The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and discipline.
You can read the entire book of Proverbs every day – and yes, you’ll gain some good knowledge: Biblical truth is still truth even if an unbeliever reads it. But unless you have a “fear of the Lord” the truths here will have little impact on your life.
The note in my fancy Holman Christian Standard study Bible says this about the fear of the Lord.
“The fear of the Lord involves awe, reverence, love and trust in God. It accompanies knowledge, humility, obedience and blessing.”
I have read the book of Proverbs many times over the years. I’m sometimes guilty of thinking “I’ve read that a million times. I know what it says” as I read a verse or book of the Bible. So God spoke to me about verse 5 (so this is my official “pick a verse and tell us what God said to you” verse).
“a wise man will listen and increase his learning,
and a discerning man will obtain guidance.”
I certainly don’t “count myself to have arrived” and so my prayer as I begin this reading/study of Proverbs is that God will “increase my learning” and teach me knew things about Himself, myself and how I can be wise in following Him (obtain guidance).
That’s my prayer for you too!
2 comments:
I read from different versions, and the two companion verses (I couldn't pick just one) were these:
From The Message (I think v. 27) "What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing to show for your life but rubble and ashes?" and then from New Living Translation, v. 33 "But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm."
In all the recent storms I've seen coverage of the physical destruction. Whether that comes into our lives, or other types of "destruction," by listening to and obeying God we can be untroubled by "fear of harm." We may/will go through it, but we can have peace through the storms that God allows.
Proverbs 1:33 "But whoever listens to me (wisdom) will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil, is a very comforting verse. I think the most interesting verse is #28 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me dilegently, but they will not find me." There seems to be a "too late" when it comes to seeking wisdom. Interesting!
Andrew
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