Light for the Journey
“INTELLECT”
Proverbs 2:6:
"For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." (NKJV)
This verse stresses that true intellect—wisdom, knowledge, and understanding—comes from God. Human reasoning is most reliable when it is grounded in divine truth rather than self-reliance (Prov. 3:5-6).
Our God possesses infinite intellect; He not only knows all things but also searches every heart (1 Chron. 28:9). Scripture reveals that He tests the hearts of men (1 Chron. 29:17), for nothing is hidden from His sight (Prov. 15:11). On earth, only mankind is capable of possessing true intellect, being made in the image of God.
Unlike humans, animals are unreasoning creatures. They do not discern between good and evil, truth and error, or make morally upright choices. As a judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar, God temporarily stripped him of human reasoning and gave him the mind of an animal: “Let his heart be changed from that of a man, let him be given the heart of a beast…” (Dan. 4:16). This punishment drove him away from society, forcing him to live in the wild. His hair grew like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws (Dan. 4:33). This discipline taught him—and all people—that God rules over the kingdoms of men.
At the appointed time, Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to heaven and declared, “My understanding returned to me.” A heart without understanding is beastlike. Sin can warp our thinking to the point where we become like unreasoning animals. Peter warned, “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption” (2 Pet. 2:12).
The gospel restores our minds. Within it, we discover the transformative power of having the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5ff).
So, what is your mind filled with? Do you have a debased mind filled with wickedness (Rom. 1:28-29)? A puffed-up fleshly mind (Col. 2:18)?
If God judged men today as He did Nebuchadnezzar, would you stand with an upright heart, or would you be driven away, your understanding lost, and your nails growing like birds’ claws?
"With the heart one believes…" (Rom. 10:10). Let God inscribe His law upon your heart and begin developing the mind of Christ through His Word!
