The Fear of The LORD... Part II (followup from ch.1)

Proverbs 9

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight" (v. 10).

Many people confuse this verse with verse seven in chapter one. There are only two differences, one obvious the other not so much. In chapter one the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, whereas in chapter nine the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. The second difference is found in the word "beginning." Although this is the same english word used in each verse it is not the same Greek word. This means that each use of "beginning" has a different meaning. In chapter one the Greek can be translated "to start," meaning the fearing God is the starting point for true knowledge of God. In chapter nine the Greek word can be translated as "prerequisite." This means that fearing God is a prerequisite for wisdom. There is a huge difference now between these two verses and it is now easier to see why they have been placed where they are. Solomon beings the book of Proverbs saying in verse seven that in order to have a true knowledge of God and who He is you must first start with fearing the LORD. Then over the next eight chapters Solomon begins to talk about what wisdom is and its values. Now in chapter nine he says that in order to have wisdom you must first fear the LORD, meaning that a fear of the LORD is a prerequisite for wisdom. Now that Solomon has establish that fearing God is required for both knowledge of who God is and for wisdom he will spend the rest of the book giving us words of wisdom and instruction.
(refer back to last monday for what it means to fear the LORD).

Fear God.
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