Post by Lee on Mar 23, 2014 16:53:41 GMT
"To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom,justice, judgment and equity'—Proverbs 1:2
THIS is the preamble of the book, outlining its purpose (which it accomplishes with great power to all who submit to it, for it is the inspired Word of eternal life). At the very beginning the essential foundation is laid: the basis of all wisdom and understanding—"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (v. 7).
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge"—any learning or activity that does not include, or is not based upon, the fear of God is foolishness, ignorance, blindness—regardless of its pretensions or apparent accomplishments, for its ultimate end is death. Any accumulation of knowledge that is not founded on the fear of God is like putting new, precious wine in fragile old bottles —in a very short time the vessel perishes, and the laboriously stored-up knowledge is lost, and the effort is wasted, and the misguided laborer is shown to be a short-sighted fool. This is the destiny of all the wise of the world. It is like building an imposing edifice, costing all one's treasure, on shifting sand. And it is doubly foolishness because it is being done when something infinitely more important should be done. Worldly knowledge is not always of itself foolishness, it may be factual and temporarily useful, but the pursuit of it is foolishness because it has no lasting value to the pursuer: it ends in death, while a similar expenditure of time and effort in the right direction will bring eternal life. We haven't begun to build anything permanent or valuable or sensible until we wholeheartedly acknowledge the fear of the Lord, and our position in relation to Him. He is the center of all reality: nothing worthwhile can be built that is not built on Him
1976 Berean