By Ken Blue
Proverbs 17:24. “Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.”
Two worlds are portrayed in this verse. One is occupied by those determined to seek true wisdom and understanding; the other, by the fools who’s eyes and heart are never fixed on anything substantial. Like Noah’s raven, they can never find a place of purpose or rest. That which is within their reach, they ignore, and that which they will never have, they pretend to value.
A man of understanding has his gaze guided by the wisdom he has received from God and His Word. Wisdom is ever before him in all his desires and choices. He has learned that if he commits himself to the will of the Lord, his path will be established. He is the man with the single eye our Lord speaks of in the parable. Thus his body is full of light.
The fool, on the other hand, has no interest is spiritual wisdom or understanding. These hinder him, as he pursues the wind. The sad state of the fool is that he is looking at everything, and seeing nothing. Everything to him is just beyond the horizon. He even fancies himself to be wise, but it is the wisdom of the world and is an allusion.
I’ve seen many like this. They are going to serve God, if He ever opens the door for them. While looking at the ends of the earth, they fail to see that which is right before them. These little children are in men’s bodies. They are fifty years old and still playing Nintendo games while the grass grows. They live is a world of make-believe, and they are the owners of it. They are as unstable as water.
Jesus Christ is the believers Wisdom and Understanding. He was in the world, and the world knew Him not. His generation was looking for something they could never have because they rejected that which was right before them. He came; they killed Him, and they never knew what they did. The fool, in our text will live and die, and never see that which he could have. He is too obsessed with that world he will never attain.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.