Word of Encouragement (02/07/2023)

I would have said, "I will cut them to pieces; I will wipe them from human memory," ²⁷ had I not feared provocation by the enemy, lest their adversaries should misunderstand, lest they should say, "Our hand is triumphant, it was not the LORD who did all this."' ²⁸ "For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them. ²⁹ If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end! ³⁰ How could one have chased a thousand, and two have put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had given them up? ³¹ For their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves. ³² For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter; ³³ their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps. (Deut. 32:26-33)

The LORD lamented that His people were void of counsel and had no understanding. This is not to say that they had no people of great learning to offer all kinds of counsel to people. Maybe they were experts in politics and trade. Maybe their words had a rhetorical flare and carried logical forces, making their counsel and argument indisputable. But God declared them unwise. Why? Because they could not “discern their latter end.”

What a simple but penetrating indictment about our inability to see our future! We have been able to build a civilization, which provides good protection from the elements. Within the walls of our civilization, our days can be quite routine, and the seeming monotony and regularity can make us think that we are in control of our lives. But it only takes an accident or a medical exam to jolt us out of that illusion, doesn't it? Even within the fortress of our medical and technical advancements, there's no shortage of surprises in our lives. How many things in your life go your way? I'm talking about the things that are important to you, such as your relationships with your loved ones and your hopes and aspirations for them. We can't forecast what can happen in ten years, let alone a week later or the very next day. Weren't there days when you started your day high and ended the day in the pits, or vice versa? How can we be wise in our own eyes?

But God is not here talking about our creaturely limitations to see our future. God called the Israelites unwise because they rejected the wisdom that God had already offered to them. This wisdom was simple but profound: God had told them about “their latter end”—that is, how they could ensure the end of eternal blessedness through obedience to God's word and avoid the end of eternal damnation through rebellion against God's will. But in their foolish and senseless rebellion, they forsook the fountain of divine wisdom and followed the broken cisterns of idolatry.

Wisdom is distinguished from mere knowledge for its practical value. Knowledge can remain in our minds as books are kept in the library, unread. Wisdom is the ability to use one’s knowledge and experience to get things done and accomplish one’s purpose and goal efficiently and properly. If knowledge is about understanding the world, wisdom is about how to work with and navigate the world. Wisdom is more than just know-how, however. Wisdom looks beyond the immediate and considers long-term consequences. Wisdom also has a moral dimension: it does not choose what is merely efficient; it chooses what is good (in moral terms). Lying may seem like an “efficient” way of getting out of trouble. But a wise person knows the terrible consequences of lying, including what it does to one’s soul.

But how long-term does our perspective must be to be wise? If we are mindful of our mortality, is that enough? Maybe, if death is the end of our lives. But if our lives extend beyond death, as the Bible testifies, we need wisdom that is from above, from the age to come. If our wisdom does not include the knowledge of the age to come, whatever wisdom we attain may prove to be mere foolishness–like building a beautiful house right before Noah’s flood. That is why we are called to ask God for wisdom, “who gives generously to all without reproach” (James 1:5). Because of Jesus Christ, who is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24), we now have the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15). Let us treasure this wisdom and grow it in so that it can direct our steps as we journey through this world and prepare us well for our eternal life with Christ!

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