This rich farmer, who thinks that he need not fear bad harvests for many a year (v. 19), is a fool (v. 20), that is, according to the biblical meaning of the term, a man who in practice denies the existence of God (Ps. 14.1). He does not take God into account, and fails to see the sword of Damocles, the threat of death, hanging over his head. Here it is necessary to avoid a too obvious conclusion. We are not to think that Jesus intended to impress upo…