The Wise Will Understand

The "wickedness of self‑confidence" permeates our entire educational system. Men are taught to rely upon their own abilities all through life. They consider themselves fully capable of shaping the laws governing society, and of passing judgment on matters that affect the entire nation. The natural result of this false doctrine is seen today with terrifying clarity: civilization on the brink of disaster, leaders in confusion, and the multitude in complete ignorance as to why such a state of affairs exists.

The whole scathing indictment against this false system is given by Pul in 2 Timothy 3:1‑4:

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."

"For men shall be LOVERS OF THEIR OWN SELVES, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high‑minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God."

This is the natural result of a civilization built on standards far removed from the truth. Small wonder we have incurred the terrible displeasure of the Lord of Hosts. Small wonder the world is undergoing divine judgment, even as predicted:

"For many great miseries shall be done to them that in the latter time shall dwell in the world, because they have walked in great pride." (2 Esdras 8:50)

This pride flourishes in the almost total absence of a certain greatly‑needed attribute; the fear of the Lord. The wise King Solomon said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," (Psalm 111:10) a saying worn so threadbare by much repetition that we miss its significance, even when we hear or read it.

Judged by this standard, our intellectual leaders never take even the first step toward understanding, for the fear of the Lord is practically nonexistent today. We are taught to look upon God as a kindly, rather indulgent heavenly Father who may occasionally deny His children something they ask (which probably wouldn't be good for them anyway) but Who may be trusted to do right by them on the whole. If they neglect or flagrantly violate the laws He provided for their individual and national welfare, it isn't a terribly serious matter, for the Lord is merciful, and forgives easily.

But Ecclesiastics 16:11 states:

"He is mighty to forgive, AND TO POUR OUT DISPLEASURE."

Is not the terrible punishment of the two woes; Saracen and Ottoman, proof enough of this? Should not the spectacle of two unbelievably bloody wars in a generation drive the point home? It should, but "The fool walketh in darkness," (Ecclesiastics 2:14) and understanding eludes him.

The Lord of Hosts says:

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear?" (Malachi 1:6)

Until a wholesome respect for the omnipotence of the Most High God becomes ingrained in our being, we can expect no respite from His chastisements.

The whole scathing indictment against this false system is given by Pul in 2 Timothy 3:1‑4:

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."

"For many great miseries shall be done to them that in the latter time shall dwell in the world, because they have walked in great pride." (2 Esdras 8:50)

But Ecclesiastics 16:11 states:

"He is mighty to forgive, AND TO POUR OUT DISPLEASURE."

The Lord of Hosts says:

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear?" (Malachi 1:6)

Until a wholesome respect for the omnipotence of the Most High God becomes ingrained in our being, we can expect no respite from His chastisements.

It may be objected that we should love Yahweh, not fear Him. BUT WHAT IS LOVE OF GOD? Ecclesiastics 2:16 states,

“ They that love him shall be filled with the law. ”

John wrote,

“ For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. ” (1 John 5:3)

And Yahshua Himself instructed,

“ If ye love me, keep my commandments. ” (John 14:15)

How can we talk of loving Yahweh when we still regard most of the laws He provided for our national and individual well-being as holdovers from a primitive civilization and of no practical application today? Our keeping of the Law today extends little further than the Ten Commandments (and those imperfectly). The laws of food and agriculture are agriculture are totally neglected. The laws of national administration fare little better, and those of judicial procedure are followed only infrequently. Yet we speak of “ loving ” God, and expect His blessing on our undertakings.

If it is true, in the individual life, that “ pride goeth before a fall, ” how much more so when a while civilization is involved. Very soon now the foundations of this system based on self-exaltation, pride, and love of pleasure will crumble, and the structure will collapse. As Paul said,

“ They shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men. ” (2 Timothy 3:9)

The severe judgments now rapidly approaching will be the greatest lesson in humility the world has ever seen. With terrifying suddenness, the veil will be rent, and the whole rotten world system which men have raised in arrogance and self-worship will be revealed for what it is. Then with one accord they will say:

“ What hath pride profited us? Or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us? ” (Wisdom of Solomon 5:8)

Obviously, he who seeks wisdom can expect no help from those indoctrinated by this worldly system. “ Where is the philosopher? Where is the professor? Where is the investigator of this age? Has not God made folly of the philosophy of this world? ” (1 Corinthians 1:20; Ferrar Fenton Translation) Where, then should he look?

“ The word of God most high is the fountain of wisdom. ” (Ecclesiastics 1:5)

He who wishes understanding need go no further than the Bible; its pages contain full instructions for traveling the road to wisdom. And what a glorious destination awaits him who travels it.

The first step is the hardest. It comes with the realization that

“ There is one wise and greatly to be feared, the Lord sitting upon his throne. ” (Ecclesiastics 1:8)

It is this realization which engenders the full, joyful obedience to all the laws and statutes, without which no approach to wisdom can be made. Perfect righteousness is prerequisite for those who would gain understanding:

“ For into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in a body that is subject unto sin. ” (Wisdom of Solomon 1:4)

This is only natural, for wisdom is:

“ The breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty. ” (Wisdom of Solomon 7:25)

No one filled with the “ wickedness of self-confidence ” can gain wisdom. It is forever barred to those named in Paul ’ s indictment of this age: those who are proud, “ high-minded, ” or of arrogant spirit. The gateway to wisdom is even this:

“ O Lord, Father and God of my life, give me not a proud look, but turn away from thy servants always a haughty mind. ” (Ecclesiastics 23:4)

Once this strait and narrow gate is passed, the road is broad and well-marked. Clear guideposts in the Word of God mark every step of the way?

