‘Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding (Daniel 2:20, 21).’

Knowledge on its own is useless, but when used wisely it can be of great benefit to those who have access to it.

Never in the history of mankind has there been a time like now in 2019, when people can freely gain access to information [knowledge] about practically anything. Just one click of a computer’s mouse can reveal a great deal.

The digital revolution, scientific discoveries, and technological innovations have changed our perceptions of life, the universe and our ways of thinking. The educated masses of the Western World are composed of individuals, each having their own concepts of the nature of life. They can easily communicate with one another via the Internet. Travel between continents by plane takes but a few hours, unlike times past, when it would have required weeks, even months, and in some cases years. This unprecedented flux and cross-fertilisation of cultures, the exchanging of ideas, exposure to beliefs systems and ways of governance is causing confusion in the minds of many. The world is approaching a point where the surfeit of knowledge bewilders us. We cannot decide where to go or what to hang on to.

Why are we here and for what purpose?

The Times of Moses

If we could transport ourselves back in time to Egypt when Moses wrote Genesis we would find that only a small percentage of the populace were literate, and they were limited as to what they could do because of their poverty and ignorance. Many of them were slaves. On the other hand, the educated, and those in positions of power were able to achieve marvels. The Egyptian pyramids and temples, for example, were extraordinary feats of engineering, and their hieroglyphics engraved or painted on monuments were astonishing, but when it came to devising an easily portable means of transferring or storing information, the best they could come up with was writing with reed pens on papyrus scrolls. Their inscriptions on tablets of clay were nowhere near as convenient, or as portable.

The Writings of Moses

The writings of Moses, i.e., the first five books of the Old Testament, plus psalm 90, were written on papyrus scrolls. Forty or so years ago *one charred remains of such a scroll was discovered, and a forensic examination of it revealed the first two chapters of Leviticus. The script was found to be identical to that of the **Masoretic Text – the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic books of Tanakh. The discovery provides an affirmative link that helps confirm the accuracy of the Masoretic Text. Experts who have examined codices that are held in the Vatican Library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, the National Library in Jerusalem, and the British Library in London also confirm their accuracy.

The Bible

The Bible is comprised of sixty-six books written by a number of authors, who lived within a timespan of about 1,540 years, and the New Testament was written during the last 50 years of that span. In 367 AD Athanasius, who was the bishop of Alexandria, confirmed the authenticity of the earliest Greek version of the New Testament, which is known as the Codex Sinaiticus. Today it is held in the British Library.

Knowledge Used Wisely

The Bible tells of the wisdom of God, and according to Daniel, God ‘gives wisdom to the wise.’ He also ‘gives knowledge to those who have understanding (Daniel 2:21).’

As I said at the beginning of this article, knowledge on its own is useless, but when used wisely it can be of great benefit to those who have access to it. It could be a matter of life or death…….. So we would be wise to take note of what Daniel has said about a time to come, because God gave him wisdom and knowledge. Thousands of Christians believe the time he spoke of has come. It is now, or very shortly. The Lord will appear (Colossians 3:4) when not expected (Matthew 24:36-44), but there are clues as to the time.

Daniel prophesied that ‘many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase (Daniel 12:4).’ Doesn’t that describe our time?

He also wrote: ‘And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever (12:2, 3).’ What are your thoughts on this?

King Solomon, a man of wisdom (1 Kings 4:29-34) gave us this pearl of wisdom:

‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).’

If we seek knowledge and wisdom, let’s search for it in God’s word, the Bible. We Christians are not a people of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33); we are unlike those of the world who are totally confused. Our trust is in Him (1 Timothy 4:10; 6:17), the God who gives us His peace (John 14:27).

Don’t let us be caught napping (Mark 13:28-33)!

*An Investigation: Materials Used to Write the Bible

https://www.josh.org/materials-scribes-used-bible/

**Masoretic Text

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_Text

Links to Related Articles

Wisdom and Folly

https://thebiblicalway.blog/2018/10/05/wisdom-and-folly/

Wisdom from God for Outreach

https://thebiblicalway.blog/2019/01/31/wisdom-from-god-for-outreach/