1 Wisdom has built her house;
she has set up[a] its seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls
from the highest point of the city,
4 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
5 “Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways and you will live;
walk in the way of insight.”
7 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For through wisdom[b] your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
13 Folly is an unruly woman;
she is simple and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling out to those who pass by,
who go straight on their way,
16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is delicious!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there,
that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.
Life is full of prerequisites. Before you can drive a car, you have to have a driver’s license. Before you can have a driver’s license, you have to pass a driving test. Before taking your driving test, you have to reach a certain age.
There is a consistent theme through the book of Proverbs, found here in Proverbs 9: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, with the Hebrew word תְּחִלָּה translating to “beginning,” or “first.”
The prerequisite for wisdom is the fear of the Lord.
When was the last time you sat in awe of something? It doesn’t happen often. We travel thousands of miles in soaring metal tubes and talk to one another instantly no matter how great the distance, and we easily take these things for granted. Perhaps it’s easier to discover awe standing atop the Grand Canyon, or at the base of a mountain, or even in the center of Times Square for the first time, but how quickly does even that sensation become average?
We need to reclaim that feeling of wonder. To be entirely overcome by how small you are compared to the mighty thing before you. This feeling is as close a translation to what Proverbs calls “fear.”
So let’s drill down on this. What does it look like for the foundation of your life to be the fear of the Lord?
It means your first thought in the morning is of God. “I am standing in awe of the Lord of Hosts.“
It means that when you face something difficult, you marvel that on your side is the Rock of Ages.
It means seeing the people around you as woven creations, formed by the same Maker who knit the fabric of time.
Once our lives are rooted in this fear of the Lord, then we’ve met the prerequisite for wisdom because it colors everything.
- How would carrying this wonder affect your decision-making?
- How would being grounded in the Word affect your thoughts?
- How actively would you then pursue peace?
- How quickly would you exchange your selfish ways for the generous ways of God?
Consider these questions, and ask God to reveal to you where you have lost the sense of awe and wonder that being in a relationship with Him should bring.
—
God, I struggle to express the feeling it is to be in Your presence with words. Thank You that You give me an eternity to try. I humbly praise You for how You are in the big picture and the details. Give me eyes to see how You’re working and the perspective needed to realize the gift it is to be woven into Your story and be a piece of Your creation. Help me today to catch the wonder and awe of You. Amen.
