Pastor Slaughter
August 1, 2021
Pentecost 9
Text: Proverbs 9:10
Theme: Where does Wisdom Begin?
If you are building a house, you have to start with the foundation. If you are going to play sports, you need to start with the basics. If you are going to learn to read, you have to start with the alphabet. If you are going to start something, there is usually a process to achieve what you want. You may have an end goal in sight, but you have to take the necessary steps to get there. Unless you are one of those crazy people who reads the end of a book before you start it, you have to start with square one.
Do you want to live godly lives? I think most of us would say, “Yes, of course I want to live a godly life.” That is a part of being a Christian. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we want to live our lives out of thanks to him. Admittedly, one of the weaknesses in my preaching is that sometimes I fail to give the how too. I focus on what Jesus has done for us but miss what we are to do now. Many times, I just run out of time in my sermons and if I kept going, I would get a lot of people pointing at their watches telling me to wrap it up pastor.
Ok joking aside, how do we live godly lives? I believe that is the purpose of Proverbs, to lead us to know and trust God’s wisdom for living a good life. King Solomon is known for his extraordinary wisdom in Scripture. It’s like he has given to us the instruction manual for godly living. But what is the foundation that we can build on for godly living? Where do we start? What’s that square one? Our lesson says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,” Where does wisdom begin? The very foundation is “The fear of the LORD.”
As you are sitting in that pew, are you afraid? Are you shaking in your boots or is that just me? No? But you are in the presence of God, shouldn’t we be afraid? If we are not afraid, does that mean we don’t have wisdom? I think you get that I am taking things too far. I think we can recognize that the fear of the LORD is not the same as being afraid or having a terror of the Lord.
How do we know this? Because fear of the LORD delivers us from fear! Listen closely to what Solomon’s father, David, said in Psalm 34:4,7,9, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me. From all my terrors he delivered me. 7) The Angel of the LORD camps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 9) Fear the LORD, you his saints since those who fear him lack nothing.” David is describing how the LORD protects and delivers those who fear him. If fear of the Lord is not the same thing as terror, then what does it mean?
The fear of the LORD is godly reverence for the LORD that includes submission to him and belief in his promises. King Solomon’s closing words to his book of Ecclesiastes as he looks back life’s meaning and says at close his book, “This is the conclusion to the matter. Everything has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments. For mankind, this is everything” (Etc 12:13) So to fear God doesn’t mean that we are terrified of him, but it does mean that we have godly reverence for him that leads us to keep his commands.
Having that respect for God, respect enough to keep his commands that is the beginning of wisdom. But it’s hard to keep his commands. Where you have two things just pitted against each other. Where you have God’s wisdom pitted against the World’s wisdom. Paul expresses a similar thought when talking about God’s plan of salvation, “Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Jewish law? Where is the probing thinker of the present age? Has God not shown that the wisdom of this world is foolish?” 1 Co. 1:20
God’s wisdom starts with Fear of the LORD, having that respect to keep his commands, having more respect for God than the world. How do we show we have more respect for God than of the world? By keeping his commands. Yet what is our biggest struggle? Keeping his commands. Why? Doesn’t our sinful nature like to listen wisdom of this world? A wisdom that focus on the “self”. A wisdom that focuses on the here and now that seeks that pleasure or that instant satisfaction. A wisdom that says, “Do what makes you feel good. Focus on yourself and what makes you happy.” Really whenever we break a command isn’t it just loving ourselves more than God and our neighbor? Doesn’t the wisdom of the world tell us that what God says is foolish and tries to get us to find wisdom and understanding and lasting happiness aside from the LORD.
What are we giving our respect to? God or the world? Are we listening to the wisdom that comes from God or the world? Because if we are listening to the wisdom of this world, aren’t we really being foolish. And if we are being foolish, isn’t there something to be afraid of? God’s justice
We cannot and are not going to find wisdom, understanding, and lasting happiness aside from the LORD. Yes, we may find temporary enjoyment. Yes, we may find things that make us feel comfortable or happy for a time but leave us empty when we think about eternity.
The pinnacle, the prerequisite, the most important thing, that starting point of wisdom is what? Fear, having that respect, for who? The LORD (all caps) or Yahweh. I think it is interesting that Solomon uses Yahweh here. Anytime in Scripture you see the LORD all caps, it is the word for Yahweh. When God chooses to use Yahweh to identify himself, it is a reminder of Egypt when he kept his promises and freed the people from Egypt. It is a reminder that he is is the God of free and faithful grace/love.
We have a unique opportunity to look back and see that he has been true to word. We see the fulfillment of the promise Savior found in Jesus, who chose to save us by going to a cross, by rising from the grave, who makes a promise that our sins are forgiven even those times when we let the wisdom of this world entice us. “The Fear of the LORD” not only involves keeping his commands but also believing in his promises. The Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
This isn’t a one and done type of thing. It isn’t like we can say ok I feared the LORD (I had that respect to keep his commandments and to believe his promise) when I was confirmed, or in the past, but it is something we are to have all the days of our lives. Do you want to live good and godly lives? Start at square one. The perquisite or the most important part of wisdom is the fear of the LORD. That respects him enough to listen to his commands. That respect that involves believing in his promises.
So the “how to” that I so often neglect remains. How do we, as Christians, continue to fear the LORD, having that respect that keeps his commands and believes his promises? Listen to the second part of the verse, “and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” I don’t want to oversimplify it but a major part of having that respect and believing in God’s promises, is knowing the Lord.
There is no big secret. There isn’t some magical way this happens. It isn’t like all of a sudden you wake up one day and you have this knowledge of the Holy One that you didn’t before. It takes time, energy. It may involve a sacrifice or a priority shift. But if you truly want to live a godly life, if you truly want to know the Holy One, you have to take the time to learn about him. Where does he reveal himself? Through his word. The cool thing about learning God’s Word a miracle takes place. The Holy Spirit is at work every time you open it. Every time you hear it. If you want to live a godly life, if you want to fear the LORD, if you want to have that respect to keep his commands and believe in his promises, you have to take the time to know him. And how to know him? You take the time to learn about him through his Word.
My family in Christ, I ran across this interesting quote “Wisdom…comes not from age, but from education and learning.” Where does the Christian gain their wisdom? Through fear of the LORD. That it the foundation on how we become wise. It is something we carry on each day of our lives. The fear of the LORD is a running theme in the book of Proverbs. As we continue our sermon series let us always remember to have that fear of the LORD which strives to keeps his commands, and trusts in his promises. Amen.