Three key ideas are repeated often in the 31 chapters of the book of Proverbs. They are knowledge, wisdom, and instruction. They can often be exchanged for each other, but all three of them have their roots in believing in and trusting God. Solomon puts them together in Proverbs 1:7. He writes, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” When Solomon was offered the opportunity to ask God for anything he wanted, he didn’t ask for gold, fame, or pleasures. He asked God for wisdom. According to 1 Kings 4:29f, God granted his request. It says, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men…He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.” In Matthew 12:42, Jesus confirms the Old Testament historical account of the great wisdom of Solomon. In this quote, Jesus also commends the Queen of the South. He says, “The queen of the South…came from the ends of the earth to hear the Wisdom of Solomon….”
We don’t have to travel vast distances to get advice from the wisest man who ever lived. We need only open our Bibles to the book of Proverbs. Both wisdom and folly call out to us every day, according to the first ten chapters of Proverbs. Every day we need to seek its advice. We will face many decisions each day of our lives that demand a decision in the form of a thought, word, or action. What Timothy George said about the Bible as a whole is especially appropriate for the book of Proverbs. He writes, “The Bible is a living book. You cannot read it and put it down the way you might the sports page or a Stephen King novel. It addresses you, provokes you, questions you, commands you and calls out to you. It has your number.”
The key phrase in the Book of Proverbs is found in at least 18 references. (1:7, 29; 2:5; 3:7; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:2, 26–27; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4; 23:17; 24:21; 31:30). It’s also found in Job 28:28 and Psalm 111.10. Briefly summarized, it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.” We will never be all that we can be until we take God seriously. Wiersbe says that it means, “…we acknowledge from our hearts that He’s the Creator, we’re the creatures; He’s the Father, we’re His children; He’s the Master, we’re the servants. It means to respect God for who He is, to listen carefully to what He says, and to obey His Word, knowing that our disobedience displeases Him, breaks our fellowship with Him, and invites His chastening.”One reason many of us have real-life problems today is that we do not take God seriously. We trivialize the holiness of God, so we end up with a trivial view of sin. We trivialize the majesty of God, so we end up with trivial worship. We trivialize the truth of God, so we end up with a trivial grasp of his Word. We trivialize the judgment of God, so we end up with a trivial appreciation for the atonement of Jesus Christ. Our God is too trivial! Although I do not believe that the “fear” of the Lord means to tremble at our knees or to shake in our boots, it does mean to take God seriously. The wisest man in the world tells us that true wisdom, knowledge, and instruction come only when we begin to take God seriously.