Jan 14 2018 The 'Fear of the LORD' is the Beginning of Wisdom

Lord, thank You for who You are. Yes, Lord, we want to give You our hearts. Speak Your wisdom into our lives today. Allow me to speak freely – with confidence and yet humility – that we could come before You prepared to hear what You would say.
Last week we had an introduction. The Bible is composed of many different forms of genre: narrative, Law, poetry, parables, epistles/letters, and prophecy literature. There are so many different forms the Bible comes to us – and each form is important, inspired, and authoritative to our lives. Whether it is a poem in Psalms or the Law in Deuteronomy, they are all important. However, we must read each differently according to how it is written. A mistake we often make, we turn proverbs into promises and guarantees – and we looked at that last week. Another mistake we make is to view the proverbs as LAW.
If you get pulled over and the officer says – let me see your license and registration – what do you do? You give your license and registration – that’s the Law.
Wisdom literature advises, warns, and persuades – so when we think of wisdom, we should think of a mentor or teacher.
The Law speaks from authority. The policeman has authority based on his position and uniform, based on what he has been given from the government. Wisdom speaks from experience.
The Law tells us what to do and not to do; wisdom puts its arm around us and encourages us to think about it.
Today, we are looking at the ‘fear of the Lord’
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Throughout proverbs, 3 words are mixed together – knowledge/wisdom/understanding – kind of interchangeable, but not.
When we look at biblical wisdom, there is theological, ethical, and practical wisdom. The starting point for all Biblical wisdom is theological. The fear of the LORD is the foundation for becoming wise. This does not mean that nonbelievers cannot have wisdom. They can have practical wisdom and ethical wisdom - Jesus said that sometimes the outsiders display more wisdom about the ways of the world than the people that should.
KNOWLEDGE of the Holy One is understanding. It is not just knowing the facts, but a relational knowledge – where we know Him personally and understand His character. That is where it begins.
If the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, what does ‘fear of the Lord’ mean? We know we are not supposed to be ‘afraid of God’ – but we know we are to fear Him. Fear can mean respect at one end of the spectrum, anxiety in the middle, or even move to terror at the other end of the spectrum. Like Yoda said – Be afraid! But the context is what tells us the meaning of the word.