“ Let thy mind be upon the ordinances of the Lord, and meditate continually in his commandments: he shall establish thine heart, and give thee wisdom at thine own desire. ” (Ecclesiastics 6:37)

God ’ s covenant with those who truly desire understanding is similar to that He made with Abraham. All the patriarch had to do was move westward to the appointed place; the rest of the covenant God Himself undertook to perform. So with those who desire understanding. All they have to do is take the first step; and once that is done, wisdom is granted them as a direct gift from God; the Source of all Truth:

“ Wherefore I prayed, and understanding was given me: I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. ” (Wisdom of Solomon 7:7)

That is the true source of wisdom. It cannot be gained through a vast accumulation of facts, nor through much experience in worldly matters, but only through direct, humble appeal to Him who leadeth unto wisdom

Men of this age have a passion for being “ up-to-date. ” They spend their time reading ephemeral periodicals which are old a few days after leaving the presses. They insist on “ the news of the hour ” from the radio, and see events in the exaggerated prominence given them by the daily press. That which happened last week is ancient history, and as for what happened three or four thousand years ago; well, it ’ s simply out of the picture altogether.

How different with those ho have understanding:

“ But he that giveth his mind to the law of the most High, and is occupied in the meditation thereof, will seek out the wisdom of all the ancient, and be occupied in prophecies. ” (Ecclesiastics 39:1)

Wisdom is ageless, unchanging, eternal. It must be so, for is it not “ The brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness? ’ The fads, fancies, and foolishness of a shallow civilization do not concern it, for its roots reach into all ages. Comprehending the harmonious whole of the divine plan, it knows the significance of past history, and foresees events of the future:

“ If a man desire much experience, she (wisdom) knoweth things of old, and conjectureth aright what is to come: she knoweth the subtleties of speeches, and can expound dark sentences: she forseeth signs and wonders, and the events of seasons and times. ” (Wisdom of Solomon 8:8)

How little the light of wisdom has penetrated our modern intellectual life. How seldom do any of our leaders conjecture aright what is to come. How few there are who understand chronology: “ The events of seasons and times.

A widely-used outline of the Old Testament states,

“ It is debatable whether the Book of Daniel ought to be included among the prophetical books, because its character and purpose are of quite a different nature. ”

It goes on to say that out of this book,

“ To worry numerical predictions of what is to occur in the present year is a scandalous trifling with sacred things. ”

Perhaps the late Dr. Aldersmith was “ scandalously trifling with sacred tings ” when, in 1878, he “ worried ” from Daniel ’ s matchless prophecies the prediction that Great Britain, as the lost House of Joseph would deliver Jerusalem in 1917. Perhaps Daniel himself was “ scandalously trifling with sacred things ” when he “ worried ” from Jeremiah ’ s prophecies the date when Judah ’ s captivity would end. But it is wisdom to foresee the events of seasons and times. On the other hand, making light of prophecy and chronology is a conceit of modern (sic) scholarship. Blind leaders of the blind, it devotees must share the responsibility for bringing the terrible judgments of this latter time upon the earth. As Jeremiah wrote:

“ Your ‘ Educated ’ cause sham, terror, and disgrace; for they reject the Word of the EVERLIVING, and what can their education do for them? ” (Jeremiah 8:9, Ferrar Fenton Translation)

“ The word of the Most High is the foundation of wisdom. ” But the fountain has been buried under the heaped-up accumulations of unenlightened scholarship until its clear waters no longer flow forth to bless humanity. The same outline quoted from above states, “ It is simply hopeless to think of opening the Bible at any point, expecting there to find detailed instructions as to what one should do in the twentieth century. ” How do we expect to solve the problems that beset us when the only sure guide we have is relegated into the background, its message devitalized, its warnings repudiated?

When Josiah became king of Judah in the year 641 B.C., the country was overrun with idolatry and paganism. But Josiah was a wise king and in the twelfth year of his reign began the task of purging his country of evil. He overthrew the images and idols, and broke down the altars and groves. This done, he returned to Jerusalem and cleansed the temple.

An analogous task confronts us today. For the temple of wisdom has been all but buried under the heaped-up accumulations of decades of self-assertive, God-denying scholarship. Her light no longer shines forth to guide humanity through the troubled times. The sparkling waters of her fountain no longer flow forth to refresh those athirst for knowledge. Sweep the cluttered debris from the Tempe. Rekindle the “ brightness of the everlasting light ” to guide men to the new day dawning. Clear away all unenlightened concepts of the word of God, and re-establish it as “ the fountain of wisdom ” and the source of understanding.

Modern civilization, steeped in the “ wickedness of self-confidence, ” has brought the world to the state predicted by Isaiah:

“ For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people. ” (Isaiah 60:21)

Its leaders toy with socialistic-communistic schemes for remaking the world, completely ignoring the Book provided to show them the way to the divinely-ordained new order. But through it all there are those who have passed through the narrow gate and gained wisdom. They see in the undimmed light shining forth from the throne of the Most High God:

“ Because it is he that leadeth unto wisdom and directeth the wise. ” (Wisdom of Solomon 7:15)

They sing with the Psalmist:

“ I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. ” (Psalm 119:99)

With “ the more sure word of prophecy ” as their guide, and with their knowledge of seasons and times to mark the milestones, they travel the road confidently and unhesitatingly. And through about them there be “ Men ’ s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after the things which are coming on the earth, ” they will remain untroubled. For was it not written?

“ The wise shall understand. ”