Those Who Do Not Delight in Fearing God
[Proverbs 1:20-33]
I remember something my wife once said to me: "The world will continue to grow more evil, so the church must become more church-like. Therefore, the church must shine as a light in this wicked world." However, I can't help but think that the church, due to its own wickedness, seems to love darkness more than light (John 3:19). Within the church, because of disputes, fights, divisions, and separations, the church is now wounded and sick with pain. And rather than spreading the love and gospel of Jesus, I wonder if we are spreading our own foolishness (Proverbs 12:23). Clearly, the church is the church of God (1 Corinthians 1:2), and one of the characteristics of the church should be unity. Yet, it seems difficult to see this unity in the church today. When I look at the churches in Korea or immigrant churches here in the U.S., even though they are supposed to be the church of God, they seem more like the churches of people. Although they clearly belong to God, they seem to have degenerated into churches belonging to humans. What should we do? We must fear God, repent of our sins, turn away from them, and obey His word. When we do this, our church will have hope. When we do this, our church will no longer be a church of people but the church of the Lord, the church that He establishes (Matthew 16:18), and it will reveal the fragrance of Jesus Christ to this world.
In the past Wednesday prayer meetings, we meditated on the passage from Proverbs 1:8-10 under the title “Young People Who Fear God.” In doing so, we learned three lessons about what it means to be a young person who fears God: (1) Young people who fear God obey their parents’ words (v. 8), (2) Young people who fear God do not follow the temptations of the wicked (v. 10), and (3) Young people who fear God do not walk with the wicked (v. 15). Today, we will meditate on the passage of Proverbs 1:20-33 under the title “Those Who Do Not Delight in Fearing God.” Let’s look at verse 29: "For they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord." Today, we will meditate on who those are who do not delight in fearing God and what their consequences are, while receiving the lessons that God has for both you and me.
Who are those who do not delight in fearing God?
First, those who do not delight in fearing God are those who love foolishness, rejoice in arrogance, and hate knowledge.
Look at today's passage from Proverbs 1:22: "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge." In this verse, the writer of Proverbs, King Solomon, is referring to three types of people who need wisdom. These are the "simple ones," the "scorners," and the "fools."
Who are the simple ones? They are people who cannot discern right from wrong, who lack strong opinions and are easily swept into evil movements. In today's passage, these simple ones are already caught up in sin and, thus, they love their foolishness. The scorners are those who are extremely wicked and who despise God's wisdom, while the fools are different from the simple ones because they have become hardened in evil and are morally ignorant (Park Yoon-seon). These people do not delight in the fear of God, as they love foolishness, rejoice in arrogance, and hate knowledge. Therefore, King Solomon, with a heart of concern, asks them how long they will continue to love foolishness, rejoice in arrogance, and despise knowledge (verse 22).
One of the reasons our church is not shining the light of Jesus is that the church lacks the knowledge of God (Hosea 4:6). The reason for this is that our pastors have forsaken the knowledge of God and forgotten His commandments (verse 6). As a result, the church faces a famine of hearing God's word (Amos 8:11). Consequently, we do not delight in the fear of God. We love foolishness, rejoice in arrogance, and hate knowledge. We have become foolish, despising wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7). Therefore, we have strayed from God's counsel (verse 8) and have been led astray by the temptations of the wicked (verse 10), sinning against God. We habitually sin, and our hearts have become hardened, so that not only do we not fear God, but we cannot even do so. We have become foolish and do not even regret our sins. Why is this so? It is because our hearts have been hardened by sin (Park Yoon-seon). We must be cautious of our hearts becoming hardened. We must strive to avoid becoming so foolish that we do not even feel regret for our sins. How can this be possible? It is only possible by loving wisdom. We must hate foolishness and love knowledge. When we do this, we will avoid the hardening of our hearts and will be able to avoid sinning against God. Therefore, we must listen to God's words and gain wisdom and instruction (verse 2). When we do this, both you and I will act wisely, righteously, and justly, and through this, we will bring glory to God and shine the light of Jesus Christ in this world.
Secondly, those who do not delight in the fear of God despise instruction and do not accept correction.
Let’s look at today’s passage in Proverbs 1:25: "Because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke." Those who do not delight in the fear of God and hate knowledge do not listen to the voice of the wise. In other words, the foolish ones who do not delight in the fear of God ignore the voice of wisdom. Wisdom calls aloud in the streets, raises her voice in the public squares, and cries out at the city gates and in the city’s entrances (verses 20-21), but they refuse to listen (verse 24). Though God says to them, “Listen to my rebuke and turn at my reproof” (verse 23), those who do not delight in the fear of God refuse to listen and take no interest (verse 24). Instead, they despise all of God’s counsel (verse 25). In the end, the foolish reveal their folly to all by refusing to listen to God's instruction and rebuke, exposing their foolishness, arrogance, and ignorance. Why is it that these foolish people refuse to listen to God's counsel and correction? The reason is that they hate knowledge and do not delight in the fear of God (verse 29). The Bible warns, "Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words" (Proverbs 23:9). However, wise people who fear God listen to God's counsel, increasing in learning and gaining insight (Proverbs 1:5). Why is this? It is because they love knowledge. Wise people who fear God listen to God's guidance and receive correction, thereby increasing in knowledge (Proverbs 21:11) and becoming wiser (Proverbs 19:20).