We used to look up words in a concordance and see the different ways a word is used. Does anyone remember the Amplified Bible? It understood that these words mean different things – so it would put ALL of them in! But that is not how it works – in each context, it means something different.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. (Psalm 33:8 NAS)
AWE may be the best way to describe this. It is still not adequate – yes, it includes respect – but there are four aspects of this word. When we fear the Lord, we first know our proper place before God. He is the creator and we are the creatures. Understanding who He is and who we are. Second – it is understanding our very dependence on God – we exist because God wanted us to.
Third, it is knowing God’s greatness, power, and wisdom. He is all powerful, all-wise, all-knowing. The person who fears the Lord will understand these things about God. Knowing that in light of what we are really like – and it causes us to have this incredible AWE – WOW! And then we look at that and look back and think – who am I in comparison to this?
Fourth, it is knowing that someday, because of who God is, we will give an account of our lives to Him. So we tie those four things together. But this kind of fear does not make us run away from God. It is different from being afraid. However, this kind of fear makes us pay attention and listen to God. If you fear the Lord, you will pay attention to what He says.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. (Psalm 33:8 NAS)
Whenever they talk about the fear of the LORD, it is in capital letters, signifying that it is the word Yahweh – a very specific name that God gave to His people as a relational, covenant name that He gave to His people representing His love relationship with them. It is saying – fear the God that you have a love relationship with. It is built on a love relationship. Our fear of the Lord is not being afraid, but having this deep understanding of His love for us.
Ecclesiastes: For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God. (Ecc. 5:7 NAU)
This is a different word – the generic term for God. The context of this verse - This fear of God is – you better run and hide! But the fear of the LORD is saying God loves you – so pay attention – it is for our own good to enhance and develop and experience all that relationship has to offer. It comes in our fear of Him.
I was talking to someone between services – I had a dad, but I didn’t have a dad. He was mean to me. He treated me terribly. When we think of this kind of fear, there is a fear in that relationship. He told me – every time the word ‘fear’ came up – I had to put in ‘love’. But that is not the way God is with us – this fear comes from an incredible love that He has for us. He wants us to live our lives in that way.
This verse often comes up when we talk about the fear of the Lord:
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. This seems to contradict the whole thing – doesn’t it? But yet – in this context – what John is doing – is referring to the person who is in a love relationship with God and others – and this fear is the ‘being afraid of’ fear. A child who knows his parent loves him does not fear his parent. But if there is no love, there is fear.
It is only in understanding His love that we can come to Him. This fear – rejection – is the fear of God’s character – believing God can’t be trusted.
Second – there is no fear of God’s judgment/punishment – all of our punishment went on Jesus on the cross – but in so many ways we fear God’s judgment. We know if we put our trust in Christ – we will not go to hell. But what we do think? I’ve been bad, so something is going to go wrong. Or – God will pull something good out of my life. It is a fear of judgment – and a misunderstanding of what God’s love really means. We can come to the throne of grace with confidence and boldness – and at any moment we can return fully and He is ready to accept us.
The fear of the LORD and love are connected:
The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness. (Psalm 147:11 NAS)
Do you wait for His lovingkindness? Would you describe yourself that way? Do you wake up asking – how is God going to love me today? Like, when you were engaged or first married – wow – how is my fiancé or spouse going to love me today? Oh let those who fear the LORD say, "His lovingkindness is everlasting.“ (Psa 118:4 NAS) I love that! Let those who FEAR say, His lovingkindness is everlasting. Does God’s love for you fill your heart? When we speak of God, does His love so fill your heart that that is what you speak about? We all have ways we don’t feel loved. But God loves loving. It is His joy and entertainment and sport! His love!
It doesn’t say – if you do something wrong, you will be in big trouble!
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, (Psalm 33:18 NAS) We need to live lives that are possessed by the love of God – addicted – Consumed with God’s love. To truly fear the Lord, we must be consumed with God’s love. To fear people – we know that they can ‘get us’ – your boss can fire you – so there will be fear. If you are one of God’s children, He can’t fire you – it would go against His love. You cannot fear the Lord if you doubt His love, you will only be afraid of the Lord. We cannot be afraid of the Lord, only fear Him – and that only happens when it is built on His everlasting love for us.
Fear of the Lord is related to trusting the Lord
In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and it will be a refuge for his children. (Pro 14:26 NET)
Love and trust - are critical. If you are afraid of losing your job, there has probably been a break of trust. In a marriage relationship – a lack of trust can be manifested in so many ways. But fear/trust/and love are tied together in one relationship with God. By fearing the Lord, we have complete trust – we can develop trust.
You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. (Psa 115:11 NAU)
The nature of humans: We use lack of trust to manipulate people – but God uses complete trust to move us into loving Him. That is how we should parent. Yes, we’ve all failed – Hi, my name is Mike and I’ve been a parent for 36 years, and at times, I am not trustworthy – but that should be our hope and attempt – that our children could say that Dad or Mom is completely trustworthy – and this allows for freedom and love. The negative side of fearing the Lord – not negative in a bad way:
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. (Prov. 3:7)
Even though the focus on fear is love and trust and awe, we must turn from evil. It should cause us to do that.
And this is what he says to all humanity: 'The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.'" (Job 28:28 NLT)
"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. (Pro 8:13 NAU)
The negative aspect – the fear of the Lord should cause us to flee evil. The person who fears the Lord is the one who runs from evil. I don’t mean this to say that we never sin, stumble, or fall. This is not about never failing – but even if we fall – to get up and run away from that…
They delight in doing evil And rejoice in the perversity of evil; (Pro 2:14 NAU)
Those who need to be afraid of God are the ones who turn evil into entertainment and sport. This is true of our world – turning evil into entertainment and sport. That is the category of person where God is saying – it is time to be afraid – not the person who is struggling and trying to follow Christ.
Guilt will prevent us from following the Lord. We think a little bit is helpful – but it is of no benefit. There is conviction – and that is different from guilt – a conviction that we need to move away from something. That feeling of guilt destroys relationship and God hates that in us. He doesn’t say – now you will be really good because you feel really guilty! But rather, God wants us – like any parent – to say, yes, that was bad – but even in those times, He loves us and we are forgiven.
Moving to the practical
Prov. 1:29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD. This is talking about the wicked here – sorry for pulling it out of its context – but – what it shows:
Fearing the Lord is a decision – a choice – an attitude or a posture we choose in our relationship with God. Today – when you leave – you can decide – either to place yourself in a posture that fears the Lord – or not.
Here is how we can do that: First – choose to have a love relationship with God. We are going to see the grandkids tonight – just like all you want them to know is that you love them - you really want them to know that you love them! That is how God is. This choice is an attitude and posture to have a love relationship with God. The second thing about this posture – He is the father, we are His children. To fear the Lord, we must view ourselves as His beloved children – with whom He is well-pleased. What must come to mind – I am His beloved child and with me He is pleased. This is especially true after you have had a lousy day – when you have not been the person you ought to be – but in that moment – what is God thinking of me now? He is my loving Father, and I am His child with whom He is well-pleased.
Third posture – we are the servant – He is the Lord. We are not the slave that He beats.
Finally - He is the king – we are the subjects! Think of England – when royalty get married, the entire country shows up! Long live the king! The entire country comes out to honor the king and queen. But God is the king, and we are His subjects!
Love and obey God:
"Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, (Deu 10:12 NAU)
Fearing the Lord means walking in His ways – which means being obedient to what He says. The love relationship we have with God leads us into obedience.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; (Psalm 111:10)
If you really know God loves you – you will want to please Him and do what He says.

Scripture and the Fear of the LORD
11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people--men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns--so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. (Deut. 10:11)
Then, again, in Psalms:
Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments. (Psalm 112:1 NAS) One thing that is so important is a simple thing – reading God’s word and hearing God’s word. Yes, we’ve heard it a million times. I cannot stress any more the importance of having time to read God’s word – because our relationship with Him springs out of that. We started our men’s time back up – and what we did – read some scripture together. I believe reading scripture is so important to our lives. My hope – as a church – and what has happened in my heart – that all of us would be excited about the Bible – to know it, love it, and see it fresh all the time. It becomes a boring thing to so many – my heart is that it would open up to us – new – all the time! And that doesn’t happen unless we read it. It doesn’t mean we have to spend hours and hours in it.
I’m all for reading – and yes – there are apps that can read it to you – or you can read it on your phone or tablet. They still have BIBLES that are BOOKS! Yes! They exist! I am not a kindle person. I understand you are saving trees – but I love to hold it in my hand – a treasure – a winning Powerball ticket that you’ve found. For Biblical wisdom – fall in love with the Bible!