Proverbs 1

READ Proverbs 1

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7

THINK This fascinating phrase does not, of course, mean that it’s smart to be scared of God.  After all, Adam and Eve were scared of God after the first sin.  They ran away and tried to hide, which wasn’t smart at all!  First off, they couldn’t really hide from God.  And second, only by running to God rather than away from Him could they have found relief from their guilt.

            

No, the “fear of the Lord” isn’t being scared at all.  What it means here, and in most Old Testament texts, is simply to have respect for God; to be fully aware and in awe of the fact that He is living and present.

            

This, the fact that we take God’s existence and His presence into account when thinking about any issue or making any decision is, “fear of the Lord.”  And this, taking God’s existence and presence into account, is the beginning of knowledge.  If we take God into account, we look to Him for guidance.  And we find it, for “the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (2:6).

            

What a blessing to be among those who fear God and look to Him for wisdom. 

            

But what a challenge to realize that we are responsible to live wisely.   We are called not simply to know the will of God, but to let wisdom “enter your heart” so that we will “walk in the ways of good men and keep to paths of the righteous.  (vv. 10, 20)

APPLY

God’s wisdom is displayed in the way we live, not in what we say.

QUOTABLE

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise.  Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it.  There is no fool so great as the knowing fool.  But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” ---Charles H. Spurgeon