lack of wisdom

A Fool for a King

/ kdmiller55 / 1 Comment

16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
    when he has no sense?
17 A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge
    and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts a bribe in secret
    to pervert the ways of justice.
24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father
    and bitterness to her who bore him.
26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. – Proverbs 17:16-28 ESV

It is virtually impossible to read the book of Proverbs and not think of Paul’s assessment of fallen humanity:

Claiming to be wise, they became fools… – Romans 1:22 ESV

The fool as described in Proverbs is not a moronic half-wit with a low IQ. They are a fully functioning and contributing member of society. They can hold high office, run a business, marry and raise a family, and even become highly successful and financially well off. Fools are ubiquitous but, oftentimes, virtually indistinguishable. They’re practically everywhere and their influence on society is unquestionable. That’s why Solomon spends so much time describing the nature of their true character. He wants his readers to understand that these people are a threat to the social fabric of Israel.

The nation of Israel had been established by God as a theocracy. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a theocracy is a “government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided” (“Theocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theocracy. Accessed 21 Jun. 2022).

The word theocracy is formed from two Greek words, theos (Greek for “God”) and -cracy (“rule, strength or government”). God had set apart the nation of Israel as His chosen people and He was to have been their King. For generations, God had faithfully led them and cared for them. He had delivered them from their captivity in Egypt and established them as a nation in the land of Canaan. He had given them His law to guide and direct their lives and provided them with the sacrificial system and the tabernacle so that they might have atonement for their sins when they failed to live up to His holy standards. But the day came when they rejected His rule and reign over their lives, demanding to have a human king instead.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” – 1 Samuel 8:4-7 ESV

God gave them exactly what they had asked for – a king who would judge them like every other human king. He gave them King Saul, a man who would prove to be the epitome of a fool. He was good-looking, charismatic, a great warrior, and, seemingly, a natural-born leader.

There was a wealthy, influential man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, of the tribe of Benjamin. His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land. – 1 Samuel 9:1-2 NLT

While Saul’s reign began well, he proved to be a less-than-godly king. He was impulsive and impetuous, eventually disobeying the commands of God. And, for this reason, God chose to replace him with a young shepherd boy named David. Saul exhibited many of the characteristics of the fool as described in the book of Proverbs. He had been chosen by God to lead the people of Israel but he was to have done so as God’s authorized representative. His appointment as the king of Israel had been at God’s discretion and he was accountable for his actions. He had been given great authority and yet he abused that authority. Thinking himself to be wise, he became a fool.

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” – 1 Samuel 13:13-14 ESV

Saul devolved into a foolish, petty sovereign whose actions became increasingly evil and out of step with the will of God. In a real sense, the God-appointed king of Israel became godless. He had power, authority, and access to God through the prophet Samuel, but Saul became increasingly distant and dangerously independent. He made impulsive and unwise decisions. He operated autonomously and used his God-ordained power as a means of solidifying his reign rather than caring for the people of Israel.

Saul provides a real-life example of the fool. He had been given everything but he ended up with nothing. This young man, who had come from a well-to-do family, had been chosen to lead the nation of Israel, answering directly to God Himself. But his great wealth couldn’t buy him the one thing he really needed: Wisdom.

Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
    when he has no sense? – Proverbs 17:16 ESV

Saul had power but lacked wisdom. He wasn’t stupid, but he had no godly discernment. Saul became wise in his own mind, refusing to accept the input and even the discipline of the prophet of God. In time, Saul became unteachable and retractable, living increasingly more according to his own will rather than that of God.

Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who makes his door high seeks destruction. – Proverbs 17:19 ESV

His obsession with power and authority became a stumbling block, causing him to sin against God. And he began to believe that his position as king would protect him from harm. The high walls of his palace and the power he wielded were all the security he needed – or so he thought.

A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity. – Proverbs 17:20 ESV

Saul would discover the truth of this proverb. The eventual outcome of his life was far from good. His propensity for lies and deception would catch up with him. And Saul’s father, Kish, would learn the truth behind the proverb:

He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy. – Proverbs 17:21 ESV

Saul’s life would not end well. His foolishness would eventually catch up to him and he would die an ignominious death.

