REFORMED WITNESS
Volume XIV, September 2006, Number 9
The Rich Fool
A meditation by Rev. G. Vos
From the October 1, 1951, issue of The Standard Bearer
See more articles by this author
"And He spake a parable unto them saying The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, this will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." - Luke 12:16-21.
"... for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say."
That was the conclusion of a beautiful speech of the Son of man to His followers. The Lord Jesus had spoken to them of very important things, indeed the most important things for the children of men. These things had to do with the Christian life which we are to live on this earth. Even if we would be brought before the judges and the magistrates, we need not worry, for the Holy Ghost would help us in such terrifying hours.
But the Lord had made no impression on one of His hearers. That is plain from his sudden question. From the lofty sphere of witnessing for Christ and for God in the midst of the wicked, we are suddenly brought to the mundane sphere of money and earthly possessions. That one carnal man said: "Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me"! What a question, and at such an hour!
We can tell by Jesus' answer that He is very much displeased at this question: "Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?", and as a warning against such worldly-mindedness, He continues: Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth! Then He tells them the parable of the Rich Fool.
* * * * *
We hear the word of a fool, the answer of God, and the conclusion of Jesus.
But is the man a fool? He sounds rather wise. What he says, and plans and does is done every day in our world of things and men. He is a rather careful man. He is laying up for old age. Is he really a fool?
He was rich to start with, and his lands brought forth abundantly. Well that was God's doing, not his. (God giveth the increase.) It was a crop such as only happens once in a great while. That is first of all plain from the words: the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. But it is also plain that this was an unusually large crop from the fact that the barns were too small to hold it. The size of the barns are reckoned for the average size crops.
Now then, what is wrong with providing larger storage for his bumper crops? Who among the farmers would act differently?
Yet, he is a fool. First of all because the Bible says so. That is really enough. But truth is also reasonable. God is never arbitrary.
Note that his wealth breeds anxiety. That is the first indication that he is a fool. A sudden or a gradual increase of worldly goods need not bring anxiety. But it shows at once what kind of a man this is. As soon as he saw that his barns could not hold the wonderful gifts of God, he should have looked around him. I assure you that he would have found plenty of barns to store his goods. Listen to what father Augustine says of this point: "God does not desire that thou shouldest lose thy riches, but that thou shouldest change their place-bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens which faileth not."
According to father Augustine he should leave changed the place of these additional riches. What places did Augustine have in mind(?) - the widows and the orphans. There are plenty of those. There was ample place there. Attend to the bosoms of the needy, the houses of widows and the mouths of orphans, rich man!
But no, he is going to build larger barns. For he is a fool.
But there is much more.
The rich man has an arrogant sense of possession. In this very short soliloquy he uses the first person pronoun 18 times, that is either in the form I, me, thou or thine; also the word soul, which has the same import here. For with all these words, either in the first or the second person or with the word "soul," he has himself in mind. That is the name-card of the fool. He is concerned with himself exclusively. That makes him one of the worst of liars. Listen to him: these are my fruits, again: Soul, thou hast much goods! That makes him a liar, for God is owner, all he is is a steward.
There is still more ground for calling him a fool.
Without the least foundation he reckons on many years of life. Again, let us listen to him: Soul thou hast laid up much goods for many years! How did he know that? He did not. He knew nothing of the days of the years of his life. Any one of us knows exactly nothing about his life span that is still to cone. It may be many years, but it also may be one second. We might be overcome by a sudden heart-attack, and we are gone. What a fool!
Do you think, my dear friends, that there are no such people? That he is the only fool? Or do your think that this failing is only found among the reprobates? Do not be deceived. You find it also in the church. Why do you think Christ said this, and had it drawn up in the Word of God? --- so that you may scornfully laugh at the fools that are outside the Kingdom of God? Be ye not deceived: you find this in the church also.
Fourth, he is a fool for he tries to feed his soul with corn. That also is the earmark of a fool. He does not know his own soul. You cannot feed your soul with the things of the earth. The soul is the most precious thing a man has, and he should feed his soul with God and godly things, not the earth and the wealth of it. He should have learned from Asaph in the 70th Psalm that there is nothing on earth or in the heavens that can feed the soul; that he needed the communion of God more than bread. Yet he says: Soul, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry! With corn? The fool.
The rich man is a stranger to God, to himself and to his neighbor. It is the foul fruit of the sin of man, that he acts as though he were God Almighty. He lives for himself alone, and all things must serve him to have a good time. There is just One who may do that, and that is the adorable God. For us to attempt to live like that is the fundamental sin: the pride of life!
* * * * *
'But'!!!! What a terrible word!
In that one word the whole plan for the future life of this fool is put in jeopardy. God is speaking. It behooves us to be very still now and tremble. For this fool is not far off from any one of us. We have much of this fool in us.
But, God said unto him!
Well, when everything is equal, the word of the Lord is very sweet, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. There is nothing wrong with God's speech, even in the night. But when His word is spoken in wrath, this speech is terrible. But even in its terror, it is still beautiful. For this fool it was hell.
