Over the month of March we will be going through the book of Proverbs as there is 31 chapters in Proverbs and 31 days in March. My hope is that as you read along you will be able to easily dive into each days devotion. Feel free to leave comments on what you have learned each day even if it is from a different area of the chapter.
Enjoy!
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7
This is a very fitting way for Solomon to begin the book of Proverbs. "The fear of the LORD" occurs 11 eleven times in Proverbs. It is also important that we understand what is meant be the word "beginning"here. What does it mean for the fear of the LORD to be the beginning of knowledge? The Hebrew word for beginning is rê'shyth meaning "the start." What this means is that a person cannot gain knowledge of spiritual things if they do not start at the right place. Solomon says that the starting place for knowledge is fearing the God. To fear God means to recognize His character and responding in reverence, worship, obedience, trust and service. Fearing God is recognizing who He is a responding accordingly. Fearing God is the very essence of true knowledge as knowledge apart from God is foolishness. As we begin a campus wide dive into Proverbs throughout March we ought begin with fearing God if we hope to gain anything else from this book!
The second part of verse 7 contrasts the first. It says that "fools despise wisdom and instruction." What this means is that when a person corrects you or instructs you it is foolish not to listen or accept the instruction. If someone tells you that you are proud and arrogant then it would be foolish not to accept the criticism because to accept it would be to change accordingly resulting in improving your character. Solomon warns us not to despise wisdom or instruction because to do so is foolish, someone who cannot receive instruction does not believe they need instruction meaning that they think they have it all together which ultimately leads to not trusting God because you do not feel the need to.
Remember: To fear God means to recognize His character and responding in reverence, worship, obedience, trust and service.
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I think a lot of times we don't give God the respect he deserves. People can treat him as some guy that helps out sometimes or something, when in fact He is everything good and holy. That is where the fear of the Lord comes in.
ReplyDeleteyes! this is so true, people can often see God as just a guy in the clouds rather then a God who created the heavens and the earth, created us, loved us, cares for us and provides for us. He is Almighty and all powerful, the beginning and the end and so much more! we need to continuously be reminding ourselves of His greatness!
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