Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
The woe pronounced is God's own woe and curse upon those who trust their own judgment and regard themselves as wise, prudent and discerning. People bring that woe upon themselves by that self-trust, and they remain under it while they cling to it.
In its setting the warning stands among condemnations of reversing good and evil and of rejecting the law and word of the Lord. It belongs to Israel's rejection and misinterpretation of God's revealed word, where despising God's word and rejecting His law brings the judgment described in the surrounding verses.
To be wise in one's own eyes is to depart from God's commandments by approaching God without reverence and awe and without following His appointed manner. It is to offer only partial obedience, to make no difference between common and holy things, to treat part of God's commandments as non-essential, and to offer a substitute for what He has required. God cannot accept such self-chosen service, for He has placed in His word no command that people may obey or disobey at will without suffering the consequences.
Such self-reliance rejects God's standard and God's law and word, and instead follows standards people have made for themselves. It produces moral confusion through false reasoning that forms mistaken moral opinions, mistaking right for wrong and good for evil. It dismisses sin and error as trifles and treats God's claims as trivial, and God's Word condemns such judgment.
The verse applies to officials whose minds are clouded by strong drink, whose confused sense of right and wrong leads them to injustice. It applies also to a person who treats evil as good and good as evil, whose reasoning may draw another away from the truth. Those who trust their own wisdom and judgment and rely on vain philosophy fail to perceive the beauty, power and mystery of the plan of redemption and are unable to discern the gospel's hidden treasure.
There is reason to be afraid of people who rely on their own wisdom and their own good works. Such people give the impression that Seventh-day Adventists have entirely changed the principles they once held, and their spoken words show a lack of faith in the truth taught in publications and in ministry, words that some will never forget.
The woe pronounced is God's own woe and curse upon those who trust their own judgment and regard themselves as wise, prudent and discerning. People bring that woe upon themselves by that self-trust, and they remain under it while they cling to it.
In its setting the warning stands among condemnations of reversing good and evil and of rejecting the law and word of the Lord. It belongs to Israel's rejection and misinterpretation of God's revealed word, where despising God's word and rejecting His law brings the judgment described in the surrounding verses.
To be wise in one's own eyes is to depart from God's commandments by approaching God without reverence and awe and without following His appointed manner. It is to offer only partial obedience, to make no difference between common and holy things, to treat part of God's commandments as non-essential, and to offer a substitute for what He has required. God cannot accept such self-chosen service, for He has placed in His word no command that people may obey or disobey at will without suffering the consequences.
Such self-reliance rejects God's standard and God's law and word, and instead follows standards people have made for themselves. It produces moral confusion through false reasoning that forms mistaken moral opinions, mistaking right for wrong and good for evil. It dismisses sin and error as trifles and treats God's claims as trivial, and God's Word condemns such judgment.
The verse applies to officials whose minds are clouded by strong drink, whose confused sense of right and wrong leads them to injustice. It applies also to a person who treats evil as good and good as evil, whose reasoning may draw another away from the truth. Those who trust their own wisdom and judgment and rely on vain philosophy fail to perceive the beauty, power and mystery of the plan of redemption and are unable to discern the gospel's hidden treasure.
There is reason to be afraid of people who rely on their own wisdom and their own good works. Such people give the impression that Seventh-day Adventists have entirely changed the principles they once held, and their spoken words show a lack of faith in the truth taught in publications and in ministry, words that some will never forget.