Foolishness: “Tiered Foolishness” 8-17-25
Overview
What Kind of Fool Am I? Four Tiers of Foolishness in Proverbs
Proverbs 30:21-22 declares that the earth trembles under "a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food." Beneath that vivid image lies the sin of arrogance—the swelling self-importance that comes when a person no longer feels need. But which kind of fool is in view? Hebrew Proverbs uses four distinct words for "fool," forming a tiered progression of hardness against God and wisdom.
Tier one is the gullible fool—one who can be lured, deceived, or talked into anything. Proverbs 14:15 warns, "The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps." Tier two is the generic fool, the most common word in Proverbs (appearing some fifty times). This fool is at home in his folly, lacks knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, trusts himself, is wasteful, careless, slanderous, and emotionally unrestrained. Proverbs 18:2 says, "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion," and Proverbs 26:11 compares him to "a dog that returns to its vomit." Tier three is the stubborn fool, who refuses to listen and mocks what God says about sin—Proverbs 14:9: "Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy God's favor." Tier four is the godless fool, embodied by Nabal in 1 Samuel 25—wealthy, arrogant, hurling insults at David's respectful messengers. His very name in Hebrew means "godless fool," and he lived up to it.
If we are honest, every one of us is touched by all four tiers. We can profess belief in God and still live as though He does not exist. That is the searching question Proverbs presses on us: What kind of fool am I?
Yet Scripture does not leave us there. While we are consumed with thinking of ourselves, God has been thinking of us. Ephesians 1 tells us that before God ever said, "Let there be," the plan of salvation was already in place. He gives us grace—what we do not deserve—and mercy—sparing us from what we do deserve. On the cross, Jesus took the foolishness of our sinfulness, paid the debt, and through the Word and the waters of Baptism washes us clean. To fools like us, He says: forgiven. Instead of stopping the world so we can get off, God redeems it through His Son.
Transcript
Would you open your Bible's please with me for our time and God's Word to Proverbs 3s
the 30th chapter? 7s
If you're using a Pue edition of Holy Scripture, you're going to find that in the Old Testament 9s
page 575. 13s
Proverbs the 30th chapter for our study this morning. 16s
Stop the world. 23s
I want to get off. 25s
I want to get off. 28s
What a great title for a musical. 34s
That musical, stop the world. 39s
I want to get off. 41s
It has been around for decades, decades. 42s
The story revolves around the man who reflects on his life and he sees his constant 47s
pursuit of fame and fortune and prestige. 56s
He sees the emptiness finally of that. 62s
It's a powerful, powerful musical. 69s
I had the joy when I lived in the Los Angeles area of seeing Sammy Davis Jr. play that 74s
part. 81s
In the price of the ticket was great. 83s
I went on student rush. 84s
So I got the ticket orchestra level 17 rose back for $1. 87s
Talk about a great night in the theater. 93s
Davis was at the, at literally the top of his game. 95s
There are three showstoppers in that show. 103s
And when Davis would sing it literally the house would come down every single time. 108s
There's one number in particular in that musical. 117s
Stop the world. 121s
I want to get off. 124s
There's one number. 127s
When Davis comes and sings, what kind of fool am I? 129s
What kind of fool am I? 144s
Do you know the Bible answers that question? 152s
It answers it very clearly. 157s
Look on the please. 163s
Proverbs 30 chapter. 164s
Picking up in verse 21. 166s
Under three things the earth trembles. 170s
Under four it cannot bear up. 174s
A slave when he becomes king and a fool when glutted with food. 177s
An unloved woman when she gets a husband and a maid when she succeeds her mistress. 185s
I want to focus on verse 22 today. 194s
A slave when he becomes king and a fool when glutted with food. 198s
Underneath that reference there is really the topic of arrogance. 206s
What's being communicated here is that there can be an arrogance on the part of a slave that rises from being a slave to the king that there can be a danger there. 212s
And if there also can be an arrogance regarding one who is a fool when glutted with food. 225s
In other words when there's no longer any hunger pains the fool doesn't matter what he says what he does because for the moment he satisfied his belly is full. 234s
A fool when glutted with food. 250s
There are four different words in Proverbs for fool and they form a tier of foolishness. 257s
What kind of fool am I? Proverbs answers it. 269s
With a four full response based upon four words. 273s
Tier one being still foolish but not as serious as tier four. 278s
So what tier does this word for fool in verse 22? What tier is it a part of? 288s
The first word for fool that we see in Proverbs. 303s
Is a meaning that it's a person that can be lured, deceived, or is gullible. 308s
It's the least hardened of all the tiers of being a fool but someone who can be 318s
we lured deceived or is gullible. For example, Proverbs 14 says the simple or you can translate it the gullible, the gullible belief everything. 324s
But the clever consider there steps the gullible belief everything but the clever consider there steps. 337s
That word for fool. In verse 22 it's not that word. 349s
It's not tier one. 357s
No. There's a second word in Proverbs for fool. 360s
And that's a word that that really means a regular fool. A generic fool. You're kind of 368s
run of the mill fool. That occurs 50 times in the book of Proverbs. It's the most common word that is used. 375s
And the generic fool, the everyday fool. We see in Proverbs they like their foolishness. 387s
That they're quite in home in it. They are quite at home in being a fool. 396s
