by Audrey Bauman

We finished The Gospel of Mark! Devotions that go through a book of the Bible we'll leave until the fall when we're all back at work and not taking vacations as much. Wendy Reaume will  be writing many of the devotions this month, and I will start wandering through Proverbs.  

Proverbs 1: 1 - 7  NLT

These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
     to help them understand the insights of the wise.
3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
     to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
     knowledge and discernment to the young.

5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
     Let those with understanding receive guidance
6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
     the words of the wise and their riddles.

7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
     but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

We live in a troubled world today. I have always loved reading the daily newspaper and listening to the news to keep up with what's happening in our world. But these days, I'm almost tempted to ignore the news. It seems filled with war, horrific events, and people ranting about various issues. Where has wisdom and justice gone?

Proverbs was written to give us good advice. How?

The verses in Proverbs will teach us how to be disciplined. Just think about how your day goes. Do you stay on task, or do you wander off in your thinking and actions? Often we get excited when we complete a job because so often we end up spending so much more time on finishing it than we thought we would. We got sidetracked. So, finding ways to be disciplined will be helpful.

Proverbs will also teach us to do what is "right, just and fair". We'll gain understanding and insight about how people behave and think. We'll be able to make better decisions. Even young people and those who don't consider themselves the most intelligent will become wise. That is so valuable! When we follow the wisdom of these proverbs we will make good decisions and our behaviour will demonstrate what is right and fair. Again, I need all the help I can get in the decisions I make.

Over my life I taught English to secondary school students. One of the major things students needed to be taught was how to write paragraphs and then essays. The key to writing well was to know your main idea - your thesis. Then you went on to support that main idea. That first paragraph in an essay introduced the topic and the last sentence stated the thesis.

These verses in Proverbs 1 are the introduction to the book. Solomon starts with giving us a hint of what the book will be about in verses 1 to 6. We'll be finding out how to live well. Take a look at verse 7:

"Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
     but fools despise wisdom and discipline."

There is the thesis of Proverbs. "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge". 

What does that word "fear" mean? The following comes from a website that I often look to for Biblical answers - gotquestions.org  (This is the name of the article: What does the Bibles say about fear?)

"Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 records, “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and, yes, loving Him.
 
 Some redefine the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin—even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. When we were children, our fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some evil actions on our part. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in a way that pleases Him.
 
 Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having a reverence for Him that greatly impacts the way we live. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe." 

So, in the coming days, we'll start looking at the wisdom given to us in Proverbs. Hopefully, we'll take seriously what God says to us. That we'll have that "fear of the Lord".

Our song for today is The Perfect Wisdom of Our God by Keith and Kristyn Getty.