounter them. It will winnow them away like a tempest. So lawlessness will make all the land desolate. Their evil-doing will overturn the thrones of princes.

The Wisdom of Solomon paints God arming himself against the wicked, and his armor is made of his own attributes: zeal for a suit of armor, righteousness as a breastplate, impartial judgment as a helmet, holiness as a shield, stern wrath as a sword. And more, the whole creation is enlisted as his weaponry: lightning flies with true aim, hail is hurled, sea and rivers and wind rise up against evildoers.

The image is of the entire created order standing on God's side against wickedness. Where the wicked imagined the universe indifferent, or theirs to exploit, it turns out to be God's arsenal, ready to be arrayed against injustice. And notice what his armor is made of, righteousness, justice, holiness; his own character is his defense and his weapon. This is a moral universe, not a neutral one, and in the end creation itself stands with its Maker against evil. Paul takes up this very imagery for us, so that the righteousness and salvation that are God's own become the armor his people wear.

Do I live as though the universe is morally neutral, or as though it finally belongs to a righteous God whose own righteousness is both his weapon and, in Christ, my armor?

Sources

Wisdom 5:18: "He will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and will wear impartial judgment as a helmet."
Romans 13:12: "Let's therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let's put on the armor of light."
Ephesians 6:14: "Having put on the breastplate of righteousness."