On Friday we shared that God’s Word says: “The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with His justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” (Is 33:5-6) 

In order for Him to be our sure foundation who is ready to generously give us salvation, wisdom and knowledge out of His abundance, we must properly worship Him. We do that by giving Him the respect He is due and by respecting His name and who He is — the one true God.

It is foolish to not fear the Lord and to dispise his correction and instruction. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Prov 1:7) The fool takes their own path, and believes they know best. But we have a loving Creator God who is omnicient, omnipotent and omnipresent. We must respectfully humble ourselves before Him and accept His correction because He knows best and He loves us. “For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” (Prov 3:12)

Maturity in Christ brings with it an understanding of our own ignorance about life and other important matters, which causes us to humble ourselves of our pride. Lady Wisdom is vying for our attention: “Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: ‘How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?'” (Prov 1:20-23)

The Lord is calling us to fear Him and humble ourselves, and yield to His instruction. “Turn to my reproof , Behold, I will pour out my Spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” (Prov 1:23) He promises to give us understanding (wisdom) if we turn to Him and away from our prideful sin, and seek Him with our whole hearts. We will talk about the alternative tomorrow– choosing to stay foolish.

Lord, thank You for the reminder that wisdom only comes from You, as do all things visible and invisible. Lord, thank You for keeping me humble to seek Your will and not my own. Thank you for the urgings I feel when I neglect making You first, and for reminding me that anything I put before You I treat as a god. Lord, You are the great “I Am”, and You will not tolerate any idolatry. You are a jealous God, who is also the Sovereign God, and only You deserve my fear and respect. In the precious name of Jesus, amen.