Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Basically, this
verse teaches that the fear of God is foundational to true wisdom; all other
types of learning are worthless unless built upon a knowledge of the Lord Himself.
Many other passages talk about the fear of the Lord (e.g., Psalm 111:10;
Proverbs 1:7; 14:27; 15:33). Before we can understand how the fear of the Lord
leads to wisdom, we need to define what the Bible means by “fear” in this
context.
In the Bible, the word translated “fear” can mean several
things. It can refer to the terror one feels in a frightening situation
(Deuteronomy 2:25). It can mean “respect” in the way a servant fears his master
and serves him faithfully (Joshua 24:14). Fear can also denote the reverence or
awe a person feels in the presence of greatness (Isaiah 6:5). The fear of the
Lord is a combination of all of these.
Fear of the Lord can be defined as “the continual awareness
that our loving heavenly Father is watching and evaluating everything we think,
say, and do” (Matthew 12:36; Psalm 139:2; Jeremiah 12:3). As Jesus told each of
the seven churches in Revelation 1—2, “I know your works.” Nothing escapes His
attention.
In order to develop the fear of the Lord, we must recognize
God for who He is. We must glimpse with our spirits the power, might, beauty,
and brilliance of the Lord God Almighty (Revelation 11:17; Hosea 12:5; Isaiah
6:1–5). Those who fear the Lord have a continual awareness of Him, a deep
reverence for Him, and sincere commitment to obey Him.
Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” This verse gives us some
added insight with its antithetical parallelism—there is a sharp contrast
between the wise life and the foolish life. A wise person
fears/reverences/obeys the Lord; a fool despises God’s instruction and cannot
be told what to do. The wise person is wise because he has started at the
starting place; the fool has no foundation on which to build wisdom.
Romans 1:21–22 speaks of those who “neither glorified him as
God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.”
This is a description of people who try to obtain wisdom while ignoring God—it
cannot be done for the simple reason that God is the source of wisdom.
The link between the fear of God and wisdom means we cannot
possess wisdom if we recreate God in our own image. Too many people want to
“tame” God into a non-threatening nobody. But, if we redefine the Lord as a god
that makes us feel comfortable, a permissive “buddy” who exists simply to bless
us and give us what we want, we will not fear Him in the way He deserves to be
feared. The Lord God Almighty is far greater than that, and the fear of the
Lord begins when we see Him in His majesty and power (Revelation 4:11; Job
42:1–2) The Lord shows Job (and us) a glimpse of His power in Job 38—41 when He
describes His absolute sovereignty over everything.
When the reality of God’s true nature has caused us to fall
down in worship, we are then in the right position to gain wisdom. Wisdom is
merely seeing life from God’s perspective and responding accordingly. Wisdom is
a priority, and we are told to seek it above all else (Proverbs 3:13; 16:16).
Proverbs is known as the wisdom book, and the entire second chapter gives a
detailed explanation of the value of gaining wisdom.
Until our hearts are in a right relationship with God, we
are unable to have the “wisdom that comes from heaven” (James 3:17). Without
the fear of the Lord, we may gain knowledge of earthly things and make some
practical choices for this life, but we are missing the one ingredient that
defines a wise person (Psalm 14:1; Exodus 20:3; 34:14; Jeremiah 25:6; Matthew
22:37). In the parable of the rich farmer, the rich man had a “wise” and
practical plan for his profits, but God said to him, “You fool!” because the
farmer’s plans were made with no thought of God and eternity (Luke 12:16–21).
Without the fear of the Lord, we make final decisions based
on our faulty human understanding (Proverbs 3:5–6). When we incorporate the
fear of the Lord into every moment of our lives, we make decisions based upon
His approval. We live with the knowledge that the Creator of the universe is
intimately involved in our every move. He sees, knows, and evaluates all our
choices, and we will answer to Him (Psalm 139:1–4).
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