Two Fountains, Two Fates Text: Proverbs 16:22
Introduction: The Great Divide
The book of Proverbs is not a collection of quaint, disconnected sayings for a cross-stitch sampler. It is a book of applied theology. It is a description of how the world actually works because it is a world that God made and that God governs. And because God is a God of absolute clarity and sharp distinctions, the book of Proverbs is a book of stark contrasts. There is the way of the wise and the way of the fool. There is the path of life and the path of death. There is the righteous man and the wicked man. There are no fuzzy lines, no blurred edges, no demilitarized zones. You are on one path or the other.
Our modern world, particularly the effeminate evangelical version of it, despises this kind of antithesis. It wants a world of nuance without truth, a world where everyone is a little bit wise and a little bit foolish, where all paths lead vaguely uphill. But this is a lie from the pit. It is an attempt to build a bridge over the canyon that God Himself has fixed between Heaven and Hell, between wisdom and folly. The book of Proverbs takes a sledgehammer to that kind of thinking.
Today's verse is a perfect example of this great, unbridgeable divide. It sets before us two sources, two systems of instruction, and two ultimate destinies. On the one hand, you have the man with insight, and this insight is a fountain of life. It is a source of constant refreshment, vitality, and health. On the other hand, you have the fool, and his entire educational system, his "discipline," is nothing but folly. It is a closed loop of stupidity, a fountain that bubbles up with mud and poison. You are drinking from one of these two fountains right now. There is no third option.
The Text
"Insight is a fountain of life to one who has it, But the discipline of ignorant fools is folly."
(Proverbs 16:22 LSB)
The Life-Giving Fountain (v. 22a)
Let us look at the first half of this proverb:
"Insight is a fountain of life to one who has it..." (Proverbs 16:22a)
The word for insight here is sekel. It means prudence, good sense, understanding. This is not about having a high IQ or a head stuffed with trivia. Biblical insight is the skill of godly living. It is the ability to see the world as God sees it and to act accordingly. And where does this insight come from? "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7). All true insight, all true wisdom, begins with a right posture before God, a posture of reverent submission and worship.
The world believes insight comes from within, from "following your heart." But the Bible tells us the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9). The world believes insight comes from elite, godless universities. But the Bible tells us that "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1 Cor. 3:19). True insight is a gift from God, granted to those who fear Him and seek Him in His Word.
And what is the nature of this insight? It is a "fountain of life." This is a potent image in a dry, Middle Eastern land. A fountain, or a wellspring, is not a stagnant cistern that collects a little rainwater. It is a source. It is constantly bubbling up from a deep, unseen place, providing fresh, cool, life-sustaining water. This is what godly wisdom does in a man's life. It is not a one-time deposit of facts. It is an internal, active, refreshing principle that brings life to every area he touches.
It brings life to his own soul, delivering him from the snares of death (Prov. 14:27). It brings life to his family, as he guides them with prudence. It brings life to his church, as he offers wise counsel. It brings life to his community, as he builds and cultivates with skill. His words are a well of life to others (Prov. 10:11). This is the man who is like a tree planted by rivers of water, who brings forth his fruit in his season (Psalm 1). He has a source outside of himself, a source that never runs dry. And ultimately, this fountain is Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). Jesus is the one who offers us "a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14).
The Closed Loop of Folly (v. 22b)
Now consider the contrast, which is as stark as night and day.
"...But the discipline of ignorant fools is folly." (Proverbs 16:22b)
The word for "discipline" here is musar. It means instruction, correction, chastisement. It is the entire educational program of the fool. And what is the curriculum? What is the result? It is folly. The instruction of fools produces more foolishness. The correction of a fool is just another flavor of folly. It is a completely circular, self-referential, and bankrupt system.
The fool is not simply a man who is ignorant of a few facts. The biblical fool is a moral category. He is the one who "has said in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1). Because he has rejected the ultimate axiom, the foundational premise of reality, his entire system of thought is unhinged. He has no external reference point, no true north. So when he attempts to "discipline" or "instruct" himself or others, all he has to draw from is his own folly. He is trying to pull himself up by his own bootstraps while standing in a bucket of mud.
Think of our modern, secular education system. It is the discipline of fools on an industrial scale. It begins with the premise that there is no God, that man is a meaningless accident, and that there is no objective right or wrong. And what does this produce? It produces graduates who are experts in grievance, who are fluent in nonsense, and who think that building a civilization is about tearing everything down. Their instruction is folly, and so the fruit is folly. They sow the wind of godlessness and they reap the whirlwind of societal chaos.
When you try to correct a fool, you are met with more folly. "Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you" (Prov. 9:8). His system is closed. He cannot receive outside information that contradicts his foundational premise, which is his own autonomy and wisdom. Any attempt at correction is seen as an attack. His discipline is folly, and it only reinforces his foolishness. He drinks from his own polluted cistern and grows sicker by the day.
Application: Check Your Source
So the application for us is brutally simple. Where are you drinking from? What is the source of your life, your decisions, your words, your plans? Are you drinking from the fountain of life, which is the fear of the Lord and the wisdom found in Christ and His Word? Or are you sipping, perhaps without realizing it, from the polluted puddles offered by the discipline of fools?
You cannot mix these two drinks. You cannot take a little from God's fountain and then top it off with the world's folly. You cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot walk the path of the wise and the path of the fool at the same time. One is a fountain of life, and the other is a vortex of death.
The discipline of fools is all around us. It is in the news we watch, the entertainment we consume, the schools we send our children to. It is constantly whispering that you are the captain of your soul, that your feelings are your guide, that truth is relative, and that God is, at best, irrelevant. This is the folly that will instruct you straight into the grave.
The fountain of life, by contrast, requires humility. It requires you to admit that you are not the source, that you are thirsty, and that you need water that only God can provide. It requires you to come to Christ, the smitten rock from which the living waters flow. It requires you to submit yourself to His discipline, the instruction of the Scriptures, which is able to make you wise for salvation (2 Tim. 3:15).
When God disciplines His children, it is not folly. "The LORD disciplines whom He loves" (Heb. 12:6). His correction leads to righteousness and peace. The fool's discipline leads to more folly. God's discipline leads to life. Therefore, choose life. Reject the closed loop of humanistic folly. Turn from the broken cisterns that can hold no water. Come to the fountain of life, drink deeply of Christ, and let His wisdom bubble up in you to eternal life.