FOOLS GOLD

Proverbs 1:1-7:

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; 4 for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Solomon starts off the book of Proverbs with a bang! What rich and beautiful words of wisdom, which ultimately grants the theme of the book of Proverbs, found in verse 7- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

In verse 7, we see a strong distinction between wisdom and foolishness. The fear of the Lord has seemingly been lost in our Churches in the 21st century, which is an enormous tragedy beyond measure. We have lost our sense of wonder of the Almighty. This is inconceivable if we personally know the God of the Bible. Fearing Him is to be in awe of Him. To be caught up in utter wonder of whom He is. There is also another aspect of fearing the Lord, which illustrates having a healthy fear of His chastening. As believers, we experience His chastening, because as the Scriptures say, the Lord loves those He chastens. A significantly inadequate yet somewhat effective analogy can be used here: I’m sure we remember disobeying our parents when we were children. Remember how we would be fearful of their discipline? This would alter our behavior to not repeat the same errors in fear of their chastening.

Similarly, when we realize the gravity of the One we are sinning against, we will be careful to not follow our sinful nature, in favor of following the Spirit of our Holy God who lives within us. Again, it predicates on having a correct view of God, because repentance is truly experienced once we realize the gravity of the One we are sinning against. Let us not follow the system of this world (Romans 12:2), which worships itself and denies the authority of the King of all being. This is true foolishness. We must fall back on the only One who can shine light on our paths. We are made to know Him with a deepening intimacy, and in turn, we make Him known to a lost world. This is the result of fearing the Lord- to experience oneness with Him.