By: Obed Pineda
Ignorance is described as “having little or no knowledge; unlearned” (The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, Third Edition). For some, to live in this state of unknown is a positive thing. This laissez-faire (or care free) attitude is commonly justified by a strong belief that ignorance is bliss. In other words, the less one knows about the reality of a situation the less probability of being encumbered by the truth. Although it is true that the inspired Koheleth penned, “For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:18), he is not condoning nor promoting ignorance as ideal. Observe that he later affirms, “The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up” (Ecclesiastes 10:12, emphasis added). Let us recall that a fool is identified by Holy Writ as those who “despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7b). Undoubtedly, to willingly choose to remain in ignorance as to avoid sorrow is the very definition of despising wisdom and instruction, but it is the description of the slothful man as well. The grave danger of embracing this erred concept is that remaining ignorant does not prevent the consequences of the looming threat from taking place. Once again, the Ecclesiastes penmen warns that “because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18, emphasis added). This Scripture proves that the opposite of what the laissez-faire mentality promotes, is in actuality true. Ignorance does not bring bliss, but rather expedites great loss. A simple way to verify this is a man’s refusal to make a doctor’s visit because he is afraid to discover that he may be ill. Ignoring any possible infirmity plaguing his body does not stop the disease from being real. Instead his irresponsible approach to his health aids the illness in deteriorating his health, by now granting the disease a fertile grown to thrive in. Thus, this example that happens more often than it should concurs Solomon’s conclusion that “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3, emphasis added). There is no argument that there is a higher probability of surviving cancer when it is detected early in stage one, rather than when it has metastasized throughout the body at stage four. This brightly illuminates the dire peril that ignorance poses to mankind, especially in conjunction with spiritual matters. It is regrettable that this “I’d rather not know” attitude is still predominant in the world today. This false hope that God will allow a person’s lack of knowledge of His Sacred Scriptures is delusional, and old; very old. Once more, ignorance of God’s Word does not negate the horrid reality of sin and its devastating effects in a person’s life. The apostle Paul explained the pitfall of mankind when ignorance of sin reigned freely upon the land. He wrote, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned – (for until the law sin was in the world, but sin was not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come” (Romans 5:12-14, emphasis added). The dispensation ebbed the Patriarchal Age, lasted from Adam until Moses roughly 2,500 years. This period in human history is distinguished by the long lifespan of man ranging several centuries, the father’s responsibility to serve as priest for his household, and the teaching of Divine Law by oral tradition, since nothing had been written yet. Therefore, this is the scene that Paul sets up as he is enlightens why “death reigned from Adam to Moses.” The Holy Spirit, through the quill of the apostle, reminds the reader that Adam, the first man, was who polluted God’s pristine creation with his sin. However, this Scripture is also illustrating how even though there was no written law when Adam roamed the earth, a Divine, moral law did still exist and was in full effect. Recall that “whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1st John 3:4, emphasis added). For this reason, it is perfectly comprehensible that even though there was no written law at Eden, there was a law that required submission nonetheless, or else Adam and Eve would not have been able to sin. The Bible documents well that Adam was clearly instructed not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and it was his disobedience (at the behest of his wife, Eve) of this Divine mandate that ushered sin into the world (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-19). Man’s disobedience to God resulted in death, but Holy Writ specifies that “death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12b, emphasis added). Moses had yet to be born during this era, and therefore the Law had not yet been given at Sinai. Scripture declares that the absence of Mosaic Law did not give man a free pass to sin because “sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Romans 5:13, emphasis added). This means that just because it was not written, it does not mean it did not exist nor that it was not in effect. Again, Adam and Eve had no written law, but they sinned all the same by violating God’s spoken law to them. How then did death reign from Adam to Moses? The same way a disease flourishes in a person who refuses to go to the doctor to get it detected and treated early. The fathers neglect to teach their children God’s commandments during a period where they had not been written yet, fast tracked man’s spiral into spiritual decay. Because a father was responsible to offer sacrifices for his family as his family’s priest in the Patriarchal age, he, too, was tasked with insuring the education of his children in the ways of the Lord. Yet, Scripture shows that this sadly did not happen as it was supposed to. The reign of spiritual ignorance surfaces when we bring to memory the tragic events of the Great Flood (Genesis 6:1-8:22), the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), and Sodom, Gomorrah, and all the cities of the plain (Genesis 19:1-29). Every one of these events demonstrate God’s judgment of man’s sin, in a time when moral law had been neglected to be imparted by the heads of households to their families. An argument is made that it is unjust to demand man to rely solely on oral tradition, without a written law. This statement is swiftly refuted by the example of Enoch, who lived three hundred and sixty-five years and “by faith [not the written law] Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’, for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Genesis 5:21-24, Hebrews 11:5, emphasis and addition mine). The same is so with his great grandson Noah, who alone found grace in the eyes of God in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation (Genesis 6:1-9). These godly examples prove that knowledge of God’s Word is truly power. Death reigns when ignorance of His will allows sin to thrive. Thus, this proves that ignorance is toxic; not blissful.