The Fool – 1st April 2007 am
Psalm 14:1
Today is national Atheist day – April 1st – Why is somebody classed as a fool?
Is it because he has a low I.Q? Is he a fool because he has failed his GCSE’s? Is it because his thinking and speech are slow? Is it because he cannot relate to or work with people or that he has a poor self-esteem or self-image?
The Oxford English dictionary describes a fool as, “a person lacking in judgement, prudence, or common sense, a jester, silly, a harmlessly deranged person lacking in common powers of understanding, a cold dessert of fruit puree mixed with whipped cream.”
Fool is mentioned 145 times in the Bible, and in the Hebrew language, there are 3 basic words for “fool”: Kesyl, the dull, stupid fool; ewiyl, the unreasonable and perverted fool; and nabal -
This Hebrew word for fool is what I would like to spend some time looking at this morning. It is found 5 times in Psalms and nabal means – stupid, wicked, vile person. This word denotes moral perversity rather than a weakness of intellect.
This is the first mention of a fool (nabal) in the Psalms.
Have you heard this word before – I’ll give you a clue, it was someone’s name. It was the name of Abigail’s foolish husband who attempted to confront David’s army (1 Sam 25:25). Abigail fell at David’s feet and said Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. (1 Sam 25:25).
What are the characteristics of a fool?
I. A Fool Will Say There is no God – Psalm 14:1
People who say “There is no God” are not necessarily lacking normal intelligence; in fact they may have very good minds. However, they lack spiritual wisdom and insight.
The nabal fool has a moral problem in the heart, not a mental problem in the head. The American evangelist Billy Sunday used to say that sinners can’t find God for the same reason criminals can’t find policemen – they aren’t looking.
A woman’s husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every single day. One day, when he came to, he motioned for her to come nearer.
As she sat by him, he whispered, eyes full of tears, “You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired, you were there to support me. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When we lost the house, you stayed right here. When my health started failing, you were still by my side... You know what?”
“What dear?” she gently asked, smiling as her heart began to fill with warmth.
I think you’re bad luck, get away from me.
That is the fool’s attitude toward God. Man is a fool because he thinks he has no need for God. However, when things go wrong, God is blamed!
To say that God does not exist is what we call an absolute statement. For that statement to be true, you would need absolute knowledge. Let’s put it this way.
If I was to make an absolute statement that there was no gold in China I would have to have absolute knowledge. I would need to have information that there is no gold in any rock, river, ground, shop, ring, or mouth in China. If there is one speck of gold, then my statement is false.
To say categorically there is no God you would need all knowledge that He does not exist. As no human has this knowledge all you can say is that based on your limited knowledge you believe there to be no God.
Therefore the professing atheist is in truth what we call an agnostic. One who claims he doesn’t know if God exists.. The Latin equivalent of that Greek word is “ignoramus” which seems appropriate.
Nabal fools are self-righteous and don’t want or need God. They want to live their lives the way they please. Their problem is wilful ignorance and not lack of normal intelligence. 2 Peter 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
Willingly are ignorant = dumb on purpose.
Man can get by, advance along and make progress. His knowledge is the very thing that marks his descent into hell. In all the advances man has made, he cannot advance the length of his life or the morality of the soul. Man is attracted to power, pleasure, fame, and comfort. Humans have drive, motivation and an incentive to seek fortune and fame, but never to seek God.
II. A Fool Will Take Sin Lightly – Psalm 39:8
Often times when you tell someone that you are a Christian – they laugh. Some see it as a weakness and that you are clutching at straws.
Unfortunately, this is usually because people have the wrong concept about sin. They don’t realise that they have done anything wrong. “I’m not hurting anyone.. I’m as good as the next person.”
Sin is taken lightly and the consequences are not realised.
There was once a lamb and its mother. The lamb passed a pig pen each morning on the way to pasture with its mother. Watching the pigs wallow in the mud seemed like fun to the lamb and on an especially hot day the lamb asked his mother if he could jump the fence and wallow in the cool mud. She replied, “No.” Then the lamb asked the question, “Why?” The mother just said, “SHEEP DO NOT WALLOW.”
This did not satisfy the lamb. He felt she had put him down and exercised force she should not have, etc. So, as soon as the mother was out of sight, the lamb ran to the pig pen and jumped the fence. He was soon feeling the cool mud on his feet, his legs, and soon his stomach.
After a few moments he decided he had better go back to his mother, but he couldn’t. He was stuck! Mud and wool do not mix. His pleasure had become his prison. He cried out and was rescued by the kindly farmer. When cleaned and returned to the fold, the mother said, “Remember, sheep do not wallow.”
