Psalm 14

Identifying our Foolishness

I’d like to begin tonight by looking at two verses from two different Psalms... Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1  Do the two passages sound similar?  They are... Psalms 14 and 53 are almost exalt duplicates. If you jump over to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul quotes quite a bit from these two Psalms in Romans 3.  One thing is for certain... when God uses repetition like this in the Bible... it’s meant to draw our attention to something important.So, let’s look at these verses now in a little detail.

“The Fool”

The word fool in the Bible means, someone that is lacking in common sense and basic understanding; someone who is dull, sluggish, silly, stupid, foolish.  The term draws to mind a person that makes bad choices when it comes to God, morals, personal habits, or eternity.  

“Nabal"

The Hebrew word that is translated fool in the two verses is “nabal.” One of the wisest women in the Word of God was named Abigail.  She is known in Scripture for her uncommonly good sense.  By contrast, her first husband was named Nabal--or fool. He was an evil man.  We’re not going to turn there tonight but if you’d like a living case study that outlines the life decisions and attitudes of a Biblical fool... 1 Samuel 25 is a good place to start.

Foolish Characteristics: the Bible, in Psalms 14 and 53, gives 12 characteristics of a fool:

• They say that there is no God --- verse 1
• They live corrupt lives --- verse 1
• They do vile things --- verse 1
• They are without understanding --- verse 2
• They ignore God and do not seek Him --- verse 2
• They do not do good --- verses 1 and 3
• They never learn due to their ignorance --- verse 4
• They live in ignorance of God --- verse 4
• They seek to devour God's people --- verse 4
• They never pray --- verse 4
• They are eventually overcome with great fear or dread --- verse 5
• They frustrate the plans of the poor --- verse 5

Jesus adds to this list in Luke 12:19-20...   The fool is totally caught up in the here and the now.  He ignores his soul as well as his obligations to God.  
Scripture then goes on to note several other characteristics of a fool:

• Proverbs 29:11 notes:  “A fool gives full vent to his anger....”
• Psalm 92:6 adds: “The senseless man does not know, fools do not under-stand....”
• Proverbs 1:7 declares: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
• Proverbs 1:22 likewise notes: “How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?”
• Proverbs 13:19 then cries: “...Fools detest turning from evil.”

The fool is obviously a person that is both evil and ignorant and is content to stay that way... unwilling to change even if they could.

  

“No God”

As you look at the Psalms in question in some of your Bibles, you may notice that the words, "there is" are in italics.  What does that mean?  When words are in italics in Scripture, it means that those words were not in the original  text. The words were added by the translators so as to help make the meaning of the passage clearer.  

So, “The fool says in his heart, ‘no God’”.

• Simply, No God.
• No God for me, no God in my life, in my choices, or in my thinking.
• No God in my eternity,
• No God. 

In fact, the name for God that is used here in this text is Elohim which depicts God as Creator, Controller, and Provider.

• Without a Creator there is no true peace.
• Without a Controller there is no justice.
• Without a Provider there is no hope.

To live without Elohim is to live a frightened, self justified, hopeless existence founded on the brokenness of one’s own logic.If the greatest peace we know, justice we count on, and hope we cling to begins and ends with our own limited knowledge and resources... then every day is a battle, every person is my enemy, and every moment of joy is a delusion.What a horrible way to live... what a foolish way to spend our short lives.

Once Noted:

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money, God could have sent us an economist.

But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.