The Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 1

May 30, 2004

Background

A. The Proverbs: its name

1. It is the first word of the book in the Hebrew

2. Our English word is from two Latin words: Pro – verbum meaning “Forth – words” and implies the condensed wisdom in the book. It can also mean “Up” words or positive words.

B. The Proverbs: its structure

1. It may seem at first reading like dictionary of thoughts without order, but it does have some structure. The first 6 verses are introductory. Beginning with verse 7 we have 10 father to son talks (1-9). Chapter 10 through 24 contains the proverbs of Solomon written down by Hezekiah’s men. 25 – 29 gives us a second collection of proverbs. Lastly, we meet two unknown men’s sayings: Agur and Lemuel (devoted to God) in chapters 30 and 31.

2. 1 Kings 4:32 says that Solomon “spoke 3,000 proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.” About 800 proverbs are in this book

3. Ecc. 12:9 says about Solomon, “No only was the teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.”

C. The Proverbs: its purpose

1. Mental clarity and perception (verses 2 & 6)

2. Moral clarity and discretion (verses 3-5)

3. If we can say that the Book of Psalms expresses the emotional nature of man and Ecclesiastes expresses the rational nature of man, then we can say that proverbs deals with the will of man. Life is full of choices. What are they? Proverbs helps us define the real choices and their consequences.

4. Two key verses are 1:7 (the text for this morning) and 3:5-6 (“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not to your own understanding; In all your ways knowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”) the text for next week.

D. A Definition: Wisdom and Instruction – interesting Hebrew roots

1. Wisdom means skill

2. Instruction means discipline

3. There is no skill without discipline

4. The most practical skill is right living with God

I. The Fear of the Lord

A. Defining the fear of the Lord

1. The first fear of the Lord

a. the most often used form of the word fear in the Bible

b. We discussed this briefly last week but let’s review it again briefly. What is the opposite? It is arrogance and pride, a small view of God and a big view of man.

c. Have you ever let your mind begin to grasp the majesty and power of God?

1) Job 37:22 “Out of the north comes golden splendor; Around God is awesome majesty.. The Almighty – we cannot find Him; He is exalted in power And He will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness. Therefore men fear Him; He does not regard any who are wise of heart.”

2) Stare into the face of a raging sea

3) Imagine the power of Creator Lake’s explosion. How much more the power of God?

4) Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God…” (Judges 13:22)

5) Isaiah 6:5 “Woe is me, for I am ruined.”

2. A second fear of the Lord

a. Fear of not wanting to hurt him. e.g.  a child that grows up and his fear goes from a fear of getting caught to a fear of not wanting to injury his/her parents. Restraint because of deep respect.

b. Isaiah 11:2 says about Jesus:

“The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of power,

the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—

and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

c.  “The fear of the Lord is his treasure” Is. 33:6

3. What kind of fear do you have?  

a. The fear of man is a snare… (Pro. 29:25)

b. Fear the loss of ________________…

c. The fear of God is a fountain of life… (Pro. 14:27; 19:23)

d. FOTL  - Men depart from evil (Pr. 16:6; Job 28:28)

e. FOTL is something God wants: Ex. 20:20 – “Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”

B. The beginning of knowledge (1:7)

1. knowledge, perception – discipline – this is the beginning… not all you need to know

2. As a parent says to a child after a major life experience, “Now you are beginning to understand…”, so it is here.

3. Paul explains it to us in Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

C. The beginning of wisdom (9:10)

1. skill in war, wisdom in administration, ethics, etc.

2. The FOTL sets the basic framework of our world view: i.e. how we interpret all of life. Pr. 15:33 says, “The FOTL teaches a man wisdom.”

3. It is the fear of God which keeps us from stumbling over the fear of man

II. The Absence of the Fear of the Lord

A. Fools despise wisdom

1. They don’t get it… understanding is futile… it is not a matter of information. It is a matter of their heart. This is a factor that many don’t figure in when forming our foreign policies: the sin factor.  (Titus 3:10-11) “Warn a man once… twice and then have nothing to do with him. You can be sure that he has a moral twist to him.”

2. Vain imaginations (Romans 1:21)

3. Ignoring God rather than honoring God.

4. Puluxis River and evolution: a foolish evolutionary view

5. Knowledge is fine but… it puffs up if it isn’t practiced in love… it is just so much clanging.

B. Fools despise discipline

1. Discipline, chastening, correction: it is translated instruction, correction, chastening and discipline.

2. Romans 3:18 says, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

III. Some Observations

A. The FOTL is a matter of the heart

B. The FOTL is a matter of priority (where do you begin your life, your day, your travels, your marriage, your family, your study…?) It is foolish to begin any where else than with God.