The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. – 1 Samuel 31:3-6 ESV

Saul had failed to heed the truth of the proverb: “The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth” (Proverbs 17:24 ESV). He had taken his eye off the prize of wisdom and had ended up seeking fame, fortune, power, and prominence instead. Somewhere along the way he had stopped fearing God and had lost his grip on wisdom. So, in time, Solomon became the foolish son who brought “grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him” (Proverbs 17:25 ESV).

The God-appointed king of Israel became a fool, all because he lost his reverence for God. This good-looking and gifted young man squandered his opportunity to lead the people of Israel. He became wise in his own eyes and attempted to rule God’s people on his own terms. And the older he got, the more foolish he became, proving the veracity of the proverb: “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent” (Proverbs 17:28 ESV).

Saul lived the life of the fool and died a fool’s death. And his foolish choices had long-lasting ramifications. Sadly, his legacy of folly and pride did not die with him.

And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them. – 1 Samuel 31:7 ESV

The folly of fools has a shelf-life. It lives long after they’re gone. And Solomon was living proof that the infectious nature of folly can be passed down from generation to generation. And the only antidote is the fear of the Lord.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Deadly Desires

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1 My son, keep my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you;
2 keep my commandments and live;
    keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
3 bind them on your fingers;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you from the forbidden woman,
    from the adulteress with her smooth words.

6 For at the window of my house
    I have looked out through my lattice,
7 and I have seen among the simple,
    I have perceived among the youths,
    a young man lacking sense,
8 passing along the street near her corner,
    taking the road to her house
9 in the twilight, in the evening,
    at the time of night and darkness.

10 And behold, the woman meets him,
    dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
11 She is loud and wayward;
    her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market,
    and at every corner she lies in wait.
13 She seizes him and kisses him,
    and with bold face she says to him,
14 “I had to offer sacrifices,
    and today I have paid my vows;
15 so now I have come out to meet you,
    to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with coverings,
    colored linens from Egyptian linen;
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
    aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
    let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey;
20 he took a bag of money with him;
    at full moon he will come home.”

21 With much seductive speech she persuades him;
    with her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once he follows her,
    as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast
23     till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
    he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24 And now, O sons, listen to me,
    and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
    do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim has she laid low,
    and all her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,
    going down to the chambers of death. – Proverbs 7:1-27 ESV

When I was a child, whenever we would visit my father’s family in rural Pennsylvania we would always take one night to go out and look for deer. My dad had a high-powered flashlight that plugged into the cigarette lighter of the car and had a beam on it that would seemingly go for miles. At dusk, we would pile into our old station wagon and head out into the country in search of deer. My dad would cruise slowly down those one-lane roads with all of us kids hanging out the window, waiting in silence as he worked the powerful beam of that spotlight back and forth across the fields. Then suddenly, they would appear.

Pairs of glowing orbs mysteriously floating in the darkness. Then the spotlight would reveal their source: hundreds of deer standing like statues, ears up, tails twitching, and noses nervously sniffing the air for signs of danger. I was amazed by the power the spotlight held over them. It was like they were in a trance, transfixed to the spot on which they stood, unable to stand. It’s why, in most states, it is illegal to hunt deer using any kind of light source. It’s unfair. They can’t help themselves. They’re defenseless. And I can’t help but think of that scene every time I read the warnings that Solomon gives his son regarding the immoral woman.

He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, awaiting an arrow that would pierce its heart. – Proverbs 7:22-23 NLT

The innocent young man was transfixed and seduced by the mesmerizing allure of forbidden fruit and false flattery. Each and every day, young men AND old men get caught in the headlights of lust. The enemy trolls the highways and byways of life looking for men AND women who he can transfix with the bright light of sin. And unlike most law-abiding hunters, Satan ignores any and all rules, taking down as many innocent victims as possible, like stags caught in a trap. He finds his work easygoing because most men are easy prey.

