Ship of Fools !

 

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD. But the world is sailing on a ship of fools.

(an FFOZ article)

Imagine a sailing ship on which the captain has lost his crew’s confidence. Though he stands a head taller than the others and has considerable strength left in his body, he’s an older gentleman, and in his advanced years, he’s grown a little deaf, and his eyesight isn’t what it used to be. What’s more, the captain has never mastered the art of navigation. He preferred to rely on the ship’s navigator.

The problem now is that the navigator is missing. The sailors are quarreling with one another about the direction the ship needs to take. Each sailor holds the opinion that he has a right to steer the vessel, even though none of them is qualified to do so. When asked if they know how to navigate, the sailors become angry and say that navigation must be based upon one’s personal preferences; it’s not something that can be definitively learned. They are ready to cut in pieces anyone who speaks to the contrary.

These foolish sailors throng the captain, each insisting he be placed at the helm. Whenever the captain gives any one of them the privilege of steering the ship, the others all turn against that one and wait for some opportunity to kill him and throw him overboard.

Eventually, the sailors drug the captain, tie him up, and take possession of the ship. They open the supplies, freely eating and drinking all the provisions as they proceed on their voyage. Things go as you would expect. They assign the title of sailor, pilot, or navigator to anyone who assisted them in the mutiny. It never occurs to them that a true pilot and navigator must pay attention to the time of year, season, sky, stars, current, wind direction, wind speed, and all the other details of navigating a ship. Nor does it occur to them that a true pilot must steer the ship according to the dictates of necessity, whether the direction he chooses is popular or not. Amid such mutineers, how would a true pilot be regarded? Would they not call him a babbler, a superstitious stargazer, and a good-for-nothing?

The Meaning of the Allegory

Plato used the allegory of a ship of fools to illustrate the chaos that ensues under political revolutionaries, but we can use that same allegory as a parable about the dysfunction at work in today’s cultural meltdown. Like the feeble captain of the ship, the church has lost its moral authority. Numerous competing secular voices and ideologies clamor for the right to dictate the culture’s direction in the absence of that authority. None of them is qualified to do so—but neither is the church.

Like the feeble captain who did not know the art of navigation, religious authorities cannot offer clear direction from the Bible, even if the world would heed it. Meanwhile, any real pilot and navigator—one who understands God’s revelation and wisdom—will be dismissed as a religious nut who clings to primitive superstitions.

The Beginning of Wisdom

If you feel as if you’re ready to disembark from the ship of fools, join Torah Club. Beginning in October 2022, Torah Club will launch a year-long voyage into divine wisdom, searching for the presence of God and the simple truths of God’s Word. We will be going back to the beginning—that is, to the beginning of Genesis—to study the five books of the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The all-new weekly lessons will focus on acquiring God’s wisdom for life.

No Fear of God

The new study track is called The Beginning of Wisdom because the Bible says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). That’s not just a deep thought; it’s one of the fundamental rules of spiritual life. If we can’t explain the simple concept of the fear of the LORD, it implies that we don’t even possess the beginning of wisdom. The absence of the fear of the LORD is the beginning of folly, as it says in Psalms: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalms 14:1, 53:1).

It’s easy to see this folly at work in the secular world, but it’s not just the secular world trading in folly. Believers today scarcely have a better grasp on the fear of the LORD than the average secular person. Within our churches, we prefer doctrines and dogmas over biblical wisdom. Cheap grace and a confused gospel message neutralize the whole concept of the fear of the LORD.

One Greater Than Solomon

When Solomon became king, God offered to grant him anything he desired. Solomon could have asked for power, wealth, or fame. Instead, he asked for wisdom. It was the right choice. The LORD invested Solomon with wisdom beyond that of anyone who had ever lived. Because Solomon made the right choice in asking for wisdom, God also blessed him with the power, wealth, and fame for which he had not asked. Solomon’s wisdom is literally proverbial.

The Beginning of Wisdom studies the synagogue’s weekly Torah portions with reference to Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon, and the New Testament. The lessons emphasize the quests for wisdom, a meaningful life, the presence of God, and spiritual growth.

The Bible predicted that one day a king wiser than Solomon would arise. The Prophet Isaiah said that God would anoint this king with the Spirit of the LORD—the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the LORD (Isaiah 11:2). He was talking about the Messiah. Yeshua of Nazareth is the King greater and wiser than Solomon, and he is eager to lead his disciples on the path of wisdom:

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. (Proverbs 3:17-18)

Practical Application

You don’t need to jump overboard to get off the ship of fools. Just get on a different boat. Torah Club’s weekly lessons sail through deep waters, but students will find the new material accessible and easy to understand. It’s written on a level welcoming for new Torah Club Members who want to study the Bible but aren’t interested in being dropped into the ocean of Jewish thought without a life preserver. Each lesson offers meaningful practical applications for daily life.

We study to learn, and we learn to do. We are not interested in merely building castles in the air. Our job is to build the Tabernacle here on earth—to bring God’s presence into this world, our daily lives, and the lives of those around us. That’s what Bible study should be helping us accomplish. If it’s not, we are missing the point.

To study The Beginning of Wisdom, join a Torah Club or start one at torahclub.org.

Please Join Us any Sabbath (Sat) at 2:00 P.M.

for SHABBAT SERVICE & FELLOWSIP POT-LUCK

We meet at the Blessing of First Christian Church of Kittery Point, ME

542 HALEY ROAD, KITTERY POINT