“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Pro 9:10).
How does fear produce wisdom? First, we need to understand it’s not man’s fear but godly fear. Godly fear means to have reverence, honor, respect, or be in awe. [1] It also means to teach, to point the way one is to walk in life. [2] We teach children to be cautious of doing things that can harm them, like running into a busy street or touching a hot stove. There is a fear that says, “don’t do this because you can get hurt.” As children mature, and are shown how to safely cross the street or handle something hot, they move from fear of the situation, to knowledge and eventually wisdom. Through the process, they grow in understanding and are able to safely navigate through life.
The same is true with God’s wisdom. As we mature in our spirit, we gain more of God’s wisdom. “For the LORD gives wisdom; out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding” (Pro 2:6). We could never handle all of what God wants to give us in an immature state, just as we wouldn’t let a toddler cross the street alone. We start with a fear or reverence of God that reveals our ignorance to His Word. As we learn the true revelation of Him, we grow in knowledge and understanding of His ways. Our minds ascend to become one with God’s mind. Clement, an early church father, had this to say on wisdom:
So that in illumination what we receive is knowledge, and the end of knowledge is rest. The last thing conceived as the object of aspiration. As, then, inexperience comes to an end by experience, and perplexity by finding a clear outlet, so by illumination must darkness disappear. The darkness is ignorance, through which we fall into sins, purblind as to the truth. Knowledge, then, is the illumination we receive, which makes ignorance disappear, and endows us with clear vision. [3]
Wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing. We can have knowledge of a subject, yet not be wise. Knowledge is a beginning step. Wisdom comes through experience and application. Isaiah says there are seven Spirits of the LORD that should rest upon us (Isa 11:2). The Spirit of wisdom is the highest level, while the Spirit of understanding and knowledge are below.
God wants us to seek Him and His ways in all we do.
God wants us to seek Him and His ways in all we do.
“To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity” (Pro 1:2-3).
Wisdom comes from the Hebrew word Chokmah, meaning prudence, skill, shrewdness, wisdom both ethical and religious. It stems from the word Chakam, which means to be wise, to teach or instruct. The Greek word for wisdom is Sophia, which means the supreme intelligence as belongs to God, the knowledge and practice of the requisites for godly and upright living. [4]
God put His wisdom in Bezaleel, so he would know how to fashion all the work of the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant.
“Bezaleel and Aholiab and every wise hearted man in whom the Lord has given wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary shall work according to all that the Lord has commanded” (Exo 36:1). The wisdom of God had to be given to all those in charge of building, as the LORD told Moses that Bezaleel had been commanded to be an architect on the building of the Tabernacle, “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship” (Exo 31:3).
They didn’t build according to their own ideas of how things should look. Rather, they built everything exactly as God had shown them. Every detail of the Tabernacle and articles inside has a symbolic purpose and a deeper meaning than merely physical things. Only God, creator of all could fashion them in wisdom. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities: all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:16).
We know that Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom on how to judge the people (2Ch 1:10) and was considered the wisest of all. It was said all the kings of the earth sought to hear his wisdom (1Ki 10:23-24). He wrote the book of Proverbs, which is not just a book of simple wise sayings. When read with a spiritual understanding, the hidden meanings in the sayings are revealed and we can see that God is the source of all wisdom. It provides us with a spiritual guideline for living a holy and righteous life so we may be trusted with the glory to come.
Since Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom and not riches, he was blessed abundantly, more than any king ever before (2Ch 1:11-12). Those blessed in wisdom and revelatory understanding are seen as wealthy in the kingdom of God. “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and gets understanding” (Pro 3:13).
“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and gets understanding” (Pro 3:13).
Gold can be seen as a symbol of wisdom. In Ezekiel 28:4, it mentions wisdom as riches, “With your wisdom and your understanding You have gained riches for yourself, And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries.” Proverbs 16:16 says, “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!” This word is Charuts and speaks of making a decision, dividing between two choices. [5] The riches and possessions poured out unto Solomon were representative in the natural of the spiritual wisdom that God had given him.
God desires us to seek after His wisdom and not the wisdom of men, because that wisdom is considered foolish.
God desires us to seek after His wisdom and not the wisdom of men, because that wisdom is considered foolish (1Co 3:19). In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul says, “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1Co 2:4-5). He continues to say, the wisdom of God is spoken in a mystery, which God ordained before the world. He reveals hidden wisdom in the mysteries by His Spirit. The things of God are not known by man, but by the spirit of God (1Co 2:7,10-11).
Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Don’t stop at fear or be content in just knowing about God. Move higher. As we understand the wisdom hidden in the mysteries, we will see God is wisdom and we will operate according to His will.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (Jas 1:5).
References:
1. Strong’s Bible Dictionary-H3374, H3373, H3372
2. Ancient Hebrew Lexicon Bible dictionary
3. Clement-Instructor Bk.1 Ch.VI Vol.2
4. Strong’s Bible Dictionary-H2451, H2449, G4678
5. Ancient Hebrew Lexicon Bible dictionary
6. Scripture references from the New King James Version of the Bible