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Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” In a sense, there is more to that Verse than meets the eye, but the root of that Verse lies in our faith in God. Our faith in God includes what is written in the Bible, since the Bible is the Word and inspiration of God. So, if we are to have faith in God, we should be mindful of what is in the Bible. Our faith in God eclipses our faith in anything else. I mean, if a weather forecaster predicts a 1-foot snowfall, but God tells you it will be a bright and sunny day, who would you go by if your faith is presumably in God?
Proverbs 1:7 is predicated on the idea that under God, if you do not fear God then there is no reason for you to obtain the knowledge of how to behave under God. As an analogy, if you grew up in a household where your parents hit you if you did something wrong, you would probably be afraid if being hit and so you would attain knowledge of everything that would cause your parents to hit you so you can avoid doing those things. Human nature being what it is, whether you fear God and/or fear your parents, a quest for knowledge to avoid certain things often leads to a quest for knowledge BEYOND avoiding certain things. People by nature have a natural curiosity in things, and sometimes it takes being fearful of something to trigger that curiosity to go beyond the things you fear. So, people may also become curious about things like Renaissance art if they become aware it exists, even though the knowledge of such art may not be of immediate benefit to them directly other than to benefit their curiosity.
Regarding fools despising wisdom and knowledge, in a secular world that would be a judgement call. Jesus in Matthew 7:1 tells us to “Judge not, that you be not judged.” But in Proverbs 1:7 the judgement comes from God. If God wanted to limit Himself to judging in a manner consistent with Matthew 7:1, that’s His prerogative. But Him being God, and the universe being His Creation, He can judge however He wants. So, if He says it is fools that despise wisdom and knowledge, we take Him at His Word.
But consider...Has there been any empire, including the Peloponnesians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Ottomans and British and others that have lasted on the backs of fools? To put it in perspective, once those who would be judged as fools under Proverbs 1:7 took over, these empires crumbled.
Considering the times we live in, there may be some that say ‘Who cares if we are presided over by fools as long as we can get what we want?’ Well, history has shown us that nations and empires that were run by fools don’t last forever. A government of fools that managed to satisfy some of the people they presided over could fall apart in those people’s lifetime, then where would they and their families be?
For a while, in the early part of the20th century, Germany allowed itself to be taken over by a dictator who held onto his power by exterminating 6 million people, for no reason other than to remain in power. He vowed that his country would dominate the world for a thousand years. Under God, he would be a fool, simply because God told us not to murder. So, the supposed thousand-year empire lasted less than 10 years, and he and his cronies were dealt with during their lifetimes, and for a while, the country was crippled because of their pursuits. Fools are capable of doing this...fools who believe they have no need of knowledge and wisdom, and, by definition, feel they have no need of God, and they wouldn’t’ expect those who follow them to have need of God either. I tell you that curiosity has come to be a natural phenomenon in man; it takes a fool to quell that curiosity.
Proverbs 1:7 is predicated on the idea that under God, if you do not fear God then there is no reason for you to obtain the knowledge of how to behave under God. As an analogy, if you grew up in a household where your parents hit you if you did something wrong, you would probably be afraid if being hit and so you would attain knowledge of everything that would cause your parents to hit you so you can avoid doing those things. Human nature being what it is, whether you fear God and/or fear your parents, a quest for knowledge to avoid certain things often leads to a quest for knowledge BEYOND avoiding certain things. People by nature have a natural curiosity in things, and sometimes it takes being fearful of something to trigger that curiosity to go beyond the things you fear. So, people may also become curious about things like Renaissance art if they become aware it exists, even though the knowledge of such art may not be of immediate benefit to them directly other than to benefit their curiosity.
Regarding fools despising wisdom and knowledge, in a secular world that would be a judgement call. Jesus in Matthew 7:1 tells us to “Judge not, that you be not judged.” But in Proverbs 1:7 the judgement comes from God. If God wanted to limit Himself to judging in a manner consistent with Matthew 7:1, that’s His prerogative. But Him being God, and the universe being His Creation, He can judge however He wants. So, if He says it is fools that despise wisdom and knowledge, we take Him at His Word.
But consider...Has there been any empire, including the Peloponnesians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Ottomans and British and others that have lasted on the backs of fools? To put it in perspective, once those who would be judged as fools under Proverbs 1:7 took over, these empires crumbled.
Considering the times we live in, there may be some that say ‘Who cares if we are presided over by fools as long as we can get what we want?’ Well, history has shown us that nations and empires that were run by fools don’t last forever. A government of fools that managed to satisfy some of the people they presided over could fall apart in those people’s lifetime, then where would they and their families be?
For a while, in the early part of the20th century, Germany allowed itself to be taken over by a dictator who held onto his power by exterminating 6 million people, for no reason other than to remain in power. He vowed that his country would dominate the world for a thousand years. Under God, he would be a fool, simply because God told us not to murder. So, the supposed thousand-year empire lasted less than 10 years, and he and his cronies were dealt with during their lifetimes, and for a while, the country was crippled because of their pursuits. Fools are capable of doing this...fools who believe they have no need of knowledge and wisdom, and, by definition, feel they have no need of God, and they wouldn’t’ expect those who follow them to have need of God either. I tell you that curiosity has come to be a natural phenomenon in man; it takes a fool to quell that curiosity.
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