The Fear of the Lord

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:28

Wisdom is the ability to make good decisions. Good decisions are based on good information. The most basic and most important information available to us is that there is a God. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” The knowledge of God underlies all other knowledge that we can possess. As we begin to seek after God and learn about Who He is, we begin to understand His omnipotence. He is all-powerful. There is nothing that God cannot do. He created all things, and He gave us life. The more we allow that fact to sink in to our consciousness, the more we will fear God. The word fear used in the passage above is a word that means reverence as well as fear. We are to revere God because of His power and holiness, but those same qualities should also cause us to fear Him. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” In Matthew 12:36, He said, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Romans 14:10 says, “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” If we keep this in mind as we go about our daily lives, we will make better decisions, we will have better attitudes, and we will be better people. This is how Job could say that the fear of the Lord is wisdom. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” (Proverbs 9:10).