Possessing a “fear of the Lord” means having an inner reverence and honor for God. Such an inner posture of reverence toward God is, says Solomon, the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). 

Solomon was the wisest king in the Old Testament, and he said that wisdom starts with fear. Have you ever found that strange? What should we be afraid of, and why?

In the opening chapter of Proverbs, Solomon says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7). And later in the book he says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (9:10).

We should treat “the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7) and “the beginning of wisdom” (9:10) as parallel. The knowledge in view is wisdom. And apparently this knowledge for living, this wisdom, is not just something we have innately. Wisdom must be pursued and acquired.

Something must be present for wisdom to be gained. In Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10, Solomon says we must have “the fear of the LORD.” Since that is the beginning of wisdom/knowledge, we must get some clarity on what fearing the Lord means.

One way to think about fear is with the notion of being afraid. People are afraid of all kinds of things. They’re afraid of climbing great heights, speaking in public, choking while eating alone, seeing spiders in the bathtub, and flying in airplanes. Maybe something in that list made you shudder when you read it!

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