Wisdom and the Fear of the Lord

One of the things to note about wisdom literature is that it doesn’t focus so much on Israel as Israel. There is some element of that but not as much as is found in the Psalms or in the historical books because wisdom goes beyond simple Israelology, it is applicable to all saints, all believers from all time.

Wisdom literature consists of four books in the Old Testament—Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs—and is a particular classification of literature. It was a secular category of literature that is found all over the ancient Near-East, and it was characterized by certain pithy or proverbial sayings which were designed to provide instruction to people for successful living. It combined a certain literary form, usually two-line sayings, with a specific kind of content. That content was designed to teach people how to live life successfully. In wisdom literature the theme usually focuses on the basic questions of life that everyone struggles with. There is a universal appeal here and that is why the wisdom literature rises above just simple Israelology in the Old Testament. It deals with questions like how to live your life with skill, how to find happiness in life, the meaning of existence, why we are here; and it struggles with the question of why there is suffering in the world and why evil exists. The search for truth is also evident in wisdom literature. Underneath all of that, if we probe beneath the surface we discover that there is in the biblical wisdom literature a profound theology, a profound understanding of who God is and what He has done. What under girds everything in wisdom literature is that God is the one who created all things, He is the sovereign creator of everything, and that this creation is intricate, complex, and everything in it reveals an extreme degree of skill, creativity, knowledge and attention to the most minute detail. And if man is to live successfully he must understand the principles that God has put into the universe. We must learn what these principles are and align our thinking to them.

As we look at the wisdom literature what we discover is that following the path of learning wisdom and applying wisdom is ultimately the only way to become intimate with the God who created everything and to know Him and know His will. There are in our overall understanding of knowledge of learning there is a tremendous theory of education in the Psalms. There is a lot of repetition, things that are not in vogue today and that have been discounted as not good for education anymore, but there is a lot to learn, a lot of words; but just to plug it into our frame of reference what we have is three key concepts in the Scripture. There is academic knowledge which is represented by the Greek word gnosis [gnwsij]. This is the word that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 8:1 where he says, “knowledge makes arrogant.” In the Scriptures there is a process of learning. First we learn academic knowledge, and that is how we learn anything in life. Every one of us has a vast reservoir of academic knowledge no matter what our field is, but it is just a small percentage of that reservoir of academic knowledge from which we pull applicational knowledge. We apply only a small percentage of what we know in any field. The more we know, the more we are able to apply; and we always know, in terms of academic knowledge, a vast amount more than what we have that I actually usable, applicational knowledge. When we learn doctrine under the filling of God the Holy Spirit we learn it first as academic knowledge, as gnosis, and under the filling of the Holy Spirit, when we choose to believe it and make it ours then the Holy Spirit transfers into the innermost parts of our soul, the kardia [kardia], and there it become episgnosis [e)pignwsij] which is usable knowledge. That is the second category of knowledge. The third category is what we see in the Psalms, wisdom, which goes a step further and that is chokmah. In some places chokmah is usable doctrine; in other places it is used doctrine, that which is regularly used to produce something.

When we look at Proverbs we need to remember that it was written as a father who was a king prepared his son to be a wise ruler. By application we need to remember that every one of us as believer priests in the church age is under preparation to be a wise ruler, as a servant king in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Proverbs, therefore, provides a training manual for believers in preparation for being wise kings. Proverbs was written as the training of a father to his son, and it provides the model for family training. Parents can use Proverbs as a training framework for teaching children practical applications of Scripture. Proverbs was written to prepare a ruler; the Song of Songs addresses marital love and the fidelity of the servant of God, the Ruler; Job and Ecclesiastes speak more to the ultimate meaning of human existence. Job faces the problem if the existence of evil, suffering and adversity. From Job we learn how the servant is to handle adversity under the sovereignty of God without getting out from under the authority of God and blaming God, and understanding His role in the invisible angelic conflict. Job explains how the servant of God is to handle suffering and what his role is in the angelic conflict. Ecclesiastes presents the flip side, the portrait of the man who has rejected God, the man who is operating on pure cosmic thinking and trying to solve the problems of life an finding meaning and value in life completely apart from a relationship to God. In Ecclesiastes we learn from the dark side, the negative side, that the servant who fails to relate properly to the great King is going to end up frustrated, depressed, discouraged and as if life itself has no meaning. Existence for that person becomes empty and unbearable because they have forgotten that their primary purpose is to live out life in relationship to the great King.

