"The Beginning of Wisdom"

“The fear of the Lord, this is the beginning of wisdom.  It is any wonder there is so little wisdom in people’s lives today.  Where you find little reverence you will find no wisdom. Why?   Little reverence is the same as saying no reverence. You either have reverence for God or you don’t.  You are either in awe of God or you aren’t.  You either love God with your whole heart or you don’t love him at all.  God does not accept partial reverence or part time awe.  Awe, wonder and reverence are not something that we try to conjure up on Sunday morning.  If they are not evident in our lives Monday through Saturday they will not be truly be there on Sunday.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and it is wisdom that guides us through everyday of our lives and in every aspect of our lives. If we are not controlled by the Fear of the Lord in our homes, marriages, parenting, business, ethics, and morality, then our worship of God on Sunday will simply be a charade and meaningless.  It will be honoring God with our lips when in reality our heart is far from Him.   It should come as no surprise that a book that begins with the premise that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom alludes to it often throughout  the book.  Such is the case in Proverbs.  Read the following verses from Proverbs and meditate on what they are saying to you about God and the joy of knowing him and walking in the Fear of the Lord.  

Proverbs 1:7  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;  fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:29  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
Proverbs 2:5  then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 8:13  The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Proverbs 9:10  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Proverbs 10:27  The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
Proverbs 14:26  In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
Proverbs 14:27  The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Proverbs 15:16  Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.
Proverbs 15:33  The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 16:6  By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
Proverbs 19:23  The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
Proverbs 22:4  The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 23:17  Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.

Let me end with a wonderful quote from Matthew Henry

“In order to the attaining of all useful knowledge this is most necessary, that we fear God; we are not qualified to profit by the instructions that are given us unless our minds be possessed with a holy reverence of God, and every thought within us be brought into obedience to Him.... As all our knowledge must take rise from the fear of God, so it must tend to it as its perfection and centre. Those know enough who know how to fear God, who are careful in every thing to please Him and fearful of offending Him in any thing; this is the Alpha and Omega of knowledge.”

"In The Beginning"

Where do I begin? We have all uttered these words at some point in our lives. Usually a hint of frustration is implied by the question. Where do I start? What do I do next? Where do I go from here? Sounds like someone is lost, confused, and at wits end. Maybe for some it was just a few hours or maybe for others it has been a few years. Years of searching for answers to questions about life, marriage, family, children, religion, the Bible. Years of trying to make sense of the ups and downs of life, the setbacks, and the nagging disappointments. Years of trying to cope with things that seem to throw our lives into tailspins which seem endless. We want to find answers, we want to try to understand, but where do we begin? The best place to begin any journey is at the beginning. As a matter of fact the only place you can begin is at the beginning. You cannot go for a walk and start half way. You cannot build a house from the roof down because there is nothing to build on. Everything begins at the beginning. There is no half way without a beginning. There is no roof without a foundation. The truth is, we all begin our quest to gain wisdom and understanding from some starting point. We are all coming from somewhere. Worldly wisdom, cultural norms, the counsel of the ungodly are the starting point for most people and sadly even some christians. The reason our world is so confused, frustrated and angry is because they are trying to build a house with no foundation. They are building on sand.They are wrong at the beginning and consequently nothing seems to make sense. If we want answers, if we want discernment, if we want wisdom Proverbs tells us how to get there. We must begin at the beginning. So what is the beginning of discernment and wisdom? Good question. Proverbs doesn’t leave us hanging.
Proverbs 1:7 “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...”
Solomon is telling us if we do not fear the LORD we haven’t begun to be wise. Understanding life, the Bible, Relationships, the world we live in, BEGINS with the fear of the LORD. A reverence, awe, and delight in the LORD. Understanding the LORD is holy, just, righteous, and forgiving. The LORD is the creator of this universe and he rules and reigns over it for his glory and according to his good pleasure. He is the sovereign LORD, the coming LORD, our Blessed Hope. He is the one to whom we must one day stand before and give an account of our lives. The fear of the LORD... This is the beginning of wisdom. We must bring our own understanding, plus the counsel we get, etc. and lay it at his feet. Hold it up against the word of God. Is it what God's word says, is it consistent with who God calls us to be, is it true, just, pure, etc? Phil 4:9. Is the action honoring to God? Will we be pleased to have God watch us do it? Are the motivations in our heart pure and honoring to God? Do we desire his glory above all things? Does it reflect what Christ wants to do in us and through us. When the fear of sinning against a Holy God is greater than our fear of looking foolish in the eyes of he world... This is the beginning of wisdom. “In the Beginning God...” What is your starting point? Proverbs 3:5-6