But there is another factor involved in this scene that sets it slightly apart from my childhood memories of “deer spotting.” It’s subtle but significant. Solomon describes seeing a naive young man who lacked common sense. He is one of the simple ones, open-minded and foolish. He is gullible and lacking in common sense or moral character. He is incapable of making good choices or recognizing the danger of his situation. So he crosses the street near the house of an immoral woman. In other words, he puts himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. “It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell” (Proverbs 7:9 NLT). He had no business being there, but he also had no sense to know better. He was a fool. He was like a deer strolling smack dab into a camp of hunters.

Deer are naturally wary. They have a built-in defense mechanism – a fright and flight response wired into them by God. But due to the effects of the fall, men have had their spiritual senses deadened. Our spiritual receptors have been dulled by sin and we no longer have the capacity to sense danger or know what to do about it if we do. And we become easy prey for the enemy, like deer tied to a stake with a target painted on our side. So, Solomon warns his son. He begs him to listen to his words of warning. He says, “Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path” (Proverbs 7:25 NLT).

Stray away from what? Wander away from what? It is when our hearts stray from God that we become prey for the enemy. It is when we wander off God’s path that we find ourselves in the high weeds or like a deer in the headlights. The words of an old hymn summarize our situation well.

Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Be warned. Be worried. Be wary. Keep your heart close to God. Walk His path. Keep close to His side. He will give you wisdom, discernment, and the sensory perception to see danger and run from it. His way is the way to true life.

You see, Godly wisdom has its benefits. That may sound like an understatement or an extreme case of overstating the obvious, but in either case, it’s true. When we seek God and follow His ways, we gain an extreme advantage in this life. Without Him, we are left vulnerable to the temptations that are guaranteed to come our way as we live our lives on this planet.

Solomon knew that and so he went out of his way to teach his sons to seek the wisdom and insight God had to offer them. In this Proverb, he warns his sons in very graphic detail about the one temptation that faces just about every member of the male side of the species: The adulterous woman. He uses a story to illustrate for his sons just how susceptible they will be without the wisdom and insight that God provides. He describes “some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense” (Proverbs 7:7 NLT). The Hebrew word translated “naive” here can also mean “open-minded, one easily persuaded or enticed.”

These young men lacked the capacity to defend themselves from temptation. They were naturally open-minded or, in a way, empty-headed, and unable to say no to the tempting offers this world throws at every young man. One of the young men, who becomes the focus of Solomon’s story, was “void of understanding” according to the King James Bible. He lacked common sense. He didn’t have any wisdom from God that would warn him of the dangers that lie ahead. So when the adulterous woman spotted him walking by her house, she pounced. One of the first things that should jump out at us is the fact that this young man was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It says, “He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house” (Proverbs 7:8 NLT). He had no business being there. Yet Solomon describes him as “strolling” along, completely unaware of just how much danger he was in. Without the wisdom of God, he was going to find himself defenseless to the temptations headed his way. He was going to buy into the flattering words from this woman’s lips that to a wise man would have been obvious lies. “You’re the one I was looking for!” she would say, and “like an ox going to the slaughter,” he would allow her to lead him to his own demise. He would be easily seduced by her “pretty speech” and suffer the devastating consequences of his mistake.

But he would not be alone. “For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims” (Proverbs 7:26 NLT). The list of names of the men who have become victims of this temptation is long and continues to grow. All because men continue to reject the wisdom that God offers. Even so-called godly men fall prey to the adulterous woman because they reject the wisdom God offers them. They refuse to listen to His Word. Instead, they choose to give in to their desires and satisfy their natural pleasures. They live for the moment and seek to meet the needs of their flesh, rather than live in the power of the Spirit. The wisdom of God could protect them, but they refuse to listen. Wisdom has its benefits, but only if we take advantage of all it has to offer. We have to want the wisdom of God more than we want the pleasures of this world.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

 

When Sin Clouds Our Thinking.

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While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “Am I a dog’s head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.” And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you.” And he said, “Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned.

And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.’” Abner also spoke to Benjamin. And then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin thought good to do.

