“And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?” (Jeremiah 2:18, ESV)
I do not know how many times I have done things without knowledge or without following the knowledge that I had, only to fail. I had the blessing of being able to skate through high school in math, science, and physics without doing anything more than pay attention during class. I do not encourage this with younger people. You see there comes a time when having intuition, that is an ability to figure things out on the fly, will run out. I discovered this when I entered college to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. I truly struggled in disciplines that I formerly aced. It was a shock to my frail ego. No longer could I trust in my own wisdom. I had to study, something that I had not previously done and really did not understand.
I say this to present the issue of human wisdom, human expediency. Judah looked at the situation where their cities and villages were under siege. They looked at the threats from the nation to the north, the Babylonians and thought that the best way to fight a foreign force was to bolster their own forces. Yet rather than doing that by going to the Lord God, they applied the wisdom of the world. They sought alliances with other foreign nations, Egypt and Assyria. They felt that treaties with these countries might save them.
Too often today we trust in our own earthly human wisdom. It happens in so many ways. When we get into a conflict with another person we are tempted to take matters into our own hands. We will quarrel, shout, and sometimes try to retaliate in other ways. When we see people to disagree with our moral views we can lash out in an unbiblical way. We implement human wisdom when we compromise virtue to prosper in business. One of the greatest signs that we are applying human wisdom is when we have a situation and neither pray nor seek the wisdom of God’s word before acting. Let us not be people who depend upon human wisdom and expediency. Instead let us people who will seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Remember the words of James.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:5–6, ESV)
Let us pray and seek the wisdom of God, His ways. Then we will be able to encounter every situation of life properly.
Renewing the Heart 