LESSON 21

11/26/03

YOU’RE THOUGHTS: Do you listen to advice from other people, especially elderly people?

What does the “Fear of the Lord” mean to you?

MY THOUGHT: Have you ever got into a situation where you had to take on a very heavy responsibility and you weren’t sure you could handle it? You lose your confidence, or you become intimidated by the great task that is laid out for you, so the only solution is to ask God to give you the wisdom that is necessary to overcome this responsibility. That’s what happened with Solomon when he was asked to step into his fathers shoes and take over as King of Israel (1Kings.3: 12). He asks for wisdom and the Lord graciously provided and now we have the privilege to reflect on some of his wise sayings in the Book of Proverbs. In this lesson, I would like to do just that, as a matter of fact, I would like to provide many lessons on this subject. I think the Book of Proverbs has a lot of neat information for us in helping us to be better Christians.

I believe the appropriate verse for us to start with is Verse 7 in chapter one of Proverbs. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instructions”. What does it mean to fear the lord? I don’t think God wants us to fear Him in such a way that we run from Him or are intimidated by Him. Another word that I believe is a substitute for the word fear is respect, or to be in reverence of. A way to illustrate this concept is to examine a father and his relationship with his son. If the father deeply loves his son and is fair and consistent in is disciplinary measures, his son will respect him. Why was Moses chosen to be the leader of the Israelites, because he respected God? Through his own failures and mistakes he saw how merciful God was, and began to fear (respect) Him and when he started to respect God, I believe that he started gaining more knowledge or understanding on who God is and what His motives were for him and his people. If you know that God isn’t in the business of punishing His creation for the sake of showing off His power, then it is easy for you to respect Him. Respecting God doesn’t mean that you are exempted from His discipline. If you mess up, He will discipline you and that can be very frightening, but what you need to do is to direct all your fear not in what God will do to you, but on what you’re doing to Him. Try to direct all your energy into pleasing God before He disciplines you, not after you’re disciplined. Some people, and I’m guilty of it too, go their own way knowing that they’re wrong but still continue until God has to put His foot down. If we’re afraid that were not pleasing God, we would probably see His warnings much clearer and repent of it before it’s too late.

The second half of this verse seems to tie in on what we’ve learned so far. If we aren’t willing to improve in what kind of person, Christian or non-Christian, we should be, we are foolish. There is always somebody with more knowledge and have more experience then you and are also willing to help you because they’ve seen it and done it. We should be willing to listen and if it’s appropriate, take the advice into consideration. The reason people despise wisdom and instructions are because they are afraid of being wrong or that somebody might know a little more then they do. Jesus and His apostles were persecuted because they were speaking the truth. At the risk of being blunt, we need to hear the instructions and embrace the wisdom that God makes available to us through men and women who has devoted their lives to pleasing God via of the Bible or the people around you. If you don’t want to listen to valid instructions or the truth you become fools and maybe leading yourself to destruction or complete separation from God who is all wise and all knowledgeable. So let’s not despise wisdom and instruction and let’s fear the Lord and benefit from the fruits of His infinite knowledge. Open your Bibles today and watch the beginning of infinite knowledge flow through the pages. Enjoy, and may God bless you for that. Amen

Scripture Ref: Fear: Ps.19: 9, Mal.1: 6 (respect your master), 2 Tim.1: 7, Encouraging verses > Heb.2: 14-15, 1John.4: 18

Knowledge: Is.28: 9, Jer.3: 15, Hos.4: 6, Eph.3: 19, Phil.3: 8, 1Pet.1: 5-7. James 1: 5-6.

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