A Foundation for Wisdom

Yesterday I started reflecting on the “Fear of the Lord” as a theme of significance.  Lord, help me to grow in my understanding, and in my embracing the invitation before me.  The verses I want to consider this morning all come from Psalm 111:1-10 NIV:

[1] “Praise the LORD. 

I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. 

[2] Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. 

[3] Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. 

[4] He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate. [5] He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. 

[6] He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. 

[7] The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. 

[8] They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. 

[9] He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—

holy and awesome is his name. 

[10] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; 

all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”

The idea that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom is such an interesting thought.  As I was thinking about this, I figured a good way to say it might be that it is a foundation for all other understanding.  

The idea that there is order to nature and creation comes from the Genesis accounts where we see God intentionally creating “order” from nothingness.  This idea led to the whole field of science, as a study and observation of this order, looking to find the “equations” or building blocks of this “order” that were foundational to all things and to our experience.  

I have had the opportunity to study microbiology, and the structure and function of cells, and also Astronomy, and the structures of the universe, and there is clear and definable order and laws at work at both of these levels.  There is almost much we don’t know about each level, and everything in between.  I know I was filled with awe as I considered the immensity, the beauty and the order found at every level.

In the naturally observable realm, there is order and beauty, complexity and dependence, amazing interworking and macro forces that surround us and are part of our everyday existence. We depend on the “order” of things to continue for most everything we experience.

What I find so interesting is that there is apparently an equally present spiritual reality that surrounds us, and impacts our lives and experiences.  In our Western mindset, we tend to dismiss this realm, as unseen and unexplainable, and thus not real. However, I believe the rest of the World would disagree.  There are those that would argue such viewpoints are primitive, and that we have evolved and no longer need to think in such way, and yet the Scriptures point very clearly to such a realm.

I am reminded of a few scriptures and first to mind is the whole chapter of Daniel 2.  In it God reveals to Daniel both the dream the king had, and its interpretation, something that is outside our abilities, as argued by all the wisemen of the time.  Here is their interaction - Daniel 2:26-28 NIV:

[26] “The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?” 

[27] Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, [28] but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:”

At the end of the chapter, after Daniel revealed both his dream and the interpretation, the King responded as follows - Daniel 2:46-47 NIV:

[46] “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. [47] The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

One could say that Nebuchadnezzar had an adjustment to his world-view that day!  He came to realize that God is real and God is the one orchestrating all things. His previous world-view foundation was replaced with a new foundation, the Fear of the Lord!

Lord, help me to recognize that pursuing You, Your ways and Your thoughts is critical to my better understanding of this world, and all that is going on around us!  Help me to adjust my thinking to align with the reality that You have revealed in Scripture.  Help me to grow in my awareness of Your work and “order” all around me, bit the seen and the unseen.

Amen!