Sin is deceitful Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Sin’s progression is one of its characteristics it seeks to conceal.
The “blessed man” of Psalm 1 (1) walketh not, (2) standeth not, and (3) sitteth not. Observe the progression. That Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, and did not immediately move there, is illustrative of the progressiveness of sin.
Eve (1) heard the devil’s lie, (2) believed the lie, and (3) obeyed it. Sin is progressive. The prodigal son gradually went to the far country, which illustrates sin’s progression.
Peter (1) first deserted the Lord, (2) later fraternized with the enemy, (3) then, denied the Lord, (4) afterwards committed perjury, and (5) finally, he cursed and blasphemed. Sin was progressive in his case.
Be not deceived, for sin is still progressive. Social drinking can easily lead to alcoholism.
Missing the mid-week service can lead to missing the Sunday night service, then Sunday school, then the Sunday morning worship service-yea.
Envy can grow into hatred, and hatred can grow into murder. Be not deceived. Sin is deceptive. It grows. It is progressive. Therefore, resist every temptation, choosing the way of escape always provided 1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Abstain from every appearance of evil 1Th 5:22
Nip sin in the bud! Otherwise, it will grow! "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of Me; and that cover with a covering, but not of My Spirit that they may add sin to sin" Isaiah 30:1
The fool takes sin lightly. Just because we as Christians are saved by grace and that our sins are forgiven – this does not mean that we can have the same light hearted view of sin. To do so would be foolish.
God took sin serious enough to send His Son to pay for it.. DON’T TAKE SIN LIGHTLY.
III. A Fool Will Blaspheme God’s Holy Name – Psalm 74:18 & 22
John Gill (commentator) says - the "foolish people" are not such as want common sense, or are idiots; the blasphemers of God and Christ, and the blessed Spirit, are generally the wise and prudent of this world, from whom the things of the Gospel are hidden; but wicked and profane men: scoffers at religion, and blasphemers of Christ, his truths and ordinances, are commonly such who walk after their own ungodly lusts, who, though wise to do evil, are foolish in matters of religion.
Why is it that our society wants God out of the picture? Why is it so easy for people to use His holy name to swear? What frightens me is one day these people will have their way – this society will not be better!!!!
You see when people read God’s word they see their need for a Saviour. Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The world scoffs and says – we can do it on our own. But you see the moral standards drop.
A news documentary on TV claimed that 91 percent of the United States’ students in colleges, universities and graduate schools cheat on exams and tests in order to graduate.
This is what happens when God is rejected and atheism is accepted. Atheism will bring down a civilization. Civilization is based on mutual trust.
Cheating is lying. It is stealing that which is not yours. What confidence would you have in your doctors when you realise that nine out of ten are not really qualified because they stole information they did not know in order to graduate?
How honest do you expect a solicitor’s bill to be when nine out of ten of them lied to get through college? If he cheated the college, how do you know he will not cheat you? How does society survive when you lose trust in 91 percent of college graduates?
The same is true of politicians and shop keepers. There are merely two schools of thought about change in society. One is that society will get better, and the other is it will get worse. No one believes society will remain stagnant. Every politician promises a better society until they find out they are part of the problem.
Shops will post one price at the shelf and charge a higher price at the till. Customers seldom catch it because the little bars flash across the computer too fast. When it is caught, there is a quick apology, the figure is changed and it is blamed on “computer error.” But the “computer error” is not corrected.
Do you remember when a man was as good as his word? A handshake over a deal was as dependable as a legal document. A man would rather die than lie or cheat. Neighbours, who did not go to church, prided themselves in their own integrity. Christian standards formed the basis of society even among those who did not profess to be Christians.
Someone once took the Lord’s name in vain in front of me and then said oops sorry reverend – I said, don’t apologise to me. It wasn’t my name you used. Psalm 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Conclusion:
The greatest jeopardy in life is to bet against God’s existence. When man rejects God, he rejects his Biblical commands, moral values and he gambles on his own future, destiny and eternity.
A four year old was at the pediatrician for a check up. As the doctor looked down her ears with an otoscope, he asked, "Do you think I’ll find Big Bird in here?" The little girl stayed silent.
Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, "Do you think I’ll find the Cookie Monster down there?" Again, the little girl was silent.
Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heart beat, he asked, "Do you think I’ll hear Barney in there?" "Oh, no!" the little girl replied. "Jesus is in my heart. Barney’s on my underpan