We need to look at the importance of wisdom and the role of wisdom within the framework of this body of literature. Firstly, what is the meaning of wisdom? When we think of wisdom we have probably already frontloaded our thinking with a lot of baggage. We need to change our frame of reference because for most of us our background for understanding concepts of wisdom has more to do with Greek philosophy than it does with the Hebrew or Jewish concept of wisdom. In the Old Testament the key word for wisdom is chokmah. All of the various forms of the word relate to the meaning of wisdom. The verb means to be wise, the noun is wisdom, and these are used frequently in the Old Testament. They are particularly prominent in Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. This word and all its cognates is found in these three books 189 times out of the 346 occurrences in the Old Testament. That is why they are called the wisdom literature; it is the prominent concept.

Definition: Wisdom in the Jewish sense refers to skill in relation to the working of crafts, the giving of advice or shrewd council, the managing of people or tasks, or intellectual acumen, skill and abilities. The key concept is skill. If working at a craft a person has a level of skill with it, that is what the Bible calls chokmah. It is not just intellectual, it is skill.

The word is used in a variety of different ways in the Old Testament. The tailors who made the priestly garments for Aaron were said to possess chokmah, Exodus 28:3. The tabernacle workers—metal workers, stone cutters, wood carvers, embroiderers, weavers, etc., were always said to possess chokmah, Exodus 35:30-36:2. The women who spun the yarn and linen to make the fabric for the tabernacle all had chokmah, Exodus 35:25, 26. Hiram of Tyre who was hired by Solomon to work on the temple was called a skilled craftsman. He had chokmah in bronze, 1 Kings 7:13, 14. The various artisans and craftsmen for the temple were likewise said to possess chokhmah, 1 Chronicles 2:7, 22:15. One phrase in Psalm 107:27 refers to some sailors who were lost at sea and it is translated they were at their wits end. Literally, what it says in the Hebrew is that all of their chokmah departed. They no longer had skill to deal with the adversity that they faced. Women are said to be skilful in mourning, Jeremiah 9:17. Chokmah also had to do with skill in advising or administration. The elders of the tribes were said to possess chokmah, Deuteronomy 1:13, 15. So we see from this that chokmah is necessary for good leadership. Joseph, Daniel and Joshua had chokmah. Solomon is renowned for his wisdom. What we see from this is that the biblical concept of wisdom is vastly different from the Greek concept that has dominated western civilization.

What is the source of wisdom? Proverbs encourages man to pursue wisdom with all that he has. We are to listen for wisdom, Proverbs 1:33; 2:2. Wisdom is continuously personified as a human being in the Proverbs, a person who is calling us, constantly inviting us and challenging us to come to wisdom. Proverbs 1:33 ^NASB “But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.” Proverbs 2:2 ^NASB “Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding.” We are commanded to acquire wisdom, Proverbs 4:6, 7 ^NASB “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom {is:} Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.” Notice it is mental, it is thinking, it is not emoting or sitting back and being sentimental about God; it is thought that is involved in all of this. We are to love wisdom, Proverbs 8:17 ^NASB “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.” We are to esteem or value it above everything else. Wisdom is to be our highest priority in life, Proverbs 4:8 ^NASB “Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.” It will always come back to benefit us if we have our souls flooded with the wisdom of Bible doctrine. And we are to seek wisdom, Proverbs 8:17. The Hebrew word “seek” is shachar here; it is a piel participle and it means to seek diligently, eagerly. This is the person who gets up everyday realizing that the soul reason they are here is to live for God and to learn everything they can to know God. It is a dynamic concept that should challenge every one of us to figure out what our priorities really are.

Where is this wisdom to be found? Job asked this question. Job 28:20 ^NASB “Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding?” Earlier Job had said that wisdom belongs to God, Job 12:13. Proverbs tells us that God possessed wisdom in the beginning. He created the earth in wisdom, Proverbs 3:19. Therefore wisdom than some humanly conceived trait. It is not just academic knowledge or interesting facts, but it has to do with understanding the very core dynamics that make up the universe. It is a divine enabling, an ability to cope with life, to handle all of life’s problems and to succeed without converting adversity into stress.