When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. And Abner said to David, “I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace. – 2 Samuel 3:6-21 ESV

Living in disobedience to God’s commands can cloud our thinking. It renders us incapable of making wise decisions because we end up making them in the flesh. As long as we harbor unconfessed sin in our hearts, we will find our minds suffering from cloudy thinking. That seems to have been David’s problem As we saw in the opening verses of this chapter, David had a problem with women – he was addicted to them. So much so, that he ended up with as many as eight wives, in direct violation of God’s law. Now, when Abner proposes to hand over to David the other tribes and solidify his kingship, David readily agrees, but on one condition. He demands that Michal, the daughter of Saul and his first wife be returned to him. And this is in spite of the fact that Michal had already remarried. We are not given David’s motives. Perhaps he was simply trying to solidify his right to be king over all the tribes and assumed that having Michal as his queen would win over the Benjaminites. But the likely reason behind David’s demand for Michal’s return was tied to his love affair with women. He wanted her back. And he emphasized to Ish-bosheth that he had every right to have her back because, he said, “I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines” (2 Samuel 3:14 ESV).

But, once again, David was making decisions with a mind clouded by sin. He wasn’t processing clearly the ramifications of his actions. First of all, Michal had remarried, and God had made it clear in His law that it was unacceptable for anyone to remarry his wife after she had married again (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). And when David demanded that she be returned to him, she was removed from her home by force, leaving her husband in tears. This decision would come back to haunt David. His relationship with Michal would never be the same. Later on in the book of 2 Samuel, there is the story recorded of when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. David had arranged for a royal procession, complete with music and much celebration. He led the parade, dancing with joy before the cart carrying the Ark of the Covenant. But we read what Michal thought about David’s exhibition.

As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. – 2 Samuel 6:16 ESV

But demanding the return of Michal was not the only poor decision David made. His negotiations with Abner would prove problematic. This man had been the one to convince Ish-bosheth, the sole remaining son of Saul, to declare himself king of all of Israel. Abner is the one who led the armies of Ish-bosheth against David. And he is the one who killed Asahel, the brother of Joab. Abner was a self-seeking opportunist who would do anything to feather his own nest. He had no love affair for Ish-bosheth. He was simply using him. And when Ish-bosheth confronts Abner about sleeping with one of his concubines, Abner becomes furious and threatens to switch sides – which he does. He had just been defeated by David’s forces in battle and he knew that Ish-bosheth was not fit to be king. So he makes a deal with David, completely motivated by self-preservation. And David, his mind clouded by sin, unwisely accepts his offer.

Had David been thinking clearly, he would have seen through Abner’s overtures. He would have recognized that Abner had no allegiance to him or his kingdom. He was in it for himself. And David didn’t even seem to consider how his decision would impact Joab, his friend and commander-in-chief. In fact, when David made this decision, Joab was just returning from a successful raid, where he and David’s men had captured a great deal of plunder. David never seems to consider how Joab would take the news of his willing acceptance of Abner’s offer. And as a result, David’s decision would bring about further, unnecessary bloodshed.

It had been one thing for David to refuse to kill king Saul, the Lord’s anointed, when he had the chance. But to knowingly overlook the unfaithfulness of Abner, and welcome him back with open arms, was another thing. Over his lifetime, David would show a propensity for avoiding doing the right thing. Years later, when his own son Absalom would have his half-brother Amnon murdered for raping his sister, Tamar,  David would take no action. He simply allowed Absalom to run away. There is no punishment meted out. Absalom was not forced to pay for his sin. And when Joab tricked David into allowing Absalom to return, he once again avoided the inevitable, refusing to meet with his son. And his lack of action would result in Absalom’s growing resentment and eventual overthrow of David’s rule.

Sin clouds our thinking. It makes it impossible to clearly hear from God. It blinds us to reality and casts a mist over the circumstances of life. We are unable to see things as they truly are. Our discernment becomes impaired. Our spiritual vision becomes blurry and our capacity to make wise choices becomes weakened. David was still a man after God’s own heart, but he was still a man who had to deal with the reality of indwelling sin.

Paul gives us a remedy for when we find our thinking clouded by sin:

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:1-2 NLT

 

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson