There is a prevailing perception in Scripture that is not interpreted adequately to faithful congregations, confirmation classes, and students – or the general public. It is stipulated firmly in the writings of Solomon, but appears, especially in references to methods related to life patterns, even of God’s order for nature. Jeremiah here notes that God used, in his creative work, that wise pattern he offers to mankind. Solomon makes clear that our assignment is to gain knowledge, extrapolate from that knowledge for ourselves in understanding and from that understanding act in wisdom. Overarching that pattern of intellectual and physical conduct there is an authority (power attached to spiritual meaning) that makes the thoughtful experience of the individual (or society) practical and workable. That authority is related to truth. Truth has power over falsehood. The rub is in the failure of faulty persons and societies to seek truth found in peaceful but tenacious pursuits. They may lack the perceptions and will to work through the processes of discovering what is true and applying the knowledge gained. When the process is followed, persons and nations find good life related to nature’s context – even if they fail in faith related to God.
Solomon mapped the road to wisdom: knowledge, understanding to wisdom. Wisdom was the consequence of rightly learning the facts, sorting through them so to understand their meaning, and applying them to life application so to live in wise context. The larger the application, the more extensive the wisdom becomes related to problem solving and service to self and others. As even Solomon discovered and lamented, knowing the process and holding the power to make it work, the individual and the society may fail in application. Solomon appeared to be off-and-on in the application of the principles he firmly espoused. Humanity has bowed heads in agreement to the principles and continues its casual way that sometimes finds the main road but wanders often to detours that end in box canyons. The road ends, and the next generation starts over. Historians write the stories. The faulty approach makes uncertain lives, failures in business, closes institutions, and ends nations. In the natural context we have sinned against ourselves, when we fail to seek truth, understand it, and apply it to life and values.
The text in Jeremiah relates God to the process that works forward to wisdom and application with the power to achieve a conclusion of satisfaction. With his inherited power, God made the system of earth; with his knowledge of what he had done he wisely incorporated it with order; and, with the understanding of it he populated it with the acme of that creation – creating mankind. He made it possible for mankind to treat the earth context in a similar (parable) way in which he manages heaven. The analogies are common in the narrative of Scripture relative to both earth and heaven. Earth can draw upon the rights (holiness) of heaven; the atmosphere (love) of heaven; the management of heaven (truth); the meaning of heaven (joy and service) – the analogies may be extended. Further we have the power of God to do all this, but that takes faith, prayer, Scripture, energy, education, patience, and the application of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives – righteousness. The Holy Spirit is at work to provide effectiveness for us, in human life and habitat. It seems bizarre to persons of faith that human beings commonly choose to go-it-alone.
Historically mankind sought peace, love, opportunity and fresh start-up in going to a frontier. When developed societies learn applications of wisdom and support systems, we can find our dreams for peace, love, achievement, service, devotion and relationships. In this is wholeness for the individual and community for the masses. Scripture suggests that we will not find it because we are recalcitrant, so we ebb and flow in the application of the principles. In the failure we either find renaissance (revival to recovery) or death (decay to ending). We have no way of knowing when the cycles will be concluded, and God will evaluate history, after which he will re-create the whole for that life he intended from the outset. The end of the scenario is attractive. His former earth-children may serve in the ideal. (Revelation 21:22-27) In the meantime we live by recourse to the instructions of Revelation 22:11. Our faith is earth-practical. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020