Are You Pursuing the Wisdom of God?
Written by Dale Ebel
www.daleebel.org
Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Notice it says it is the beginning of wisdom not the middle and not the end. From God’s perspective, our quest to please Him starts with humble and reverential fear!
The last two verses in the book of Ecclesiastes are pretty conclusive:
“That’s the whole story. Here now is my conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NLT
Don’t you love it how sometimes the Lord God just makes it so simple for us.?The Christian life is not that complicated — fear God and obey his commands!
Wisdom and The Fear of God
The dictionary definition of wisdom is the capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct, and sound judgment.
Fear is a universal! Everyone fears something. Indiana jones feared snakes. Some people fear heights, and many, many people fear public speaking. Sometimes our fears are abstract. For example: the fear of losing what we love. The fear of losing a job, the fear of losing a friend or the fear of losing a family member. People fear getting sick, they fear being dependent on others. Ultimately, like it says in Hebrews, the greatest fear is the fear of death.
“…and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” – Hebrews 2:15 NIV
Do you desire to be wise? According to Scripture, you should. If so, then fearing God ought to be your number one priority.
Why would the Scriptures teach this? Here are three reasons:
- If I put the fear of God first, then I am recognizing and acknowledging that I’m not God!
Picture in your mind a pyramid. At the top of the pyramid is God, then there’s man, and then animals etc. In other words, there’s a divine order.
If you put man at the top, then that makes man the ruler. It makes him the ultimate authority. We only have to answer to ourselves. The whole notion of right and wrong goes out the proverbial window if man is at the top of the pyramid. Morality becomes a matter of opinion. Human beings tend to rationalize and justify behaviors, even when they run contrary to truth.
A man’s morality dictates his ideology and/or his theology.
When man sits atop the pyramid, we can expect moral confusion leading to chaos. And yet when we accept that God created the universe, we accept our position in His rightful order. Human beings are still up there, made in His image, yet not in the first position of importance. Recognizing this is an act of humility. Its much easer to acquire wisdom when we humbly accept our limits and embrace the reality that we simply don’t know it all.
While in a history class at Oregon State University my professor assigned us to read the Book of Job. During the lecture the professor stood before the class and raised his fists in the air, teeth gritted, and asked: “How could anybody worship a God who would allow suffering like Job experienced?”
I was very young in my faith and was wrestling with this very question as I did the assignment. With fear and trepidation, in front of the whole class, I raised my hand and said, “Perhaps, Dr. Shaw, God wanted Job to know that he wasn’t God.” It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Or maybe even simplistic? But that is part of the answer. The fear of the LORD places us in our rightful place in God’s created order!
Now, on to the second reason we must fear the LORD:
- We become better people when we do.
It will motivate you be a godlier person. There are academic studies to back this up.
In a 2012 study published by the Library of Science it said, “Fear of divine punishment leads to more ethical behavior. A simple example of this is the phrase ‘wait till your father comes home.’”
“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.” – Proverbs 14:27 NIV
In my Thursday morning Bible study, a guy told the story of an experiment in a hospital surgery room. For the experiment, the researchers placed a picture of an eye on the wall.
Immediately, there was a demonstrative change in the behavior of the surgeons and the nurses who were operating. They became kinder to each other, they held in check their language, the comments about the patients being operated on became more positive, and they performed their tasks more efficiently.
The foundation of the fear of God is rooted in one of His names found in the Scriptures, which also identifies one of His character traits. The name is EL ROI: the God who sees. We find this name for the first time in Genesis 16:11-14. We are the objects of His gracious attention as He observes our thoughts and actions (Psalm 139: 7–12). This name is the basis of the fear of the Lord. Therefore, living with the daily consciousness that He is always observing us modifies our behaviors! Knowing this is also comforting.
Some commands in God’s Word also instruct us toward fear of the LORD. For example:
“You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I [am] the LORD.” – Leviticus 19:14 NKJV
In other words, God is saying if you act in an unethical manner, the fear of God will help motivate you to act righteously and ethically.
“Be not wise in your own eyes; But fear the lord and shun evil.” Proverbs 3:7. Don’t you love the word “shun?”
When the Spirit of God was moving mightily in the book of Acts, we see the coupling of the fear of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” – Acts 9:31 NKJV
This is wonderfully illuminating to me!
If we practice the presence of the Lord, He will help us make wiser decisions—which is the essence of wisdom.
The third reason to fear God…
- We will fear others less!
Doing what is right becomes easier even if the consequences don’t have an immediate, or an apparent, positive result. Why? Because we know we are going to answer to God first. The fear of God ignites courage in us. One of my favorite comments I make when I’m out in public is,
“I’m telling you the truth because I live for an audience of One.”
“Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.” –
2 Corinthians 5:11 NIV
From my perspective, it takes bravery and courage to persuade someone to be a follower Christ. Paul was motivated to share Christ because he understood what it meant to fear the Lord.
In present day Christendom, a significant fear that can be subdued, if we fear God, is the fear of man! I’m quoting Proverbs a lot here and it’s important to remember Proverbs is not a book of promises, but a book of wise principles. Notice the convicting and illuminating verse below:
“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in and puts his confidence in the LORD will be exalted and safe.” – Proverbs 29:25 AMP
Far too many times we are intimidated by people with opposing views, especially if they are a threat to our financial stability. I’m not saying it is easy to stand up for the truth, but we ought to work intentionally to please our Lord.
“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:1 ESV
These are challenging statements and I do not say them lightly. I have clearly not batted 1000 in this area, but I have discovered there is a direct correlation between my fear of man and my obedience.
We all have to start somewhere and so we may as well start with where Scripture tells us to — the fear of the LORD. A person, of course, can reject this whole notion because we do have the freedom to choose. God is not forcing us to fear Him. It’s our willful decision, and, according to the Scriptures, if you want to be wise you will fear Him.
The Scripture actually anticipates that some will not fear God. Take a look at how He assesses them and yes, even labels such willful people.
“For the choir director: A psalm of David. Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.” – Psalm 14:1-2 NLT
From the verses above, God directly ties an atheist to his morality. Like I said, a person’s morality most of the time dictates his ideology or theology. And then when you look at verse 2, he connects seeking God to a person who is truly wise! I think this is remarkable!!
By inference, if a person chooses to seek God, he will find wisdom! Pretty simple if you ask me☺.
Actions to take:
#1 Do you fear God? I realize that this is a subjective question, but it helps us to examine ourselves to see if we’re in the Faith. Circle 1
I fear God: Most of the time, seldom, consistently.
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the Faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? –unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” – 2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV
#2 Because of the overemphasis of “reverence” in the place of “fear” notice that the writer of Hebrews emphasizes both. I think we ought to also.
“Wherefore we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” – Hebrews 12:28 KJV
What is the difference between reverence and fear? One question that helps me make a distinction is this: which is the most acceptable—should we have reverence for Hamas, or should we fear Hamas? I think any sensible person knows the distinction.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” – Philippians 2:12 ESV
#3 List two ways you are working out “your salvation with fear and trembling.”
Attempt to be specific. Please remember, much of the Christian life is being sensible not sensational.
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I reiterate and close with the last two verses in the Book of Ecclesiastes—
“The conclusion, when everything has been heard, [is:] fear God and keep His commandments, because this [applies to] every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NASB20
Working out my salvation with you through the fear of the Lord!
Dale☺