The Danger of Creating our own Wisdom
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A tiring world
A tiring world
An oracle refers to something spoken from authority as if from God.
The first section has a lot of translation issues. But many believe that the names actually have a meaning behind them that says “I have wearied myself, God God, I have wearied myself, Oh God, and come to an end.” Showing someone who is tired, specifically because they have tried to make sense of the world on their own and were unable to. Like someone who has lived their life by their own rules but now they are exhausted.
They then go on to express their own insecurities about their ability to learn and know on their own. But the irony is that no one actually says this. Even when we don’t have the answers we will still say “I got this”, “I can do this myself” without getting help from others.
He goes on to speak on how he hasn’t gained any wisdom or knowledge, specifically what he hasn’t gained is knowledge of God. he has struggled to understand truth and he has come to the end of what he knows. In this, what he is saying is that there is only so much that he can understand but also recognize how vast God’s knowledge is. He shows that we, as humans, have done very little as it pertains to the whole world. He speaks of information that only God himself can have.
A study done by some of the worlds leading scientists in 2014 found out that we have only learned about 5% of the known universe and that the other 95% we have yet to understand or explain in any way. One sentence in their study says, “One of the defining characteristics of science is the reality that the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.”
See, that is what wise people learn in their lives. The more that you know, the more you realize that you don’t know. If you think you already have all the answers, that shows how little you actually understand about the world. That’s why he asks, “can anyone find a person wise enough to explain these things to me?” It reminds us of Job 38 where God questions Job about how the creation came into being.
Notice how the writer mentions that the Son is the only one with this knowledge. It reminds us that only through Christ can we know God. Jesus tells us this Himself in John 3:31-36 “The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, and yet no one accepts his testimony. The one who has accepted his testimony has affirmed that God is true. For the one whom God sent speaks God’s words, since he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hands. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
What this reminds us of is that our ability to ascertain God’s Will and the truth, outside of God’s Word, is foolish. But he doesn’t just tell us why it is so hard, but what the danger is when we search in other places.
Don’t Add or Subtract
Don’t Add or Subtract
He speaks of God’s Word as pure, that it protects us and that we can take refuge in it. God’s Word isn’t just reliable, it is perfect and it has stood the test of time. There will always be people with new ideas, new beliefs, thoughts on how we should treat one another. There will be people who question God’s Word, who question that Jesus is God and that He rose again. But do you know what? God’s Word has lasted for literal thousands of years and the truth that is in it is what we are talking about today. Do we really think that we can discover truth that is better than God’s Word? That we can improve on it? There are things, that no matter how hard you test them, they are unchangeable. We know that 2+2=4. That doesn’t change. People have questioned that, thought about how that works, but it is still true. People have questioned God’s Word for thousands of years. People have debated, they been angry at God and the Bible, they have tried to find any weaknesses or cracks to prove that it is false. And do you know what? It is still stand and it is still true.
Listen to 2 Peter 1:16-21 “For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
What Peter says here is that the Bible isn’t a myth, or some book written by some old dudes, or an outdated book of what is right and wrong that we need to change. What Peter says is that the Bible came from God’s power through the Spirit, in fact it was with God in the beginning. That it has been confirmed through the ages, that we should pay attention to it, and we shouldn’t try and interpret it for our own benefit.
So when we, in our lives, think “I don’t need the Bible” or “well the Bible is wrong about this thing and I am going to choose not to believe this” then we are acting pretty foolishly. We are saying that we know better than the billions of people, who for thousands of years, have trusted in God’s Word as the way and the truth and the live.
This is why next it calls us to not add to God’s Word. He is speaking to those who believe in God’s Word to not tack on new things to God’s Word because it would be foolish. Our temptation is to try and improve it by adding things so that it works better with how we want things to be. Our by interpreting a passage in a way that it isn’t meant to in order to help us.
Paul in 1 Corinthians calls us to not go beyond what is written. And what Revelation 22:18-19 say, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book.”
You know what I find interesting about that passage in Revelation? That it is the last piece of advice given to believers in God’s Word. Because all that comes next is “Come, Lord Jesus!” This truth is so important, that it is the last thing we should be reminded before God’s Word is completed. So we should take it seriously. That if we add or take away from God’s Word that we are bringing ourselves pain.
And trust me, this world loves to add and subtract to God’s Word. “I think that Jesus wants us to love” that is subtracting that Jesus also said “depart from me, for I never knew you” and judge unbelievers.
Or people who are believers who say that sex outside of marriage isn’t wrong or getting drunk isn’t wrong are subtracting commands that God has given us but can also be adding by saying “well, what God really means when He says this is that you should love the person you are with” or “well, God just doesn’t want you to get drunk all the time.”
But we can do this ourselves with the sins we commit most often. Whether you lie, or gossip, or are mean or violent to others. We can subtract those from God’s Word to make us feel better about ourselves.
The danger we can often face, is feeling like we, by ourselves, can create our own wisdom, can make our own rules to live by, and ignore what God’s Word says to us. But the Bible has more than enough wisdom to help us in life.