The Fear of The Lord Is The Beginning of Wisdom

Job 28

I am posting the whole chapter today because it is all needed to understand what Job is saying. I could focus on the end, but we would miss the beauty of all that Job said on this issue.

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Surely there is a vein for the silver,

And a place for gold where they fine it.

2 Iron is taken out of the earth,

And brass is molten out of the stone.

3 He setteth an end to darkness,

And searcheth out all perfection:

The stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.

4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant;

Even the waters forgotten of the foot:

They are dried up, they are gone away from men.

5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread:

And under it is turned up as it were fire.

6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires:

And it hath dust of gold.

7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth,

And which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:

8 The lion’s whelps have not trodden it,

Nor the fierce lion passed by it.

9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock;

He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks;

And his eye seeth every precious thing.

11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing;

And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

12 But where shall wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

13 Man knoweth not the price thereof;

Neither is it found in the land of the living.

14 The depth saith, It is not in me:

And the sea saith, It is not with me.

15 It cannot be gotten for gold,

Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,

With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it:

And the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls:

For the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,

Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

20 Whence then cometh wisdom?

And where is the place of understanding?

21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,

And kept close from the fowls of the air.

22 Destruction and death say,

We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.

23 God understandeth the way thereof,

And he knoweth the place thereof.

24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth,

And seeth under the whole heaven;

25 To make the weight for the winds;

And he weigheth the waters by measure.

26 When he made a decree for the rain,

And a way for the lightning of the thunder:

27 Then did he see it, and declare it;

He prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.

Job 28

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Look at how often this this idea shows up!

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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.

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

Proverbs 15:33

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I do notice one distinct difference, the word "beginning". Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, and Proverbs 9:10 all say that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". On the other hand, Job 28:28 and Proverbs 15:33 say that it is wisdom. Is there a difference here?

I do not believe so. A beginning is a starting point. Without a beginning, there is nothing that follows. You cannot have a winner of a race if there is not first a start to the race. You cannot have an end to a story if there is not also a beginning of the story. What the David and Solomon were saying is that one must begin with a fear of the Lord in order to arrive at wisdom. If we do not begin with a fear of the Lord then we will arrive at foolishness.

That is the problem with Darwinian evolution. Darwin wanted to look at origins without a creator. He did not begin with a "fear of the Lord". What resulted, though taught all around the world, really is foolishness. It contradicts reason and science. There have to be exceptions to scientific law to allow for evolution and a creation without a creator. It is foolishness.

If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then Job 28:28 and Proverbs 15:33 are also correct. The fear of the Lord "is wisdom" and is "instruction of wisdom". When we continue in the fear of the Lord, we continue in wisdom. Therefore, having began with a correct foundation, we will continue to build on that foundation. If we depart from that foundations, then we depart from wisdom.

This chapter of Job is about finding wisdom. Job compares it to mining for precious metals or gems. He tells that those are easy to find compared to wisdom. Isn't that true? We know about where to look for those items. However, wisdom is more illusive. We go to locations that we think we might find it only to be disappointed.

Michelle and I were watching a series on The Flood and End Times. It was excellent until suddenly it wasn't. The science of Noah's Flood was spot on. The interpretation of salvation pictured in the Ark was great. Even the teaching on the tabernacle was accurate. Then, when they began teaching about more modern event, they derailed. I quickly realized that this was produced by a false denomination. Even though they were talking about "Salvation By Grace", they tied in words based on what day of the week we worship. Suddenly, what sounded good was foolishness.

Job, David, and Solomon told us to search for wisdom. Jesus said, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field" (Matthew 13:44). When we fear the Lord, we will know Christ as our Savior. We will be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. We will continue in the fear of the Lord and we will diligently seek after the wisdom found in God's word. It will influence every aspect of our lives.

Father, help me to fear you. Help me to diligently seek after wisdom that is found in you. I pray that I always have a hunger for your word, but also apply the truths of your word the the world around me.