And then again in the book of psalms, Psalm 111:10, the psalmist says,

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom [the word translated ‘beginning’ can also mean ‘the principle part’, it’s the basis and foundation of all wisdom.] A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.” (NKJ)

Again, understanding is linked with obedience to the commandments of God. It has a moral aspect.

Wisdom is the primary thing. Out of wisdom proceeds understanding. Understanding in its original Hebrew form means insight into the real nature and essence of persons and situations. That’s much more than cleverness. A clever person can be easily fooled, sometimes by other people. But a person with understanding sees into the very nature of the person he’s dealing with or the very essence of the situation that he has to handle.

And then the book of Proverbs takes this yet further. Proverbs chapter 1, verse 7:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (NKJ)

Again, the same word that’s translated “beginning with” means the principle part of the fear of the Lord is the principle part of knowledge. So notice out of the fear of the Lord there developed, first of all, wisdom; then understanding or insight; and then knowledge. But the writer of Proverbs goes on to say, “But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” To despise instruction, to be proud, self-sufficient, arrogant, unwilling to accept correction, that is folly. And that automatically excludes true wisdom, and is the exact opposite of the fear of the Lord.

And then again in the book of Proverbs, chapter 9 and verse 10:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom [the same statement again] And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (NKJ)

We see that out of the fear of the Lord comes a wisdom that enables us to relate to God’s holiness. And as we relate to God’s holiness, we move and live in that cleansing, sanctifying fear of the Lord that causes us to depart from evil and to keep the Lord’s commandments.

We need to distinguish wisdom from what I would call “intellectual education.” A lot of people do not see the difference. But let me say, and I think you will find it’s very obvious when you meditate on it, it’s possible to be highly-educated and be a fool. There are a lot of highly-educated fools around us today. In fact, I once remarked that most of the trouble in the world today is caused by educated fools. If they weren’t educated, they couldn’t make nearly as much trouble. But being fools, they still make trouble.

Now wisdom, spoken of in the Scriptures, is different. There’s a statement in Psalm 51, verse 6, made by David, which comes to the very heart of this matter. He’s speaking to the Lord out of a broken, penitent heart and he says this:

“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” (NKJ)

God desires truth in the inward parts. That comes from the fear of the Lord. A

The Fear of the Lord

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