Don’t trust a fool.”
–Robert Peecher (Along the Restless Trail)
“People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.”
–Proverbs 19:3 (NLT)
—————————————-
The marks of a fool or simple, that is what brings the end to chapter 1 of Proverbs.
.32 — For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. (NKJV)
For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them. (ESV)
They are disobedient to the light God has given them. They are self-willed (Bob Beasley). Dare to follow this path and death will occur in one manner or another and for certain the second death. The second type is the one who lives a live of complacency. He lives satisfied, self-contented, in no need of a Savior. They have the idea that they are the good person who God will welcome into heaven. (Beasley)
What is forgotten is “how can a perfect, just, and holy God have fellowship with anyone who bears the stain of sin?” (Beasley) God cannot be tainted with sin. This is like the man who built a marvelous house on the sand, or man’s wisdom. Man’s wisdom, like sand, is shifting and cannot bear the wrath and fury of the storm that will surely come. His house, his life, will come crashing down.
.33 — But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil. (NKJV)
But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster. (ESV)
There is a vast difference between the fool/simple and the one who obeys. The one who listens will be safe; there will be no fear of harm. How do we then measure ourselves? Are we complacent? Do we build on man’s faltering wisdom? Are we, as J. Vernon McGee questions, “enjoying the prosperity of fools? Are we living in a fool’s paradise?”
“Prosperity is ever dangerous because every foolish person is either ignorant or regardless of the proper ends and rules for which God designs.” (Robert South) Trust in God or in material goods and man’s wisdom, you cannot serve both. Their foolishness, however, “turns God’s mercies to their own destruction; and because they prosper, they are confirmed in their folly.” (Richard Baxter)
Those with a firm foundation, those who trust and obey the Lord will find they are not shaken. The storms may howl, but they are safe within the haven that God provides. To be safe in this world of evil we must listen to the call of God’s word; heed the instruction of the Holy Spirit and lean not on our own or the world’s understanding. Perhaps you may remember the rich man who begged Abraham for just a drop of water to be placed on his tongue. This rich man, complacent, self-satisfied–a fool– on earth with his goods was now in torment because he rejected the opportunity that was presented while he was alive. Matthew Henry states, “The rich man in hell begged, but was denied.” It was too late.
I like what Michael Jermin says, “There is no dwelling but in heaven; hell is a prison, earth is a pilgrimage. In Heaven there be many mansions, wherein every room is the lodging of quietness, the walls whereof are safety, the gates security, and all fear of evil shut out for ever.” Those who listen and heed to the voice of God, even though they may walk “through the valley of the shadow of death, will fear no evil; for God is with him, His rod and His staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4, NKJV with my changes) As the NKJV Study Bibles comments in closing this chapter, “Rejection of wisdom will slay them. This dismal warning ends with a promise of life to the few who will listen; they will find safety and ease.”
Will the fool change his way and listen? Will the simple recognize his plight and obey?