Ignorance

TITLE: Ignorance
DATE: November 5, 2018
TEXT: Job 28:12, 28 (ESV) 12  “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13  Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. ...  And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Nobody likes to be ignorant… that’s because ignorance can be dangerous. For example…

• If you put an uneducated child behind the wheel of a car and turn him loose in rush-hour traffic, you’ve got the makings of a pile-up which will make the evening news.
• If you give medicine to someone who is ill, but keep that person ignorant of dosage amounts and frequencies, it’s easy to understand how that medicine could hurt rather than heal.
• If you hear a strange knocking, or pinging sound coming from underneath the hood of your car, and you ask ignorant me to fix it; well, my friend, it’s time for you to begin shopping for a new vehicle.

Nobody likes to be ignorant.

Take for example the French family who went up in their attic and brought down some stuff they wanted to sell. Sadly, they were ignorant of the value of a particular vase, so one of them was appointed to take the vase to the auctioneers to get an expert opinion. In short order the vase was wrapped in some old newspaper, put in a shoebox and carted off on public transportation to be evaluated.

At the auction house the vase was revealed and inspected. The experts said, “Beautiful.” The experts said, “18th Century.” The experts said, “It belonged to an Emperor.” Finally the experts said, “Value: somewhere between $500,000 and $1,000,000 dollars.” And the family said, “Sell it.”

And so it came to pass, last month the Sotheby’s auctioneers of Paris put the vase on the block. In short order the experts were proven wrong as the vase sold for 20-times more than their highest prediction.

You see, nobody likes to be ignorant.

That should especially be true when it comes to salvation and our relationship with the Lord. In the texts excerpted above, that’s the point Job was trying to make. On our own we don’t possess wisdom, and we don’t know where to find it. On our own we are doomed to wander forever in the darkness. Our only hope is to go to the Lord and listen to Him.
Why?

Because He is the One Who wrote the OWNER’S MANUAL” on us. He knows how we are supposed to be and He knows how we have been broken by sin. He knows how to restore our souls and repair our lost futures. To that end the Lord has sent His Son to offer Himself as our Substitute.

Now, because of what Jesus has done, all who are brought to faith in Him are forgiven of their sins and granted a new relationship with the Lord.  To value that new relationship is true wisdom indeed.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in this world some things should be valued and held dear, and others can be discarded because they are valueless. Grant that we may hear You and Your Word so we may know the difference. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one carried by he BBC on June 12, 2018. Those who wish to reference this article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-44457262

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago  confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html