He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
A Grand Comparison: The Companions Of Wisdom:
Prov 9:10
10) The fear of the LORD [is]
the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.
INTRODUCTION:
In our text for this
morning we find the beginning of another “split” comparison. Solomon gives us a listing of the companions
of wisdom here in verse 10. Later he
will follow up with a listing of the companions of foolishness down in verse
18.
(If you remember, he
did another “split comparison” when he told us that wisdom was always prepared
to help others in verses 1-3, while he will later explain that foolishness will
harm others in vs 13-17)
EXPOSITION:
10) The fear of the LORD [is]
the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.
In
this proverb, Solomon will be explaining to us that there are three things that
naturally are possessed by those who are wise.
For the purposes of this devotion, these three things will be described
as the “companions” of wisdom, in other words, they are attributes that go hand
in hand with the attribute of wisdom….
1. The fear of the Lord – To fear the Lord is to
recognize the Lord’s greatness. This
will lead us to two basic truths…
First,
His greatness demands our submission to His will and ways… turning from our
responsibilities will result in His just chastening for our rebellious
attitudes and actions.
Secondly,
His greatness will lead us to understand His ability and our inability, His
strength and our weakness, His supplies and our constant need of Him. Our reliance upon the Lord dictates that we
show Him the respect, honor and glory that He deserves. He is our everything and, truly, without Him
we can do nothing.
Why
is this described as the “beginning of wisdom”.
Without the proper fear of the Lord we will not be properly motivated to
keep His Word, live for Him and glorify Him in everything that we do.
“The fear of the LORD [is]
the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do [his
commandments]: his praise endureth for ever.” (Psalms 111:10)
“Let us hear the conclusion
of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the
whole [duty] of man. For God shall bring every
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it
be] evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
2. The knowledge of the Holy – To have knowledge
of the Holy is to experience the Lord’s person and work in our being….
This
is speaking of the experience of salvation and the resultant blessings of the
Lord in the lives of His people. When
the promises of the Word are experienced, the power and benefits of the Word
begin to be understood. This also is a
great aid to seeing the need to live life according to the dictates of the
Word.
These
experiences that make the Word come alive in our lives results in the third attribute
that goes hand in hand with wisdom…
3. Understanding – the recognition of the true nature of God,
and the many promises of His Word.
“And we know that the Son of
God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is
true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is
the true God, and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20)
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him: The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what [is] the
exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the
working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in
Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand
in the heavenly [places], Far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all [things]
under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church, Which is his body, the
fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
(Ephesians 1:17-23)
SUMMARY:
The
three great companions of wisdom… the fear of the Lord, the knowledge of the Holy
and understanding … are all necessary for wisdom (the proper application of God’s
Word to the life).
Let
us all strive to recognize His greatness, humbly seek His intervention which
will work salvation in our heart, and recognize the true nature of that which is
around us. In doing so, we will be
enabled to receive, believe and apply
the Word of God to our lives.
These
great companions of wisdom are in direct comparison to the two companions of
foolishness… he that knows not the dead, the guests that are in hell (vs
18). We will look at those in detail in
a following devotion.
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
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