Luke 12:16-20

Luke 12:16 (KJB)
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

Then to illustrate the point about being beware of the covetous nature and the danger of it, Jesus now introduces the parable of the Rich Fool. He begins by stating that a man had planted crops and the yield was a tremendous amount. The word “plentifully” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “fertile or producing plenty.” Jesus uses an agrarian setting because it would be something that the people would be familiar with. No doubt the man in this parable was portrayed as a large landholder and probably very rich.

Luke 12:17 (KJB)
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

Then the rich man who focused only on his own wealth and thought within himself about his situation with a bumper crop of produce. He believed that he was going to control the outcome of this situation. The word “bestow” in the Greek is in the future tense which means this man thought that this situation was going to happen every year and that he needs to do something about it. (Psa 10:4 KJV) The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. He never thought of calling upon the Lord who is the one who gave him the tremendous yield of fruit. (Lev 19:10 KJV) And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. He also never thought about giving some of that crop away to the poor and needy in the land. This man was totally preoccupied with his own wealth building and cared nothing about others.

Luke 12:18 (KJB)
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.

Then he comes to a decision which is totally focused on himself and his own wealth. If you notice in this verse we see three usages of the phrase “I will or will I.” (Isa 14:13-14 KJV) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: {14} I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. This is the same formula Lucifer used before he became Satan in his rebellion against God. Satan used that phrase five times because in his own arrogance, he thought that he was in control. The rich fool also thought that he was in control. He decided to tear down his existing barns and build barns that were much bigger and could hold much more produce. Then he states after they are built, he will store all his fruits and goods there. He had a plan and thought that it would be implemented without any hindrance.

Luke 12:19 (KJB)
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.

Here is the fourth time he uses the phrase “I will.” In fact in the verses 17-19, we have the words “I” and “my” used 11 times. It is the epitome of secular humanism who thinks that they are in control and ignore God. He cares only for himself and has no sense of responsibility. Look at the plans he has for the future according to his thinking. First, he mentions that he will have much goods laid up for many years and he counts on that as being the source for the next phase of his life which is to take it easy and just enjoy the amenities of life that he would be able to enjoy because of his wealth.

Luke 12:20 (KJB)
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?

The man looked at his goods and thought to himself that he had so much goods and that those goods would last him for many years. He made the mistake of equating his wealth with projected long life. Those who are wealthy are subject to the laws of death as are the poor people in this world. This rich fool did not realize that death was very near. He made plans to live bountifully in this world but he made no plans for where he was going to spend eternity. Just as he thought himself to be on top of the world, the next thing to happen was that his soul was required of him, that is, it was time for him to die. (Heb 9:27 KJV) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Then all of the goods that he hoarded for himself would now have to be given away as part of his estate. He completely removed God from his life and thought that by ignoring Him, He would go away and let him live his life his way. That can never happen. Every human being is accountable to God for their life. This man tried to use his wealth as his security for his life and it failed him.

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