It was the speech of death. No, God did not come by his bedside in this terrible night to actually talk to him. No, but God's word was equally effective. I think it meant his death struggle. God spoke in the night and the man became very "benauwd" [frightened]. God spoke to him of death, and there was quite a to-do in that house that night. He was a rich man. He must have had many servants. They ran hither and thither, and the medicine man was summoned. But then, what can we poor earthworms do when God says to us: Come, die!
Let us listen to God. God said in that night concerning all of the rich man's mighty plans for barns and fruits in great abundance: Fool! That was the proper denomination for him, his life, his work, his soul and his body. The fool.
What does that word mean?
It means that one walks on a wrong way, and that he stretches out toward a wrong goal. A fool is the opposite of a wise man, and wisdom is the choosing of the right and the best way unto the attainment of the most glorious purpose. That purpose is the praise and the honor of God. Therefore, Christ is called both the Wisdom of God and the Way to God. There was no room in the life of this fool for God or His Christ.
He showed it conclusively in the few words which lie spoke in the parable.
He walked upon a way that was self-indulgence. He had a purpose, but it was the honor and praise of self.
Let us listen some more to the glorious but terrible speech of God: Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee! How terrible! This night. What came of all his plans? Where are the "many years" he reckoned on? Listen to Solomon "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1).
This night!
Well, that is not bad at all, if your soul is right with God. Then you have reason to rejoice, for then the pilgrimage through this terrible vale of tears is ended, and you will obtain all the hunger of your regenerated heart.
But this night is terrible, for it is the night of death for the fool. The fool is without God and so without hope in the world. The death-night of such an one must needs be terrible. The Lord lays hold of him, and from out of the midst of his counsels he is brought before the face of God. Did not Paul say: it shall be terrible to fall into the hands of God (and in this quote in Hebrews): For our God is a consuming fire.
* * * * *
Thy soul shall be required of thee! or, more literally: This night do they require thy soul of thee. What is the import of the plural? Who are the "they"? We know that angels came to usher Lazarus into the heaven of glory. Are these perhaps the angels of doom? Or are they the devils? I do not know.
There is something terrible in the plural, however. Many come to take him to the throne of God. Some of us have trembled when the auto stopped before our door, and the officers of the Gestapo entered the house, and took you along.
But these are far more terrible messengers of doom! And it shall happen this night.
Our days and years, yes, but also our minutes and seconds are counted. We ought to live that. Listen to Moses: So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom! (Psalm 90:12).
Here is the truth: God has set the span of our years e'er the world was created, and when the last second is given to us, there will be no more. Time has run out. The sands of time may run ever so slowly, but they finally run out. We do not know how far the sands have dropped in the nether vessel. But God knows. Live that, beloved, and you will apply your hearts unto wisdom.
* * * * *
Listen to the further speech of God in that terrible night, "then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"
O, what untold grief there is in these words! I have seen a little of this. I have seen fathers and mothers providing and providing again. Fondly counting and counting again! Shall we count it once more with glowing cheeks and shining eyes, mother? Oh yes, they provided, and God came in the night. Then whose were those things that were provided by that fond father and mother? They were the tavern keeper's and the harlot's.
Beloved, remember the mouth of orphans, the bosoms of the needy, the houses of widows. They are God's barns. Fill them.
They had a splendid funeral; perhaps some eulogies too. It is a wonderful custom. But the rich man's soul was already in the hand of an avenging God, while they sat and mourned at the funeral of the departed fool.
His body went to the grave, while his soul was given over to the destroyers. Listen to Job, "Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers." "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Here is the life of the miser: "He that layeth up treasure for himself." Let us mirror ourselves at these words of Jesus. Did we begin to say and to ask, "Was this man such a fool?" Do not many of us live and plan like he did?
I am tempted to ask again, "Was he such a fool? Do not many of us fit this last description in the words of Jesus?
If we live all for Self, if we lay up treasure for it, then both it and the treasure are destroyed.
If we live for God, we will have treasures in heaven, and the greatest treasure of them all is eternal life, for that is to know God.
Our calling, beloved, is to lay up treasures in heaven, and then we become rich toward God. Then we shall know Him, walk with Him, and grow like unto Him.
But how shall we live so wisely and so well? The answer is: through the fight of faith. Our nature is exactly as the nature of this fool in the parable. We are not any better. We all have the poison of the devil in us. We want to live as though we were God Himself. That shall be the end of sin in the last days.
But we must fight the fight of faith.
With regard to self - feed your soul with righteousness and holiness, and that is Jesus, our Lord.
With regard to your neighbor: use them as your barns. Christ calls the least of us His brethren. Action or inaction toward the poor and destitute is action or inaction over-against Christ.
With regard to God: go toward Him ever closer in sweet communion. Become rich in God.
Then when the night (or the day) comes that He calls you from life's dream away, His coming and your going will not be terrible. We will weep, not so much that you are gone, but because we are left behind and cannot go too.
For Jesus' sake, Amen.
G. Vos.
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