According to Prov 8:12, wisdom finds out knowledge of witty inventions. A witty invention, by definition, is an ingeniously and cunningly devised fictitious idea, statement or device. It is skillfully contrived for an evil purpose. These inventions are conceived in the imaginations of men, which are inherently evil [Gen 8:21].
Checking the other occurrences of the word “inventions” in the Bible, you see immediately that these inventions are opposed to God and God is opposed to these inventions.
- In Ps 99:8 the Lord took vengeance against Israel’s inventions in the wilderness.
- In Ps 106:29 Israel provoked the Lord to anger with their inventions at Baalpeor.
- In Ps 106:39 Israel went a whoring with their own inventions in Canaan.
- In Ecc 7:29 God hath made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.
Notice that men use inventions to depart from God [Ecc 7:29]. Israel went whoring with their own inventions and provoked the Lord to anger until he took vengeance against their inventions.
One of Israel’s greatest inventions in the wilderness was the golden calf. With wisdom you would have found out the knowledge of that witty invention. And with wisdom you find out the knowledge of all idols. First and foremost, the Lord gave Israel the second commandment to keep them from worshipping idols [Ex 20:4-6]. The calf was man made [Ex 32:1]. All idols are made with mens’ hands [Is 2:8]. And you have no business worshipping a man made god [Acts 17:28-30]. A man made god can’t do a thing for you [Ps 115:4-8]. When given a chance to fend for themselves, gods are helpless [1 Ki 18:27-29; Jud 6:30-31]. You fear them because of superstition [Acts 17:22]. But, in fact, they aren’t gods, at all [1 Cor 8:4].
Another terrible invention took place at Baalpeor – Num 25:1-3; 31:8, 15-16. At Peor, Balaam
counseled Balak, the king of the Moabites, to entice the Jewish men to commit whoredom with the Moabite women and to eat what was sacrificed to their gods. Balaam knew that this would provoke the Lord and that he would do to Israel what Balaam couldn’t do in trying to curse them. With wisdom they should have known not to go after those women and their gods. The wisdom they needed was in the words of God [Ex 23:24; 34:12-16]. Phinehas had the wisdom to know exactly what to do in Peor [Num 25:6-13]. He killed two of the people who got involved in this terrible invention and God stayed the plague that had resulted.
Another invention of Israel was the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram – Num 16:24. Korah, who was a Levite [Num 16:1], sought the priesthood in place of Aaron [Num 16:10], and Dathan and Abiram sought to be princes over Israel in place of Moses [Num 16:12-13]. God destroyed Korah and the two hundred and fifty men who offered incense [Num 16:35] and Dathan and Abiram and their families and all of their possessions [Num 16:26-33]. A man following the wisdom of God’s words would have found out the knowledge of this witty invention and would have known not to follow these guys. Look at Ex 28:1-4 and Lev 10:1-2. Also read Ex 19-20 and Num 12:4-9.
Another invention was the worship of other gods in the land of Canaan – Jud 2:11-13. This is an invention that troubled Israel repeatedly until the Lord finally removed them from their land. These inventions were a problem during the time of the judges and all through the reign of the kings from the time of Solomon’s reign until their captivity. We’ve already seen where anyone in Israel could have found the knowledge of these witty inventions.
Conclusion: So, you see that men devise “inventions” to oppose God’s wisdom. A good example of such an invention is the use of evolution through natural selection or the science of natural processes to explain the origin of life. This invention opposes the supernatural creation of the universe. By wisdom you find out the knowledge of this witty invention. Believing what God said will keep you from being duped into believing these foolish professors who invented this natural explanation [Rom 1:20-23]. If you don’t find out that this was a witty invention, you will end up rejecting the Lord and his words like Israel did in the wilderness and in Canaan. And, like Israel, your decision has eternal consequences. It’s not survival of the fittest, or survival of the wittiest; it’s survival of the wisest. You are wise if you believe God.