Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Basically, this verse
teaches that the fear of God is foundational to true wisdom; all other
types of learning are worthless unless built upon a knowledge of the
Lord Himself. Many other passages talk about the fear of the Lord (e.g.,
Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 14:27; 15:33). Before we can understand how
the fear of the Lord leads to wisdom, we need to define what the Bible
means by “fear” in this context.
In the Bible, the word translated “fear” can mean several things. It can
refer to the terror one feels in a frightening situation (Deuteronomy
2:25). It can mean “respect” in the way a servant fears his master and
serves him faithfully (Joshua 24:14). Fear can also denote the reverence
or awe a person feels in the presence of greatness (Isaiah 6:5). The
fear of the Lord is a combination of all of these.
Fear of the Lord can be defined as “the continual awareness that our
loving heavenly Father is watching and evaluating everything we think,
say, and do” (Matthew 12:36; Psalm 139:2; Jeremiah 12:3). As Jesus told
each of the seven churches in Revelation 1—2, “I know your works.”
Nothing escapes His attention.
In order to develop the fear of the Lord, we must recognize God for who
He is. We must glimpse with our spirits the power, might, beauty, and
brilliance of the Lord God Almighty (Revelation 11:17; Hosea 12:5;
Isaiah 6:1–5). Those who fear the Lord have a continual awareness of
Him, a deep reverence for Him, and sincere commitment to obey Him.
Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” This verse gives us some
added insight with its antithetical parallelism—there is a sharp
contrast between the wise life and the foolish life. A wise person
fears/reverences/obeys the Lord; a fool despises God’s instruction and
cannot be told what to do. The wise person is wise because he has
started at the starting place; the fool has no foundation on which to
build wisdom.
Romans 1:21–22 speaks of those who “neither glorified him as God nor
gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became
fools.” This is a description of people who try to obtain wisdom while
ignoring God—it cannot be done for the simple reason that God is the
source of wisdom.
The link between the fear of God and wisdom means we cannot possess
wisdom if we recreate God in our own image. Too many people want to
“tame” God into a non-threatening nobody. But, if we redefine the Lord
as a god that makes us feel comfortable, a permissive “buddy” who exists
simply to bless us and give us what we want, we will not fear Him in the
way He deserves to be feared. The Lord God Almighty is far greater than
that, and the fear of the Lord begins when we see Him in His majesty and
power (Revelation 4:11; Job 42:1–2) The Lord shows Job (and us) a
glimpse of His power in Job 38—41 when He describes His absolute
sovereignty over everything.
When the reality of God’s true nature has caused us to fall down in
worship, we are then in the right position to gain wisdom. Wisdom is
merely seeing life from God’s perspective and responding accordingly.
Wisdom is a priority, and we are told to seek it above all else
(Proverbs 3:13; 16:16). Proverbs is known as the wisdom book, and the
entire second chapter gives a detailed explanation of the value of
gaining wisdom.
Until our hearts are in a right relationship with God, we are unable to
have the “wisdom that comes from heaven” (James 3:17). Without the fear
of the Lord, we may gain knowledge of earthly things and make some
practical choices for this life, but we are missing the one ingredient
that defines a wise person (Psalm 14:1; Exodus 20:3; 34:14; Jeremiah
25:6; Matthew 22:37). In the parable of the rich farmer, the rich man
had a “wise” and practical plan for his profits, but God said to him,
“You fool!” because the farmer’s plans were made with no thought of God
and eternity (Luke 12:16–21).
Without the fear of the Lord, we make final decisions based on our
faulty human understanding (Proverbs 3:5–6). When we incorporate the
fear of the Lord into every moment of our lives, we make decisions based
upon His approval. We live with the knowledge that the Creator of the
universe is intimately involved in our every move. He sees, knows, and
evaluates all our choices, and we will answer to Him (Psalm 139:1–4).
Our respect for God’s majesty causes us to honour Him (Psalm 29:2). Our
gratitude for His mercy causes us to serve Him well (Psalm 2:11;
107:15). And the understanding that our God of love is also a God of
wrath inspires enough fear to help us stay away from evil (Romans 1:18;
Proverbs 8:13). Sin is foolish; righteousness is wise. When we live
righteously, we are on the path to wisdom, and everyone in our lives
benefits (Proverbs 13:20; 19:8).