Proverbs 1:7

Devotional:

Pray

Quick little recap

Last week we talked about Wisdom and what it was

It is the proper use of Knowledge share the illustration ( Wisdom = Knowledge + Obedience )

Worldly wisdom is foolishness and not true wisdom

True wisdom Is the word of God, why ? because the word of God itself is truth !

If you don’t believe the word of God is truth then you will never have true wisdom !

last week we talked about the purpose of the book of Proverbs… ( who remembers ? )

Its to teach us wisdom and discipline! and to help us understand the insights of the wise

Proverbs Helps us to stay in alignment with the word of God, helping us to do what is right and to make the right decisions

Proverbs gives insight to the people that struggle with understanding, It brings clarity to every situation, every circumstance

Proverbs Gives us discernment, the ability to see things for what they are and to see through things that may be trying to deceive us

Proverbs teaches us that those who are wise become more wise, The wise also receive guidance for life

Proverbs and Parables are the words of the wise spoken for you and I so that we can grow in our walk with the lord

So last week we broke down wisdom and the background to the book of proverbs but today we are only going to talk about 1 Verse

This verse ties everything up that we talked about last week that I just mentioned

If you took notes last week, now its all going to come together with this one verse!

Lets Read:

Proverbs 1:7 “7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

A) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge

The NLT says the “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of True Knowledge”:

either way the fear of the lord is the main component to learning true Knowledge

so what is the Fear of the Lord ?

Anyone want to try and define it ?

Okay we can talk about it,…..

When it comes to the fear of the Lord its important for us to know that it is our starting point when it comes to Knowledge, understanding and Gaining wisdom

we can not gain knowledge of spiritual things if we start at the wrong point, you don’t gain knowledge by refusing to hear and listen to the Lord

Apart from God a person is ignorant to the spiritual things

No one wants to start off on the wrong foot ! It ain’t gonna be good !

The word Fear: a regular definition of the word that is not biblical is this: an emotional response to perceived threats or Danger, characterized by a sense of unease, apprehension, or anxiety

do you guys think that the Lord wants us to be scared of him ? Do you think he would ever do anything to Harm or Hurt us ? No he wouldn’t

the Biblical definition of Fear is Much different. It is. Fear: the profound respect and awe for Gods Authority and Wisdom

The word fear in Hebrew is (Yira) and in the greek it is (Phobos) both meaning reverence/ respect , knowledge , and obedience

In order for us to Truly fear the Lord we need to have a deep reverence,/ respect, for the Lord , only then can we have true knowledge

and here is the reason why. If you don’t respect the lord, How can you ever listen to Him ? How can you ever gain more wisdom if you aren’ t obedient ?

You cant. Its the same thing with our parents. If you guys don’t respect them how is it that you will ever listen to them ?

how is it that you will ever grow if you are not obedient to the instruction that is given to you ?

The fear of the Lord Leads to a willingness to be taught and to seek gods guidance

so when i was reading this myself earlier , I asked myself do i really fear the Lord ? Do I have a true respect for the lord and who he is? Am i Obedient to him and His commandments ? AM I pliable clay that is willing to be molded by the creator ?

Do I have a heart that views God as this loving father that wants nothing but the best for me ? Do I really trust In him that through Him I will grow ?

these are all questions we should ask ourself each day. You guys should write those down if you take notes.

Next part of the verse !

B) But fools despise wisdom and Instruction

Despise : the hebrew word for despise is pronounced as ( BUZ ) (BOOZ) and it means to hold contempt , to belittle , to ridicule and this word is used 7 other times in proverbs

1) Now the word Fool In proverbs: In the Hebrew it is pronounced ( Kesil ) (Keee-suul) and is characterized by a dull and closed mind, thick headed and stubborn

this kind of fool rejects information from others because he is lazy and lacks the ability to see ! ( those who reject the word of God )

2) another word for the word FOOL is (Nabal) ( NAY-BALL)

the fool Nayball lacks spiritual perception- Now how many of you remember the story of King David and Nabal ? The man that would not help David and his men because He lacked spiritual Sight ?

in 1st Sam 25 Nabal lacked spiritual sight because he didn’t know who David was and David was anointed by the Lord. Nabal wasn’t rejecting David, he was actually rejecting the Lord because he was a fool !!

3) The third type of fool described in Proverbs is pronounced (EWIL) (eeevil ) in Hebrew: thats where we get the world Evil from but it means, those who are arrogant, flippant , and mentally dull. they are hardened in their ways

so the fools here in this second part of the verse refers to those that are arrogant, reject God and reject wisdom

This verse clearly contrasts two types of people: people who humbly fear God through respect, obedience and the proper use of Knowledge. Then there is the fool who refuses to fear God, they hate wisdom and they hate discipline

Its very simple, what Kind of person are you? Are you the wise man becoming more wise or are you a fool who looks at the word of God and disregards it ?

In my own personal walk with the Lord there are days that i’ve been a fool and not been obedient to the word of God and then there are days where I have a proper fear of the Lord

one thing is true though life becomes consistent and you become more wise when you humbly submit yourself to the fear of the Lord

its a daily struggle but it is also something that we develop when we seek it out. It takes humility to grow in your relationship with the Lord through his word and through Prayer

when we are disciplined in that then we develop a proper fear of the lord and He uses us as we become more wise

So again who do you want to be ? the fool that despises wisdom and instruction or the person that has a healthy fear of the Lord ?

Don’ t be fools !