Wisdom is fleeting and the knowledge of man is like the grass of the field, here today and gone tomorrow. That a is good principle to live by. Like wisdom and knowledge, we are here today and gone tomorrow as the Prophet Isaiah has said.
As I have grown older I have constantly battled the ego and wisdom of man. Thirty-plus years I have been on this earth, a fraction to some much older and wiser than me. Thirty-two to be exact—and in those short years, I have learned that all the degrees and standards of man I have passed, are still nothing comparted to the wisdom of God. God’s wisdom is great, and unmatched, incomparable to anything in creation. With each institution and achievement, the world rebuilds Babel—to honor its own wisdom and knowledge.
Scripture teaches us to approach wisdom and knowledge in a different way. Instead of building towers to our own intellect and awarding ourselves degrees of great accomplishment, we should begin with our view and worship of God.
Solomon says,
7 The fear of the Lordis the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. —Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)
We have forgotten where to start and the source of true wisdom and knowledge. Seeking the source of wisdom humbles believers because when we pursue the living God, we will always meet him face-to-face.
But in a another place in Proverbs, Solomon writes,
7Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. — Proverbs 3:7 (ESV)
Meeting God, and seeking him humbles us to a point where we see our place in creation and know that we really know nothing. We can pursue wisdom and knowledge, but at the end of the day, after thousands of years on this earth, we have only scratched the surface. “Be no wise in your own eyes” is God’s way of telling us to step back and look at the big picture.
That was something that Job had to learn the hard way. Remember Job’s story? Remember the life he lived and his ups and downs? After all had happened to him, Job had to be humbled. He thought he knew it all and as part of the story God was telling, he humbles him and sets him as an example of the danger of man-centered wisdom.
The Lord calls out Job from the whirlwind and Scripture gives us one of the most frightening scenes in all of the Bible,
2“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? — Job 38:2–7 (ESV)
“Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you will make it known to me.”
What a scary scene. Imagine the pressure. Imagine the sweat pouring down Job’s face as the Lord questioned him on all the wisdom and knowledge in all creation.
At the end of the questioning, we see the supposed great and unmatched wisdom of man fail.
Job 40:3–9 (ESV) 3Then Job answered the Lordand said: 4“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. 5I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” 6Then the Lordanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 7“Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 8Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? 9Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?
It was a humbling moment for Job and even so for us. That is why it is there. To show us the great and unmatched wisdom of man is fleeting. We think we have wisdom. We think we have knowledge, but it is fleeing. Like the grass that withers, and the flowers that fade, we are here today and gone tomorrow. But knowledge of this humbling truth points us to a greater truth. We can find wisdom and we can find knowledge. Not in the limited and matched wisdom of man, but in God-Man Jesus Christ. Paul says,
18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” —1 Corinthians 1:18–19 (ESV)
And later,
27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” —1 Corinthians 1:27–31 (ESV)
It is by humbling oneself and by fearing the Lord and by trusting in Christ, we can find true wisdom and knowledge. God loves to turn the world’s ways upside down to bring about his plans on earth. He sends his son to die, so that we might live. Wisdom and knowledge is found by putting faith in what is bigger than ourselves. I pray we would be a people who trust not in ourselves and our own wisdom, but instead fear the Lord and allow him to teach us what we require, and no more.
—Bro. Jesse