We see the emphasis on the priority of wisdom. Proverbs 1:20 ^NASB “Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square.” Notice that this is not just, Okay here is doctrine, come and get it. There is a command and insistency: you need this, come and get it now. It is not just simply another option in the many options in life. [21] “At the head of the noisy {streets} she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings.” In other words, it is all around town. God is always going to make doctrine available to the believer who is positive; it doesn’t matter where he is. Anywhere we are on the planet we can get an overwhelming amount of doctrine. It is not an issue of not having time. [22] “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?” Knowledge here is academic understanding of Scripture, the details of the Word of God and understanding doctrine. It is the fool who hates knowledge. The issue is, if we reject doctrine we reject divine viewpoint, and the Bible says we are a fool. It doesn’t matter how many degrees we have, how high our IQ is, how smart we are, the issue is whether or not we align our thinking with the Word of God, because that is reality and that is where wisdom is. So the Scripture points to the wise person not on the basis of IQ or academic achievement but on the basis of understanding God’s will, God’s plan and God’s purposes, and living consistently with them. That is the wise person, the person who is developing a life of wisdom.

Proverbs 1:23 ^NASB “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” In other words, we can’t use the excuse that we don’t understand it, it is too deep for us. Wisdom will make it clear. The more we pursue trying to understand the Word the more God will make it clear to us, but if we are not putting forth the effort first to understand God’s Word, to be in Bible class, to listen, to study, then the Holy Spirit isn’t going to illuminate your mind to understand it. He makes it understandable but He doesn’t understand it for us. [24] “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; [25] And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof; [26] I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes.” When the bottom falls out of everything in life it is too late then, you will not be able to handle the adversity with doctrine. [26] “When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. [27] Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me.” It takes time to build and grow spiritually, it does not happen quickly. There is no drive-by window where you can get a doctrinal meal that is going to satisfy your problems for that day. It involves an entire mindset, an entire frame of reference that has to be built over years of line upon line, precept upon precept; it doesn’t just happen. [28] “Because they hated knowledge And did not choose [emphasis on volition] the fear of the LORD. [30] They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. [31] So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. [32] For the waywardness of the naive will kill them [self-destructive], And the complacency of fools will destroy them.”

Proverbs 1:33 ^NASB “But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.” The priority of wisdom is to get it now because when the time for application comes it is too late.

The prerequisite for wisdom is the fear of the Lord. This is more than just a simple attitude of respect for God; it is foundational for understanding wisdom and goes beyond just simple respect. There is a sense of almost dread, of awe, because you know deep in your soul that if you don’t absorb this knowledge, this doctrine, into your soul so that it permeates all of your decision making then something catastrophic either in time or eternity is going to happen. In eternity it is going to be loss of rewards and shame at the judgment seat of Christ. The phrase “the fear of the Lord” is used fourteen times in Proverbs—Proverbs 1:7; 9:10. Proverbs refers to the concept of fearing the Lord in some way or another over 22 times. In Ecclesiastes the cognate for the noun which means to fear is used six times. The conclusion of Ecclesiastes is that the purpose of man is to fear God. That is the starting point of wisdom.

Definition: Fearing God means to acknowledge His superiority over man, to recognize His deity, and thus respond in awe, humility, worship, love, trust and obedience.

Fearing the Lord is a key concept throughout the Old Testament so that tells us that this is the basic attitude and basic orientation of the soul of the person who is pursuing that servant characteristic. Man was created to be God’s representative. Adam fell in the garden; then there was the flood and then the collapse at Babel. God worked a new program by calling out a people for His name. Abraham is given a new covenant and through the nation Israel the role is going to be fulfilled, at least temporarily, as the servant nation. They are to be characterized by this, so there is no surprise to find fearing the Lord as a key concept throughout all of the Old Testament. The Israelites were responsible for communicating that value to their children, and they failed to do that.

Wisdom is intimately associated with creation theology. Proverbs 3:19, 20 ^NASB “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew.” Psalm 104:24 ^NASB “O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions.” In Proverbs chapter eight wisdom is personified as being with God. It could be a picture of the mind of Christ even because we know from the New Testament it is Jesus Christ who carries out the creative decree of God. Proverbs 8:27 ^NASB “When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep.”

What we see from all of this is that wisdom is foundational for living a successful life. Therefore we need to pay attention to what is said in these particular books.

Job has universal application and it answers the question of evil, adversity and suffering in the world, and it gives us that insight at the very beginning of the book. Job does not know what is going on in Job chapter one. Job’s problem is that he loses everything and he is challenged to curse God and die; but Job won’t do it. He does have a degree of failure but he never curses God. But God never answers Job’s question; He doesn’t explain to Job why he has suffered. What He does say to Job is that He is his God, and to trust Him. And Job’s comment is: Though He slay me, yet will I Trust Him.

Job was a fairly mature believer, and as a mature believer he goes through a category of testing called evidence testing, where his life is going to demonstrate to the angels in heaven as well as to man that God is indeed gracious, and that His plan is good and perfect and wonderful.