PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7 KJV).

The first “actual” proverb in the Book of Proverbs begins where the Bible starts: with God. “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Agur states that the world was created by the Word of God: “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?” (Proverbs 30:4 KJV). That Word, we discover in Colossians, was Jesus Christ: “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17). Then, as we have seen over and over in Proverbs, Jesus Christ is that “wisdom” as chapter 8 puts forth.

TODAY’S VERSE:

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7 KJV).

Again, we see a beginning. We also see that “knowledge,” “wisdom”, and “instruction” are used in such a way as to make them all mean one thing, of which “wisdom is the principal thing” (Proverbs 4:7). It would not be incorrect, therefore, to say that wisdom represents the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to get wisdom, but it is only available through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul even addresses the issue by saying, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:16).

Here we see an interesting phrase: “the fear of the Lord.” “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,” there is awareness. You just get somebody afraid of God and they are on the way. Now, that is not the complete solution—but that is the beginning—you have to start somewhere. The best way to deal with a lost sinner is to get him scared to death. It is best not to teach the lost man about the “love” of God—you can throw that in—but primarily teach him about the judgment of God. Teach them about heaven, hell, sin, the damnation of sin, but most of all—the judgment.

If you can get a man to listen to that, that’s “the beginning of wisdom.” If you can get him afraid of the judgment of God, then he will open up to God. There are a lot of preachers and a lot of churches today that say it is not good to scare folks. The Bible says that Noah “moved with fear” (Hebrews 11:7), he was motivated by fear. If you really stop to think about it, why are we wearing clothes? Fear! We don’t want to be exposed. Yes, there are also laws in our civilization, but the fact is we don’t want to be exposed. Why do we drive on the right side of the road? Why do we have a job, why do we have insurance? Fear.

Folks, we have these screwball preachers that say we ought not scare anybody, but advertising is based on fear. It’s either fear of losing something—not having something that somebody else has—or something might happen to you before you get it. They use fear to motivate you into buying their product. Fear is one of the prime motivations of men. Advertisers know something that most preachers don’t.

“But fools despise wisdom and instruction,” they don’t want to have any part of it. They don’t want to know what is going to happen, they don’t want to realize that eventually they are going to have to face God.

“The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether” (Psa 19:9 KJV).

The fear of the Lord comes from the Word of God. When a system becomes totally apostate, Paul says of the Gentiles in Romans 3, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Daily Bible study is necessary if we are going to begin our day with the right attitude and the right spiritual diet. Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, so let's read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let's keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread! Ideally, a chapter or two of Proverbs will fit in nicely with a good plan of reading our Bibles through each year.

If anyone would like to be added to the ping list, please let me know either by post or by p.m.

For more books on all topics of the Bible, visit my web site at:

BAPTIST BIBLE BELIEVERS WEBSITE

The fear of the LORD

What is the essence of fear?

You are driving down the Interstate and a truck crosses the median and heads straight toward you.

You are flying in an air plane and it drops 5,000 feet.

What is the essence of fear? Your life is on the balance AND you are not in control of the situation.

Folks, that is our relationship with God. That is the beginning point.

Note, I said beginning point. We do not live in fear but it is good to visit it once in awhile.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.