“Lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov. iii. 5).
Faith is hindered by reliance upon human wisdom, whether our own or the
wisdom of others. The devil’s first bait to Eve was an offer of wisdom,
and for this she sold her faith. “Ye shall be as gods,” he said, “knowing
good and evil,” and from the hour she began to know she ceased to trust.
It was the spies that lost the Land of Promise to Israel of old. It was
their foolish proposition to search out the land, and find out by
investigation whether God had told the truth or not, that led to the awful
outbreak of unbelief that shut the doors of Canaan to a whole generation.
It is very significant that the names of these spies are nearly all
suggestive of human wisdom, greatness and fame.
So in the days of Christ, it was the bondage of the Jews to the traditions
of their fathers and the opinions of men, that kept them back from
receiving Him. “How can ye believe,” He asked, “which receive honor from
men, and seek not that which cometh from God only?”
Let us trust Him with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding.