Proverbs 15:14 Commentary and Bible Study

The proverb is about our appetites. What attracts us? What do we value? Knowledge is an unlimited field, just as God himself is infinite. The knowledge that we already have is good, but it is never enough for us to say, ‘I will seek no more’, for the soul has an insatiable appetite. There is a wonderful quality to divine knowledge that tells us that it is only the beginning of something much greater, and that where it has come from there is an inexhaustible supply. We have tasted that the Lord is good, and we desire more of his goodness, and to our great joy he has promised to give us all of his infinite being. The believer is content with nothing else, for he has tasted the genuine article. Knowledge has become more precious to him than everything else. Knowledge dispels the darkness of this world and shows him the light of heaven. The believer’s whole life becomes a quest for knowledge, but this is not the same as the unbeliever. He may seek knowledge but he does not seek it from God. He may seek knowledge but because he does not hold the foundation, he never finds anything of any real value. But fools are satisfied with much less. They live off a diet of vanity which is far below real wisdom. It is true to say they have never tasted real knowledge and do not know its value, and therefore they try to find contentment with empty things that leave out God. They admire human achievements as if they brought real gain. Often they seek diversion in the pleasures of sin: in possessions, drunkenness, sexual gratification, strife, envy, hatred, indeed all the evils that Paul says belong to the sinful nature (Galatians 5:19). These trouble the conscience and cause pain and sorrow, but their remedy for this is to do even more of the same thing.It takes knowledge to recognise the value of knowledge, but a fool will never know which direction to go in. Since we are locked in in this way, it must be God who takes the initiative to open the door of understanding.