“No man acts with true wisdom till he fears God and hopes in mercy.” – William Swan Plumer (1802-1880), American clergyman, author, theologian

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 

Shear terror before the Supreme Ruler is not what this verse means. The Hebrew word “awe//fear” translated in the Bible is  yirah (יראה), meaning respect, reverence, worship. Moses was filled with “yirah” when he begged God to see his glory. 

The book of Proverbs is the quintessential wisdom teaching in the Old Testament. Proverbs is lyrical  and speculative, and gives commonsense advice about the mystery of life, directed to the young.

 Ancient teachers observed patterns of behavior and social consequences over a long period of time and penned their surveys.  

Wisdom literature: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Job.

 These books are a reflection upon lived experiences of day-to-day things – on the mundane, ordinary daily routines of human interaction and ask about the meaning and social significance of such matters as speech, money, friendship, work, sexuality, and land. 

These writers had to weather the orderly patterns of reality over time and make predictions about social integration. 

Why is there so much space for wisdom in the Bible?  

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” -Matthew 7:24 (words of Jesus) 

Jesus taught wisdom, acted wisdom and embodied wisdom. 

Nothing has changed in 2000 years. 

Proverbs has 31 chapters.  Shaped for a monthly devotion. 

1-9 Wisdom and Folly

10-31 Collection of Sayings 

(from Solomon, Hezekiah, Agur, A mother to Lemeul)

Wisdom is not cliche Christianity and has no interest in guilt. It celebrates responsible life in communion with God. 

So, what is the fear of the Lord? It is the knowledge of God Himself. When you fear God, you have decided that knowing who God is more important than anything else in life.

See you in Song of Songs next week. 💛

Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, 

I pray that the understanding of the fear of the Lord may come into me. I cannot claim to know You if I try to dodge your plans and view life from my perspective. I know the proper reverence for you will bring me closer to your greatness. Thank you for the honeycomb of gracious wisdom words you have given me in Scripture. They are sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray.  Amen