Proverbs the 18th chapter uses that word. It says, a fool takes no pleasure in understanding 404s
but only in expressing personal opinion or Proverbs 26. This is a strong image. 414s
Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who reverts to his folly. 425s
So you got the first level fool, the gullible fool, the one that can be lured, the one that can be 437s
level fool. That's a whole different word most common in Proverbs. The generic fool, the common fool, 444s
the everyday kind of run of the mill type of fool. And we see when that word is used in Proverbs, 453s
we see all the meaning that's attached to it. Because what's attached to that expression of a fool 460s
here on the second tier, that's one who lacks knowledge, understanding and wisdom. The Bible says, 467s
that's a dangerous trio, isn't it? To be without. It's a person who trusts in their self and is 478s
wasteful. Proverbs tells us that the generic fool here is not a trustworthy messenger 489s
and not a good employee. This second level fool laughs at evil. Slanders and is not in control 496s
of their emotions is careless and overconfident. So the first level, I understand that, second level, 511s
here, the generic fool, that word for fool in verse 22, is it tier 2? No, it's not tier 2. 524s
Third word for fool. Third word for fool, the third tier, 540s
that's the stubborn fool. That's the stubborn fool. That's the generic fool, 547s
just more stubborn. It's the person who doesn't listen, just doesn't listen, 560s
and it's the person who mocks what God says about sin. So they're persistent, they hold 571s
faster their foolishness, they mock what God says, they don't, they don't listen. 582s
Proverbs 14 chapter uses that word. Fool's mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy 593s
God's favor. So you got the gollable fool? You got the second level fool of generic. You got the 608s
third level fool, the third tier, that's the stubborn fool. So the use of fool in verse 22, 618s
is that third tier? Nope. It's not. So that means it's the fourth tier. 628s
The highest level in a negative sense of being a fool. What's that? What's that? 642s
His name, the Bible tells us, was Neball. First Samuel, the 25th chapter. Neball was a 664s
really rich man. Bible says that he had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats. That made him really, really 675s
rich. David, who would become the second king? David's men and the ball's shepherds, 689s
ran into each other. David's men guarded Neball's shepherds. Really was an act of kindness. 700s
Well, David though wanted some compensation for this. So he sent a delegation. 714s
Was very respectful to Neball. The delegation arrives to Neball and they say what it is that 721s
David wants. His David is gently reminding here the protection that his men were giving the ball's 729s
shepherds. And the ball's response is no. And in fact, the Bible tells us that Neball 737s
hurled, hurled insults at the delegation. Well, David didn't take too kindly to that. 748s
Not at all. In Hebrew, it's fascinating to study what biblical names mean. 765s
In Hebrew, there's a word for godless fool. Guess what the word is? 777s
Neball. Neball. 790s
Make sure wonder, doesn't it? What was going on in the parents' mind when they named their child? 794s
Neball? Right? That's a whole other path that we can't go on. 801s
Neball means godless fool. And that's who he was. 807s
First tier? The first tier is the gullible fool. The second tier is the generic fool. 822s
The third tier is the stubborn fool. And the fourth tier? 831s
That's a godless fool. The godless fool. 840s
If we're honest, we touch or are touched by all four of those levels. 851s
Why even we can profess belief in God and act as if God doesn't exist. 869s
And the fourth tier touches us. 883s
What kind of fool am I? 893s
The Bible answers it. The Bible answers it. 905s
And it's really, really clear. 912s
It was late in the second act. Davis is the only one on stage. 924s
It's finally dawned on him. 934s
About the priorities of his life and the mess that he's made of his life. 939s
It's dawned on him. His own inability to love. 947s
And he has this dialogue with himself. And it's a dialogue that then moves into a song. 956s
You could hear a pin drop in that theater. 972s
And he seems. 979s
What kind of fool am I? 983s
What kind of fool am I? 995s
And we're the lyrics that he sings is this. 1000s
It seems like I'm the only one that I've been thinking of. 1007s
Hmm. 1017s
When we examine through the lenses of Scripture, the self-centered nature of our own 1023s
mindfulness. What do we discover? But we discover a God who thinks of us. 1033s
It goes all the way back to Ephesians, the first chapter where the Bible tells us that before 1047s
God ever said, let there be God already had the plan of salvation already mapped out. 1053s
That God knew that his creation would rebel against him. And God had the plan to put as we studied this week in the midweek devotion 1064s
about grace and mercy. How he would give us grace. 1076s
Giving us what we don't deserve and how he would give us mercy. Not giving us what we deserve. 1084s
Amist all of the self-centered nature of the foolishness of our sinfulness is where so immersed in 1094s
thinking about ourselves God thought of us and sent his son the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. 1105s
And on the cross Jesus took the foolishness of our sinfulness and paved the debt 1113s
and restored us into relationship, he takes the word of victory and the waters of baptism 1122s
and he will wash us in it. He says to us fools. He says forgiven. 1129s
Forgiven. 1143s
And her three things, the earth trembles under for it, cannot bear up. 1148s
The slave when he becomes king and a fool when glutted with food. 1153s
Foolishness. What kind of fool of eye? The Bible is very clear, but God has the last lyric. 1161s
Because God sings to us through the Savior, the Lord Jesus, and He sings 1170s
and what kind of God am I? 1180s
For instead of wanting to stop the world and get off. 1193s
God redeems it. 1210s
He redeems it. 1215s