Proverbs Pt. 35 Wisdom's Corrections and the Fear of the LORD.

 The Lord blessed us with another lovely fall day and we enjoyed worship and hearing our pastor preach from Hebrews 3 & 4. 

God Glorifying Guidance from Wisdom.

Proverbs 9:7-12  He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. 8) Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9) Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 11)  For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. 12) If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

In our last lesson we noted the details of Wisdom's purposes and invitation to all who will come to acquire it. This section provides details of instruction from Wisdom, its blessings and its application to the young men (or women) who were called to the banquet.

The scorner is a wicked mocker who is unteachable. This person will not accept correction. Instead, the scorner will viciously turn on the person offering a corrective by spewing out hateful verbal abuse. The scorner is hardened in his sinful ways and will always resist instruction that could be beneficial. 

Thus, this is the idea behind getting shame or a blot for sincere efforts to help someone who is in darkness. The mocking man will be hateful but if you rebuke a wise man, he will respond in love. The wise man will be convicted of any arrant ways in his life and be glad that someone pointed out his deficiency.  He will learn from it.

The wise man will receive correction and be instructed by it which allows him to gain more wisdom because he will change his actions for the better. 

The wise will hear and respond to reproof.

Proverbs 15:31-32  The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. 32) He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. 

You can see this more clearly in the text from Proverbs 15. A wise person is one who hears the reproof of life and responds aright to it.  He gains understanding from hearing the corrective and acting upon it. However, the scorner refuses instruction and correction and thereby despises his own soul. He is content to remain in darkness and depravity. 

The fear of the LORD

We have spoken many times about what the fear of the LORD is. The phrase "fear of the LORD" is found 30 times in the Bible and all but one reference is in the Old Testament. Almost half of those are contained in the book of Proverbs. 

2 Chronicles 14:11-15 11) And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. 12) So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. 13) And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil. 14) And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. 15) They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem. 

Asa was one of the rare kings of Judah who did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He faced a daunting enemy in battle and knew that his own strength and army was inadequate. Asa cried out to the Lord for help in utter dependency. Without Jehovah's intervention the battle would be lost. 

The LORD smote their enemies and the Israelites took much spoils of war. Notice that the text tells us twice that Jehovah smote the enemies of His people. His presence in battle led to the enemies defeat and destruction. In this narrative we see that the fear of the LORD fell on all the inhabitants of the enemies cities. 

It falls on the enemies of God.

In this example the fear of the LORD fell on the enemies of His people rendering them powerless in battle and causing them to flee for their lives. It induced terror in their hearts as courage melted away. 

Joshua 2:9  And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 

You may recall that we studied the character of Rahab the harlot who hid the spies that Joshua sent in the town of Jericho. She protected them from being discovered and killed by the kings troops and then helped the spies successfully escape. In return, she and her family were spared in the day of battle. 

Notice how Rahab described the fear of the LORD on the inhabitants of Jericho. A deep terror fell upon them all and their strength melted away. 

2 Chronicles 17:10  And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

In another account of a God honoring king named Jehoshaphat, this same fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms around Israel such that they did not attempt to make war during his reign. 

It puts reverence and purity into the hearts of believers.

Psalm 19:7-9  The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8) The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9) The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 

The fear of the LORD leads the believer to live a life that is clean and pure before Holy God. This is the reverential fear based upon what we know to be true about God from His Word. His law, testimonies, statutes and commandments are mentioned and flowing out of our understanding of His Word is the fear of the LORD. 

His fear is clean. This is the idea of a wholesome, purifying influence upon us that results in a way of life that conforms to His Word. We might say that the fear of the LORD produces clean living in a believer. In contrast to clean living, those who choose to live for the world experience a life marked by impurity, immorality and defilement.

Psalm 34:11  Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 

The fear of the LORD is something that we need to be instructed in. King David was always ready to teach young people about finding the fear of the LORD. You can enjoy a longer life filled with goodness or have your life cut short by the fear of the LORD or the lack thereof (Psalm 34:12). The fear of the LORD in your life means your speech changes. Your tongue will be governed by God's wisdom and speak not guile. You will actively avoid engaging in any form of evil (Psalm 34:13-14). 

Fear of the LORD leads to praising Him.

Psalm 111:9-10  He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. 10) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. 

God alone redeemed His people. God alone established an everlasting covenant with His people. His name is holy and to be revered by all His sheep. Fear of the LORD is the beginning point of all wisdom. It becomes the nucleus of our worldview, a God centric view that knows Jehovah as Creator, Sustainer, the giver of life and light and the one who saved us. Without the fear of the LORD no man can ever have a correct understanding of the world around us and our place in it.

Thoughts to Ponder...

Some people will not receive wisdom from God or a sincere reproof from us, even when done out of love for that individual. They will lash out and push back against the truth that we share.

However, some will hear and receive correction and instruction from us and be a better person because of it. 

Finding the fear of the LORD is the starting point for true wisdom. When we know the LORD and become acquainted with His Word and His Works, it changes everything in our lives. It leads to living a clean life undefiled and unspotted by the world (Ephesians 5:25-28).

May the Lord give us courage to pursue these wonderful things of God. I pray that He will show us where we need to make changes in order to live a clean life before Him. I ask that He help us to be bold witnesses sharing His truth and wisdom with other people. May the Lord use us in His service until He calls us home!

Bob