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The Fear of the Lord: Where Wisdom Begins
By Clark Beck
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We live in a generation that seems to be running away from wisdom. Information is everywhere, and yet people keep spinning their wheels, filling their minds with information but unable to put the pieces of the puzzle together. My hope is to turn your attention back to the ancient paths.
The book of Proverbs was graciously given to us to teach us how to live wise and godly lives that bring God glory. And all of it begins in the same place. As Solomon wrote: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).
So where does wisdom begin, and where does it take us? Here is the answer: Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord and leads to life.
What Is Wisdom?
Wisdom is probably best understood as masterful understanding, skill, or expertise. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines it as the “right use of knowledge.” In the first seven verses of Proverbs, we learn that wisdom should be used for righteousness, justice, and equity — the moral center of the entire book.
Wisdom is understanding how to do what is right, just, and fair with skill and knowledge. It’s no longer just about you. It’s about how to act in such a way that you live a life that demonstrates love for God and other people.
What Is the Fear of the Lord?
The fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom and knowledge. It is the beginning. You can’t get anywhere without it.
Think of it this way: what the alphabet is to reading, notes to reading music, and numerals to mathematics, the fear of the Lord is to attaining the revealed knowledge of Proverbs. You could memorize the entire book, but if you don’t fear the Lord, you will not ultimately become wise in God’s eyes.
His presence should at the same time inspire an awe that draws us close and a fear that makes us shrink back. At its core, the fear of the Lord is an objective revelation of God and the emotional response tied to that revelation. It is also synonymous with humility. When you recognize who the Lord is, you must respond to him with love and with fear, which come together in trust.
As one author put it, the fear of the Lord means that you “believe his promises and love him; and you believe his threats and fear him.”
The fear of the Lord is trusting God’s word, obeying God’s commands, and loving God above all else. This sounds a lot like faith.
What Does It Look Like?
When a person fears the Lord, they boldly do what God asks them to do in the face of fear, suffering, loss, and danger.
Abraham left his country to follow God and was even willing to offer his own son in obedience. When you fear the Lord, you know that obeying God is the only course of action that leads to blessing and life, even if you don’t understand what God is asking you to do or why he is asking you to do it. You simply trust him.
Job went through unimaginable suffering and loss. He struggled through doubts and questions. Yet he always feared the Lord. He did not curse God. He did not lose his integrity. When you fear the Lord, even when you struggle, you do not turn away from him. Rather, you run to him.
The Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah dared to defy the king of Egypt’s command to kill all the Hebrew boys. The Bible gives us the reason: they feared God. The fear of God leads to radical obedience, even in the face of danger.
Ultimate Wisdom
There is no one who more perfectly exemplifies what it means to fear the Lord than Jesus himself. Isaiah prophesied that his delight would be in the fear of the Lord and that he would judge with righteousness and equity. Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s law and hated evil. He is the revelation of God’s wisdom.
As Paul wrote, Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). Ultimate wisdom is found in the revelation of Jesus Christ crucified and raised from the dead.
No matter how much you know, you will not arrive at wisdom through self-discovery, self-actualization, or self-help. True knowledge is found in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If you want to be wise, look at Jesus on the cross — the wisest man, who delighted in the fear of the Lord, humbled himself for you.
Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord and leads to life.
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