True wisdom begins with fear. And only the thirsty find it. This is the message from the second chapter in Proverbs. For when fresh water abounds who is thirsty? But even in an ocean, you can be surrounded by water and have nothing to drink. It looks like water but in the end it leads to death from dehydration. There is plenty of thirst for wisdom and usually it’s satisfied with the opinions of experts or books, friends or family. But is this water salty or fresh? Does it quench the thirst? For we know that salt water is fatal. One; however, claims to quench our thirst:
1 My child, listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.
2 Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
3 Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
and you will find the right way to go.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will fill you with joy.
11 Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe.
-Proverbs 2:1-11
The person here is described as working hard to get understanding. Searching diligently for insight. A person so motivated it is like they are digging for gold. They want it. Only people who are thirsty for wisdom find it. If you think you have it, you won’t find it. If you think you are wise, you won’t get true insight. One needs to be desperate, desperate because they realize their inadequacy or limited knowledge. It’s just like it has been said “the foolish are wise in their own eyes.” They have no use for wisdom because they believe they are already wise.
But here is the odd thing. This person does not search for wisdom and find it. They search for wisdom and discover the fear of the Lord. This seems very odd.
Then after they find the fear of the Lord they gain understanding. So here is this person’s journey: Desperately Seeking – Discovering the fear of the Lord – Understanding what is Right, Just, and Fair.
We can tell from this that ultimately the wisdom discovered here is about morality. Fairness is how we treat each other with respect to other people. Justice is our standard for how a person should be treated. Rightness is what we think is right or good and what is bad. Wisdom is about knowing what is good and how people should be treated. Wisdom is a moral issue.
So why does the ‘fear of the Lord’ precede this insight? We need to first ask, where does our morality come from? If you were to compare your moral outlook with your closest friends, you will find that you largely agree on what is ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ You may even think there is no real right or wrong. But the second a car cuts you off in traffic you are indignant at how you have been treated. Their action is not to be tolerated. This is judging on the basis of fairness. You do believe in right and wrong! Where there is no right or wrong there is no judging! We create right and wrong the moment we measure a person’s actions and find it lacking. We see that when judging is present, there is a law of correct and incorrect action. There is no escaping the fact that we have a code of what is acceptable and not – and we continually judge people based on our personal code. Otherwise we would feel nothing when someone cheats us, harms us, or cuts us off in traffic.
Our friends and peers reinforce what we think by accepting and approving it. You will also find that you agree with many things that your parents think. Which makes sense – they were the first people to tell you (by speaking or actions) how to live. Lastly, we would have our culture. In our culture, cannibalism is mostly rejected. That’s not true in every culture. In many ancient Middle Eastern cultures they would even put their babies into bronze canisters and burn them in a fire to their gods. Today, you would be arrested for this and your neighbors would be appalled. So we see a dynamic. We learn morality from our culture, our family, our friends, teachers, and other people. We influence each other.
Our ultimate source for wisdom is people. Either ourselves or the teachings or opinions of others. The offensive claim in this Proverb is “the Lord gives wisdom” (Proverbs 2:6). The actual source for wisdom & understanding is not us, our family, our friends, our culture, our tradition; it is God. To believe this is to say that I have only salt water – it is good only for killing people of dehydration. But God has fresh water – life sustaining understanding of what is good health for us. This is difficult to believe – but this is what it means to fear the Lord. It doesn’t mean we should live constantly cowering and afraid that God will smite us. It asks, do you respect the source? If there is a God who has created this incredible universe, who has fashioned atoms and quarks, created laws of physics and reality, stars that are larger than our solar system, galaxies upon galaxies that make our own look like a speck of sand on the shore, if this God exists; should you regard his opinion with the same value you regard your own? This fear is about realizing the full immeasurable power and capability at God’s disposal. That their insight must comprise things far beyond our ability to know or understand. To regard this as truth, and say “I know nothing – but must be taught by you” is to fear God. And that is why it precedes true wisdom.
Do Christians fear God? History shows us many times they do not. They acquire their values by the same methods everyone does. This is why many Christians supported slavery in the Civil War and continued in their deep seated racism and hatred of blacks. Because they regarded their prejudices as more correct than God’s word; which explicitly teaches a message of love, acceptance, and sacrifice for all people – especially our enemies. Lack of this fear is why Christians today are known by their judgment – whereas Jesus was known by his love for ‘sinners.’ Jesus loved ‘sinners’ so much they invited him into their homes to eat and be with them. Do we see prostitutes or homosexuals wanting to invite Christians into their homes today? If not, it is only because those who claim they follow God don’t really fear him.
What is your source for wisdom? Is it the opinion of people? True wisdom saves, it is:
a ‘shield’ (2:7)
‘guards our course,’ ‘protects our way’ (2:8)
‘pleasant to our soul’ (2:10)
‘protects us,’ ‘guards us,’ (2:11)
‘will save you’ (2:12, 16)
This is why biblical wisdom is great. Water that quenches our thirst. Insight that saves and protects us. If you have lived long enough, you have lived to see your decisions end in pain, damage, hurt, and destruction to yourself. Why not let the one who made us teach us how to live?
So let our thirst be strong and our fear be stronger.