Proverbs 1:5–7
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The ‘fear of the Lord’ is a phrase that invokes a lot of assumptions, and is usually misunderstood. However, it is a vital part of spiritual maturity, for it is where wisdom begins. We are promised a wisdom that protects us from the consequences caused by bad choices. In Proverbs, God promises the following benefits from wisdom:
By Wisdom we gain substance (wealth)
By wisdom we avoid standing before angry men.
By Wisdom we gain a longer life.
Wisdom gives health.
Wisdom gives honor to the possessor.
Wisdom gives a pleasant way of life.
Wisdom leads us to the path of peace.
There are many more benefits to a life founded upon God’s wisdom, but it begins with this concept of the fear of the Lord.
There were two young men. One is wise and the other had a foolish bent. The foolish son said, “I dread it when my father comes home. He’s always correcting me, scolding me, and forcing me to do things I don’t like. And he never lets me have any fun.”
The wiser youth answered, “It’s not that way with my dad. I am excited when I see my father coming home. He always tells me how proud he is of me. He teaches me how to do things. I am always learning things that help me. I can build things that I sell, I know how to grow my own food. He teaches me how to fish. When I get my work done, he always has something fun planned and I am always discovering new and exciting things. It’s like he shows me something everyday that enriches my life. He even showed me how to find treasures like gems that I can polish up and sell or keep. With him, I’m always finding out something valuable.”
Both of these sons have the same father. The difference is not in the father, but how each responds. One doesn’t listen because he thinks he knows better. He is always finding out how hard life is. His father helps him work through his mistakes, but asks why he keeps making bad choices, and why he doesn’t listen. But he trusts in his friends more than in his father.
If you were to ask the foolish son what it means to fear his father, he’d say, “I know I’m going to be in trouble. I’m afraid of punishment. I’m afraid of his anger.”
If you ask the wise son what it means to fear his father, he’d say, “My dad knows what he’s talking about. I’m afraid that if I don’t listen, I’ll miss out on what he wants to teach me. If I don’t follow his instructions, I won’t learn these valuable skills or lessons. For me, fear is more like respect. Respect for his authority and respect for his wisdom.”
This is the Christian life. To the listening heart, the fear of the Lord is based on a loving relationship. God’s wisdom teaches us, and has so much value. We look at God’s instructions with expectations of good. We look at the word and the commandments of the Bible as guides to the deeper and more valuable things of God. We see the promise of finding abundant life, peace, and the promises God has for us is something within our grasp. God’s word not only guides us away from sin and harm, but also into the path of life, where God has stored treasures for us to discover.
A rebellious Christian sees commandments as oppressive, or something that robs us of life in this world. They don’t believe the ways of the world are harmful, so the commandments keep us from having any fun. Then because we are resisting God, we view Him as harsh and angry. We view correction as oppression. That person doesn’t discover the abundant life because the glitter of temptation seems more appealing. Even after seeing the lack of fulfillment and lack of real satisfaction, they are still convinced that the glittery promise holds more value than God’s life of promise. They rush to the fools gold they can see because they don’t believe in the promise they cannot see through human eyes.
Yet the promise can only come through faith. It is through the fellowship with God we discover the reality of His promises. We must follow His leading as the Lord guides us past obstacles, works through us, and then rewards us. As we learn to walk, then He also leads us to the hidden promises that are only found by those who trust Him and walk with Him. That person finds what the tempted person is grasping for – satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment.
The fear of the Lord is respecting God’s authority as our Father in heaven, and looking at His word as something to value and obey. He sees what we cannot see. A wise son / daughter sees the Lord’s word as valuable wisdom, which leads the one who obeys to the great treasures of life. The foolish person never experiences the depth of God’s purpose for them because they think their heavenly dad as someone who doesn’t get it, is old fashioned, and doesn’t understand how things are now. They know they are living contrary, and dread any correction. A foolish child hates being told ‘no’, even if ‘yes’ would harm them. A wise child responds, and soon becomes trustworthy, obedient, and will be trusted with privileges and benefits that untrustworthy children never experience. The foolish child feels deprived, but the truth is that privileges and freedom are harmful in the hand of irresponsible children. But they are great benefits to those who understand right and wrong, and have bought into wisdom.
Proverbs 9:10
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because we begin believing and obeying while we don’t yet understand, and then it grows into a partnership of fellowship as God mentors those who do walk in understanding.
Eddie Snipes (2025)