December 30, 2019—A Commentary on Proverbs 14:15

The simple believes every word: but the prudent man looks well to his going.
– Proverbs 14:15

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

This verse wants to tell us that those who are foolish never discern others’ words, but blindly believe or obey every word they have heard. On the contrary, the intelligent and wise people are different. They handle others’ words with caution. If they do not understand, they can seek more instead of blindly following others or arbitrarily coming to conclusions. That reminds me when the Lord Jesus appeared to work, the Pharisees stubbornly held on to their own conceptions and imaginations and were against God. They spread various rumors slandering and condemning the Lord Jesus, and also incited and deceived the people into rejecting Him. Many Jewish people were deceived by their rumors and didn’t seek or study whether the Lord Jesus’ expression is the truth, the voice of God, and whether the Lord Jesus is God Himself. Instead, they blindly listened to the Pharisees’ devilish words, rejected the way of repentance preached by the Lord Jesus, ultimately followed the Pharisees in resisting God, and forever lost God’s salvation. By contrast, regardless of how many rumors and nonsense the Pharisees spread, those who truly followed God were cautious toward the Pharisees’ words. They neither blindly believed the Pharisees nor were deceived by their rumors, but carefully listened to God’s words and actively sought the true way. Eventually, they, convinced that the Lord Jesus is God Himself, resolutely followed God, and received His great salvation. From this, we can see that when God’s new work comes upon us, we may hear someone yell “Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him,” we may also hear someone fabricate rumors discrediting God’s work as the Pharisees did. So, in matters that we do not completely understand, we must be cautious, focus on seeking the truth and studying the true way and listening to God’s voice. This is wise and prudent men. If we hear someone testify “the bridegroom comes,” we neither seek nor study but blindly listen to rumors and falsities spread by others. This is our folly. Then in the end we are the ones who will suffer a loss.