Rewards of wisdom: Then she returns to lead him along the straight path, bring him happiness, and reveal her secrets to him. Ben Sira 4:18

One of Ben Sira's purposes in his sapiential book was not only to show wisdom as something desirable, but to teach that wisdom is the ultimate mystery of the universe, and that to know her is to know the face of God. And to achieve this, Ben Sira left a series of very interesting spiritual teachings. The Book of Ben Sira teaches how wisdom acts in sensible men, because as all wise men have recognized, she, the most perfect science who accompanies God since the creation of the world, is not easily caught and tests those who wish to be worthy of her.
Because one thing is certain: according to the Christian faith, no one except Christ was born wise, and to receive the contemplative life, this spiritual gift requires a progressive, gradual effort from man towards that truth which is the divine. It can be said that if virtues, such as justice and prudence, are a step on a ladder, the last step is wisdom, which crowns any human virtue. Fighting for her is clearly the most beautiful and excellent thing, and whoever takes her as a life partner understands the meaning of life. And wisdom has something very special, a secret known to few, because wisdom as intelligence requires a second birth called Gnosis, a birth not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. The wise man, as such, is a man reborn from on high, as Solomon was reborn when, in a dream in the sacred place of Gibeon, he met God, and the creator of all things gave him the most excellent gifts to govern Israel (1 Kings 3:3-15).
The spiritual master Ben Sira then began by explaining in his sapiential book what the path to that wisdom as a perfect virtue or spiritual gift is like with these words: "At first she will lead him along tortuous paths, putting him to the test, filling him with fear and dread and trying him with her discipline until he comes to fully trust her" Ben Sira 4:17. To then explain what the rewards of wisdom consist of with this interesting expression: "Then she returns to lead him along the straight path, bring him happiness, and reveal her secrets to him" Ben Sira 4:18.
Ben Sira then showed wisdom as that treasure that must be found, because in its secrets lies the greatest good, a good greater than happiness itself.

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