The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. (Psalm 111:10)

In rabbinical circles it is said that a person who fears God more than the pursuit of wisdom, that their wisdom will endure. On the other hand, the one who esteems their pursuit of wisdom over the fear of God, their wisdom will not endure. To do the latter would be akin to trying to produce your favorite fruit without first planting the appropriate seed. Unfortunately, there are those who do just that. Their goal is to obtain knowledge, understanding and wisdom — and recognition — without having to go through the process that is required. That process will always compel a person to acknowledge that, without Him, we are nothing. Awe and respect for Heaven must be established in our hearts first if we truly want to be regarded as wise.

Consider what happened in the very beginning; Eve looked upon the forbidden tree as something to be desired, a tree that would provide instant knowledge and wisdom. It would seem that she, like so many others after her, wanted instant gratification. But as she reached for the goal, she dishonored the Word of God. She was deceived into thinking that obtaining all knowledge allowed her to override her fear of the Lord. As we know, she and her husband were very wrong, and consequently, all of mankind has been paying the price since then.

Consider this — the Adversary’s agenda is served when he can successfully seduce us into thinking the same thing. Satan wants us to think that God doesn’t really mean what He says because His love for us supersedes any instruction He has issued. The “God” so many choose to “serve” wants us to have anything we want, essentially becoming our “sugar daddy” — which means that there is no need to fear Him.

If we truly want to obtain Godly wisdom, then we must see the Creator and ourselves in a totally different light than what I just described. Wisdom challenges us to see ourselves as much smaller than we may want to admit, in fact, replaceable if He so desired. Actually were it not for the purpose and breath of God breathed into us, we would be basically non-essential. The point is when we start seeing how insignificant we are compared to Him, we can recognize how great and magnificent He is which, in turn, prompts fear and reverence. Remember, it is written that the one who abases himself, God exalts; but the one who sees himself as all that and a bag of chips will eventually be humbled. May we always fear Him in such a way that, according to His Will, He is moved to raise us up for His glory.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill