Summary

Folly is another word for rebellion against God, whereby one rejects his Word and chooses to go one’s one way. We see this proverb playing itself out in Adam’s life, in how he chose to disobey God and afterwards blamed God: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree” (Genesis 3:12).

Human beings ever since have tended to blame God rather than themselves for the consequences of their sin. When Israel went into exile due to their continuous rebellion, they also blamed God for it (Ezekiel 33:17, Ezekiel 33:20). Today we see the same pattern in the lives of many people: they reject God’s order, their lives fall into disorder, and then they blame God (or his church) for it.

Let us not forget the message of Genesis 1 and 2, that God made everything good. He cannot be blamed for what goes wrong in this world. If anyone is in the position to complain and to blame, it is God! What have we done with the good world that he has created? As we are reminded by Jeremiah: “Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment for his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!” (Lamentations 3:39–40).