January 3

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7

The introduction of Proverbs (1:1-7) ends with a clear statement that serves as the summary principle or motto of the entire book. It reveals the distinctive feature of Hebrew wisdom – the fear of the Lord.

The idea of “fear” goes back historically to the dread which was felt in the presence of a powerful and stern tribal or national deity. Fear is the prevailing attitude of the pious man toward God thoughout the OT. The world is looked on not as a household in which God and man are co-workers, but as a realm in which God is king and man is His subject. To acknowledge God’s sovereignty (and His right to it!) in every realm is the first step toward successful living.

To say that the fear of the Lord is the "beginning" of knowledge is to say that it is the foremost and essential element. The assumption throughout Proverbs is that the wise person is one rightly related to the Lord. So the first thought of the godly man in every circumstance is God’s relation to him and (the circumstance), and his and (the circumstances') relation to God.

The second half of verse seven provides a picture of the opposite: absence of the fear of the Lord (in fools) is contempt of wisdom. The contrast in the verse is between reverence for God and refusal to acknowledge Him as God as well as between knowledge and stupidity. Again, one’s relationship and perspective on God is THE determining factor on one’s foolish or wise status.

The point is, one cannot be wise and fail to fear God. Fear is the filter through which true wisdom flows, sifting out all that is ungodly. The writer of Proverbs therefore was declaring that unless a person fears and reverences God, he is wasting his time if he moves on to the rest of the book.

Which description fits you? Are you fearing or are you a fool?