Proverbs 2:5: Mocking the giants

“then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”
-Proverbs 2:5

Let’s be honest here. I don’t think here’s ever been an age so full of its own understanding as this one is. I enjoy history, and I’ve found that, throughout those many ages, people have had a respect for what came before.

Not this one.

We think people of the past were backwards, stupid, and oblivious to everything that was going on around them. We even make up lies about the past, such as that the medieval man hated science, or that everyone before Columbus thought the earth was flat. (This is utter hogwash; the early Romans accurately measured the size of the earth, something that even Columbus failed to do more than a thousand years later. That the earth was round was commonly known long before Christ.)

We mocked the sciences of older times, even though our understanding is merely built upon theirs. Our time is like the dwarf on the shoulder of the giant, but the strange thing about our time is that we mock the giant because he doesn’t see as far.

And woe to he who dares to question modern science! The documentary Expelled interviews some people who did just that, and many of them lost their jobs. Take a look at the online discussions where someone questions (with scientific data) the validity of evolution. The responses will astound you. The message is clear: do not question what you are told. This is the truth.

Which is exactly what those older times thought about their science, though they at least had the humility to consider that they did not know everything.

Last time, we looked at the first half of verse 5. The second half speaks of finding “the knowledge of God.”

Our age is a dwarf atop a giant. Well, the next age will climb atop our shoulders and see farther still. Hopefully, they won’t make fun of us too much, but we deserve it. Here’s the thing. God’s still settled miles above us. Our new Tower of Babel of science will never reach Him, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise. He founded this box we are in, formed its every corner. And He did it through wisdom:

The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding he established the heavens;
by his knowledge the deeps broke open,
and the clouds drop down the dew.
-Proverbs 3:19-20

Now we are within the box, trying to look out, but only He can see that far. We think we can see it all, but we cannot.

The knowledge of God is an understanding of the truth in all things. Why does the plant grow? Well, we can have a long discussion about the science of that, and it will be true. But the deeper truth is this: God caused it to. The science is not wrong, it’s just incomplete.

That knowledge goes deeper and better still, because it strikes right into the heart of grace and love. With His help, we can understand how far we have strayed from His truth. We will see how much we have sinned and fallen short of His glory. We will see that we do not deserve life.

But we will also understand the depth of love God has for us, that He sent His Son to come, to guide us, and to die for us. In that death, He has taken the punishment we deserve for our sins. But He also rose again, that we may have life after death.

This is love as you have never known, and it can be yours by only turning from your old ways, repenting to Him, and following. Then you will understand something deeper again, that He can restore you and make you new, that He will move you in ways you have never known possible. You will trust in Him, because you know His understanding surpasses all.