Righteous Fear (Proverbs 1:7)

Is there something that you are afraid of? As a child, I was afraid of the dark; I had to jump into bed for fear of something coming out from under it. I even had trouble walking out of a dark room. Soon age and logic outweighed irrational fear.

When the Bible talks about fear, however, it is speaking about a very different kind of fear. It is a reverential fear, a respectful fear. Solomon wrote of this fear:

"The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge - that is, its starting point and its essence; but fools despise skillful and godly wisdom,instruction and discipline." Proverbs 1:7, Amplified

This fear of the Lord is respect. But notice how the Amplified Bible elaborates on the verse. It is a reverent and worshipful fear. We will go nowhere in life if we do not come to a place of worship. It is the beginning of knowledge. As we worship, we begin to know our God. It is sort of like a courtship. A specific time is set aside for you to get to know your future mate. You cannot be disrespectful of something that you worship for fear of severing that potential relationship. Knowledge influences us. Worship of the Lord opens us up to His influences as we begin to know Him. Even Solomon's father understood this spiritual precept. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever." (Psalm 111:10, NKJV) The idea of fearing the Lord was not something that Solomon had made up, it was a spiritual truth passed down by his father.

But fools want no part of wisdom. It is interesting that Solomon approaches the issue like this. The fool wants no part of wisdom or instruction. Who is the fool? "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 14:1, NKJV) The fool has no fear of God whatsoever. There is no intimacy or openness in the heart of a fool. There are many educated fools out in the world today, so where did this wisdom and knowledge come from? We need to keep it in the context of the verse. Understand that the wisdom and instruction that is being spoken of here is a godly wisdom and instruction. To interlace any sort of Christian doctrine into instruction is to offend the world full of fools. The fool has said in his heart that there is no God, therefore anything having to do with God, the fool cannot receive or hear.