The Beginning Of Knowledge

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:  but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

Within the heart of humanity there is the insatiable thirst for knowledge.  Throughout the course of history, the pursuit of knowledge has consumed the time, attention, and energy of a vast multitude.  If we trace history back to the origin of humanity, we find that there are indications of this thirst in our first parents.  When the serpent appealed to Eve, his selling point was that if she and Adam would eat of the tree they would become, ‘like God, knowing good and evil.’  The desire for knowledge was innate and Satan merely exploited it for his own ends.  If we are to achieve knowledge, where shall we start?  Our text for today provides us with the answer.  ‘The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge.’  This is not ‘fear’ in the sense of craven terror, but rather, reverence, respect, and regard for God.  If we would truly achieve knowledge, here is where it begins.  This beginning will lead us inevitably to Christ.  It is by Christ that God has spoken to us.  He is ‘the brightness of His glory and the express image of His Person.’  He ‘upholds all things by the word of His power.’  To honor and reverence God is to honor and reverence Christ.  Therefore, if we are to know, we must come to know God, and that means we must know Christ.

Our Great and All-knowing God,
we rejoice that You are willing to make Yourself known to us.
We praise You, that as we seek Your Face,
in reverence, You will by Your Holy Spirit,
show us Christ.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning