"Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" - Hebrews 5:14.
God expects us to grow up to maturity which is characterized by discernment of good and evil. And not just knowing all the right stuff, but having our senses exercised. This means living the truth, not just knowing it. You could even say that the immature know the right stuff; the mature live it.
As I continue to be sensitive to connections between the Old and New Testaments, I found a fascinating one here. These Scriptures all include the phrase "know/discern between good and evil": Genesis 2:17; 1 Kings 3:9; Isaiah 7:15.
Genesis - here we are in the Garden before the Fall with Adam and Eve, and with a tree of the knowledge of good and evil they could not eat. God only knows why they were forbidden it, but it is the same phrase we find in Hebrews 5. Hm.
1 Kings - when Solomon becomes king, he asks for wisdom, "that I may discern between good and evil." Solomon fulfills the creation mandate to rule the earth. He names animals (1 Kings 4:24, 33). Yet there was sin mixed in. He goes back to Egypt; he multiplies horses, wives and gold, as God commanded the king through Moses NOT to do (Deut 17:16ff). God gave him wisdom to rule, but he could not rule over himself, it seems.
Isaiah 7:15 - a much overlooked passage, after the famous "virgin shall conceive" verse. The Child will "know to refuse the evil and choose the good." While this has immediate application to Ahaz's own son, assuring that his immediate enemies would be consumed before the boy got very old, I believe it also refers to the coming Messiah, whose discernment would be complete in knowledge and action. Jesus Christ obeyed His Father wholly.
And we are called to follow Him into that discerning obedience.
I'm not sure how far or where to take this exactly, but there is something here to chew on for a while (see Hebrews 5:13-14 again!).
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