Hear this, foolish people Jeremiah 5:21
The fool is not someone who is either uneducated or lacking in mental capacity. Basically, their problem is a lack of humility. Sooner or later, this makes them a loser. The Bible says ‘fools despise wisdom and instruction’, and so ‘they set an ambush for their own lives’. Proverbs 1:7&18. Although this is the common pattern of folly, there are many variations on it. Just as the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so folly begins with a denial of God and His authority.
Psalms 14:1 The fool says in his heart “There is no God”. What matters most is what people believe in their heart. The greatest fool is he whose mouth is full of God talk, but in his heart, he believes none of it.
Psalms 94:7 The Lord does not see, the God of Jacob does not perceive. In other words, we can do as we please- if we deny the existence of a God, who knows what we do, and has power and authority to do something about it, or even cares about His creation.
Psalms 94:8-11 Understand, O dullest of people- fools, when will you be wise?
He who made the ear and eye, does He not hear and see?
Does He who disciplines nations, not punish? He teaches men knowledge.
The Lord knows the thoughts of man, He knows that they are futile.
God knows our thoughts, words and actions. Only a fool would think that the One who created our intricate bodies, would be deaf or blind.
The fool is one who thinks they have beaten the system, outwitted any god, in order to have a life of purely their own choices. Those who count on God’s non existence for their freedom and lifestyle, are themselves lacking the common sense that they were born with. The writings of the prophets have much to say about the self destroying folly of those who reject God and have gods of their own making. Even atheism is a kind of religion. Isaiah talks about the deception that comes with idolatry, making it impossible to recognise folly for what it is. He told of a man, who cuts down a tree, use half for firewood and makes a god out of the rest.
Isaiah 44:14-20….. He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him, he cannot save himself, or say: Is there not a lie in my right hand?
Self confidence is a powerfully seductive virtue, displacing painful self doubt and uncertainty. It is therefore, desirable, in today’s world to be sure of yourself, a person of action and confidence. The best thing for anyone’s life, is to be sure of and follow the right path, as set out for us in the Bible.
The writers of the wisdom literature in the Bible give many examples of the types of foolish behaviour and their consequences.
Isaiah 55:2 Why do you spend your money on that which is not bread and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
The answer to this last question, the only thing that does finally satisfy is both priceless and free – the mercy and love of Almighty God.
Ref; D Keyes n
The Prophetic Word 