[Biblemat] A> Wise - Too Late

[Steven C. Harper]

From: TRUTH & REASON, a bulletin of the Glendale church of Christ, Glendale, AZ. 
Editor: Steven Harper 
September 9, 2007
Wise - Too Late

 

     The wise writer tells us wisdom is something worth seeking, when he wrote, "Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold" (Prov. 3:13, 14). He also adds, "Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown" (4:5-9). So precious is wisdom that he would also write, "Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding" (23:23). We would be wise to heed these words!

    But what is the wisdom of which he speaks? Consider that the psalmist said it is the fool who says, "There is no God" (Psa. 14:1) and we may rightly conclude that wisdom, first of all, is acknowledging God exists. Consider also that the wise writer said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight" (Prov. 9:10) and we see further that not just acknowledging God exists, but respecting and knowing Him is that wisdom of which he speaks. Plainly stated, wisdom is believing in and obeying God based on our knowledge of Him. I must emphasize, at this point, that the wise writer's exhortation to gain this wisdom must be viewed with some sense of urgency. It would not be wise to acknowledge God only when we stand before His Son at the Judgment seat, for then it would be too late.

    Let us consider a couple of examples when wisdom - too late - came to some individuals, and the consequences of their delay in acknowledging God and obeying Him.

    Israel. (Num. 13:26-14:45) God had promised Israel the land of Canaan (Exod. 3:8, 16-17; 6:8), of this there was no doubt. The problem was that not all the Israelites believed it. When they sent the twelve spies into the land, ten came back with a bad report and said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are" (Num. 13:31). Despite the pleadings of both Caleb (13:30) and Joshua (14:8, 9), the people were ready to choose new leaders and go back to Egypt (14:4) and ready to stone Joshua and Caleb for admonishing them to not rebel against God nor fear the people of the land (14:10).

    Just about the time the people were ready to stone Joshua and Caleb, the glory of the Lord descended on the tabernacle in the presence of all the people. I can almost hear the collective "Uh-oh" of the people when they saw this; I can almost see the stones dropping from the hands of those who were so eager to silence the faithful ones; I can almost feel the sense of dread that must have swept over the assembly as they realized God was now in their midst.

    When Moses met with God in the tabernacle, God told him, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they" (14:11, 12). Only by the pleading of Moses did God relent (vv. 13-19), but then God said, "None of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it" (vv. 22, 23).  He would later tell them that none over the age of twenty would enter and that they would instead wander in the wilderness one year for every day the spies were in the land, and their children whom they thought would perish would be the ones who would enter the Promised Land (vv. 26-35).

    Well, you know what happened then; when the people heard this, they all of sudden got wise and started believing what God had said all along! [Imagine that!] And on top of this new-found wisdom, they decided they would go up and fight against the people of the land (14:40). Now they believed God's word.

    Too late.

    Moses told them plainly that now their plans would not find success and that they would be defeated; God's word was final. They did not heed him [again] and they were defeated, just as Moses said (14:44, 45).

    The Rich Man. (Luke 16:19-31) In this story, told by Jesus, there was a rich man who lived luxuriously every day of his life, while the poor man suffered daily and barely survived. When both died, the poor man was carried away by the angels to a place of rest and comfort while the rich man was taken to a place of torments. As the rich man suffered in his torments, he saw Lazarus [the poor man] being comforted and sought some small measure of relief (v. 24). It would not be forthcoming. He was told that the separation between the two places was fixed and none could pass from one place to the other (vv. 25, 26).

    With all hope for his own comfort lost, the rich man all of a sudden had a flash of wisdom and turned to thinking about his own brothers who were alive on earth. This flash of wisdom moved him to ask that someone be sent back to speak God's word to them lest they end up where he now was (vv. 27, 28).

    Too late.

    Abraham said, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them" (v. 29). The rich man argued that they would surely listen if someone came back from the dead (v. 30), but Abraham wisely answered, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" (v. 31). Those words, of course, were true [and still are], for we have the testimony of Jesus - a Man who rose from the dead - that has been given to us, yet how many refuse to believe Him still?

    Now let us take a moment and consider ourselves. What is it that we have refused to do because we were not wise enough to acknowledge the truths that will save us? Have we, too, refused to acknowledge God exists and proclaimed ourselves fools? Have we, too, refused to submit to the will of God and rebelled against His revealed word? Have we, too, pursued the riches of this world in place of the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Maybe we have gone so far as hearing the words of Jesus, but have not yet obeyed (Matt. 7:26, 27). If we have done any of these things, we are playing the fool!

    The apostle Paul has told us "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Cor. 5:10). At least he was wise enough to live daily with this in mind and sought daily to please God in all things (v. 9), and was wise enough to live as if it were true, persuading others of this truth that others might also be prepared for that day (v. 11).

    The fact is, when we stand before God and Christ in Judgment, there will be no unbelievers. When we stand before Christ's judgment seat, all be struck with that sudden burst of wisdom that says, "Oh! God does exist and Jesus is the Son of God!" But then it will be too late. The fact is, every knee will then bow before Him, confess Him as Lord (Phlp. 2:9-11) and recognize the truths that have been preached for almost two millennia. The fact is, we will not appear to be wise at all. The fact is, we will be revealed as the fools we are.

    Be wise; obey now.                                                          -- Steven Harper
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