The ear that listens is beautiful. The ear that listens to God's voice is a blessing. And the ear that also listens to the rebuke of someone who loves me with God's love is truly precious. We must listen to God's teaching and rebuke. In particular, we must believe that “the rebuke of the wise is a golden ring and an ornament of pure gold for an attentive ear” (Proverbs 25:12), and we should attentively listen to the rebuke of wise people who fear God. I hope that through this, both you and I will grow in knowledge and wisdom, and be used as precious instruments of God.
Thirdly, those who do not delight in the fear of God will regress.
Look at Proverbs 1:32: “For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.” What does this mean? It means that the foolish, who do not delight in the fear of God, will turn their backs on God’s love and depart from Him (Park Yoon-seon). If we love foolishness, rejoice in arrogance, and hate and reject knowledge, teaching, and correction, our faith will inevitably regress. In other words, eventually, you and I will turn our backs on God and depart from Him. This regression in faith will ultimately lead to our destruction. Therefore, we must pay attention to the message in Joshua 23:12-13: “If you turn away and cling to the remnant of these nations that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you; but they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” Joshua gave this warning to the people of Israel, saying: “Therefore, be very careful to love the Lord your God” (verse 11).
What is the result for those who do not delight in the fear of God?
(1) Calamity will come upon them like a storm.
Look at Proverbs 1:27: "When your fear comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you." What does this mean? It means that those who do not fear God, who disregard His teaching and rebuke, and who hate knowledge, will face God's judgment. God will judge them. God will judge those who do not fear Him, hate knowledge, and refuse to accept teaching and correction. The Bible says that when God judges, He will send calamity upon them like a storm, and the foolish will be overwhelmed by the fear, distress, and sorrow of the disaster (verse 27).
But what is the more terrifying judgment of God? I believe it is God’s derision. Look at verse 26: "When your calamity comes, I will laugh; I will mock when your fear comes." Can you imagine it? It’s not being mocked by people (Psalm 44:13, 119:51), but being mocked by God. Can you imagine that?
(2) God turns away from them.
Look at Proverbs 1:28: "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me." There are times when, in our foolishness, we despise God's teachings and reject His rebukes, only to find ourselves in calamity, suffering, and pain. In those moments, we may cry out to God, asking Him to deliver us from our suffering and distress. However, sometimes we may feel that our prayers are not being answered. This is because God has turned away from us. In other words, when we face calamity due to our sins, God may not answer our prayers and remain silent. This silence is because God has turned away from us. Why does God turn away from us? The reason is that we have turned away from God first. You might ask, "When have we turned away from God?" In the context of Proverbs 1, the foolish and proud ones have turned away from knowledge (verse 22), turned away from fearing God (verses 7-9), and rejected God's teachings (verse 25) and rebukes (verse 23) (MacArthur). It's like how God spoke diligently through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel, but they did not listen, turned their backs, and disobeyed His words, falling into sin. Similarly, there are many times when we, too, turn our backs on God, who speaks diligently to us, and go our own way. This is the sin of turning away from God. Therefore, even if we face God's judgment and turn to Him in calamity, we have no excuse. Can you imagine being turned away by God? Can you endure being rejected by Him?
(3) The third result is that they eat the fruit of their own actions.
Look at Proverbs 1:31: "Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." This is God's final judgment. Here, God tells those who do not delight in the fear of Him that they will eat the fruit of their own deeds. This means that God leaves the foolish, proud, and stubborn people in the consequences of their sin (MacArthur). One example of this can be found in Romans 1:24-28. It says that God "gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their own bodies" (verse 24), "gave them up to vile passions" (verse 26), and "gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (verse 28). This is truly a frightening judgment from God. The worst judgment is when God allows us to live according to our sinful instincts. This is a more terrifying judgment than calamity itself. The reason is that when we face calamity, we often turn to God and cry out, and there is a possibility that God will have mercy on us and rescue us from our sins and calamities. However, if God abandons us to live according to our sinful nature, there will be no hope for rescue from our sin. Ezekiel 11:21 says, "But as for those whose hearts walk after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads." Our God is a God who rewards us according to our deeds. If we refuse to fear God, hate knowledge, and reject His teachings and rebukes, then God will leave us to the consequences of our sinful actions.