Proverbs 9:10-12 (KJV) 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
Proverbs 9:10-12 (NIV) 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For through wisdom your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
Proverbs 9:10-12 (NLT) 10 Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
11 Wisdom will multiply your days
and add years to your life.
12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.
If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have a rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
1 Chronicles 28:9 (King David speaking to his son, and the next king, King Solomon) “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."
Isaiah 6:3 (The Seraphim singing praise to God) And they called out to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; His glory fills all the earth."
God is called "Holy, holy, holy" (Isaiah 6:3 above), in his threefold nature, and and thus the plural of excellence called "the Holy" in Proverbs 9:10. God the Father is holy. Jesus the Son is holy. The Spirit is holy.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
This is the essence of all we have been studying in Proverbs. Godly wisdom. Not intelligence, not IQ, not education, not degrees, not experience... we have been talking about godly wisdom. Wisdom that comes from knowing God is what is most precious and will make your life worth living.
Let's look at some highly educated fools.
Born in 1988, Michael Isaacson holds a Ph.D. in economics. His areas of scholarly focus include macroeconomic theory, economic methodology, and anti-capitalist economic theories. He was an economics professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who belongs to the left-wing movement known as antifa and touts anarchy. The professor’s 8/23/17 tweet, which helped land him an interview with Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson, reads as follows: "Some of y'all might think it sucks being an anti-fascist teaching at John Jay College but I think it's a privilege to teach future dead cops." New York police and police unions called for his firing. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
Jeff Klinzman, an Iowa adjunct English professor of nearly 10 years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, said “I affirm that I am ‘antifa’". He commented on a Facebook page that He wanted to hit President Trump with a baseball bat. Another post from Klinzman’s social media read: "It’s not pretty, and I’m not proud, but seeing what evangelical Christians are doing to this country and its people fills me with rage, and a desire to exact revenge”. He resigned last week under pressure from the administration.
Diablo Valley College professor Eric Clanton donned a mask and attacked a Trump supporter with a bicycle lock. I guess he thought it was OK to assault someone with a weapon?!? Where was his brain?
Avital Ronell, feminist philosophy professor at New York University (NYU) was investigated in 2018 for sexually harrassing a 34 year old student, Nimrod Reitman. Ms. Ronell sent sophomoric emails to her student in which she called him her “cock-er spaniel” among other things. She is accused of repeatedly invading his physical and emotional space by kissing, touching; demanding he sleep in her bed; calling him constantly and refusing to work with him if he refused. She claims to be a lesbian. After 11 months of investigation she was suspended by NYU.
Barbara LeSavoy, director of Women and Gender Studies at The College at Brockport, wrote in the Rochester (New York) Democrat & Chronicle: “Firearm possession should be banned in America; President Obama can orchestrate this directive,... To establish gun control laws in America that will reduce high levels of male violence and usher in a culture of peace and civility... I admire Obama. But he has let me down. I am disappointed because his presidency could have done more for our country, and sadly, the many taken lives who cannot read this essay... During (Obama’s) 2008 presidential campaign, my two daughters, partner, and I ate every meal in our house on Obama placemats.” President Obama didn’t have that power because of the 2nd Amendment right in the U.S. Constitution. A "celebrated scholar and thought-leader in academia" who can't think.
Patricia MacCormack, a professor of continental philosophy at Angelia Ruskin University is also a researcher who has “published in the areas of continental philosophy…feminism, queer theory, posthuman theory, horror film, body modification, animal rights/abolitionism, cinesexuality and ethics", and admits to being an "occultist magician". That's the cherry on top. She writes that human progress should be human extinction and we should start by "gradually phasing out reproduction."
Zandria Robinson, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Memphis, has parted ways with the university after she came under fire for a number of tweets such as the Confederate flag is “more than a symbol of white racial superiority. It is the ultimate symbol of white heteropatriarchal capitalism.” Another tweet, “Whiteness is most certainly and inevitably terror”. And that she expects “death and rape threats” because, “those are the ultimate expressions of love from conservative whites these day.” She just can't tolerate anyone who is different than she is. They have to be black, female, liberal, and named Zandria in order to be worthy of voice.
Saida Grundy, an assistant professor of sociology and African-American studies at Boston University, used twitter in 2015 to denounce white men as the central problem at universities and described how she tries not to do business with white people. She described her statements as "indelicate" but how would she feel if a white professor encouraged people not to buy things from black people or calling black males as the problem on colleges? Her hostility and hate of white people doesn't ooze out of her tweets but screams out. She sounds like a black supremacist doesn't she? Where is the tolerance, the open mindedness, the understanding that not everyone is the same? We must all be like her and think like her to be right. Hmmmm......
These are just a very few highly educated, paid professionals with a lot of credits after their names. They have book smarts but no godly wisdom. They have no balance in their minds. They are not only not on the train but have left the train station. They live in chaos, not wisdom. Their words produce chaos, confusion, hate, and fear. Let's look at what the New Testament says about God's wisdom.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3,10-20 (Apostle Paul writing to believer in Corinth, NLT) 1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger.
And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?...
10 Because of God’s grace to me,
I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
12
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 Stop deceiving yourselves.
If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise
in the snare of their own cleverness.”
20 And again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise;
he knows they are worthless.”
James 3:1-2,13-18 (NLT) 1 Dear brothers and sisters,
not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way...
13
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
17
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
Knowledge is possessing facts. Wisdom is the ability to achieve the best ends with the facts. It takes discernment, understanding, experience, intuition and deep level thinking, reasoning. Someone can say, "The grass is green." That's a fact. But wisdom would think beyond that surface statement. It would learn how the grass is green. What process makes it green. How is green grass used as vegetation in this world? A cow eats it and how does that help the cow? How does grass effect soil erosion? Are there better grasses to sow and what are the pros and cons of each? Does this earth have to have grass? Why or why not? How does green grass effect my life? Oh my, what will we do if grass goes extinct?!?!? Too many people are not deep thinkers with logical progressive thoughts. They are flat thinkers, surface thinkers. The grass is green is all they know and the subject is closed. Godly wisdom would take into account the facts, and would pursue deep thinking and reasoning WITH GOD! We let God, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, lead our thoughts and reasonings to come to the conclusion that grass is green; grass is necessary; we should be responsible earth citizens by taking care of God's Creation; but, we must ultimately let God be God and have control over the grass growth in our world. Therefore we can take in information, we can gain God's perspective with the help of the Holy Spirit and end up with a balanced view that rests on faith in God and worship because He is God!
Worldly wisdom is not concerned with honoring God but with pleasing oneself, self preservation, success and winning
in this world. It is not concerned with God but with self. It is not concerned with the afterlife (whether they will spend eternity in Heaven or Hell). It is only concerned with now. They have no concept of rewards and treasures in Heaven, they want rewards and treasures on earth. They don't want God, they don't believe in God, and/or, they hate God because He is God and not them. They want to be god; to be their own god. They little realize how inept they are at being god. In their arrogance, they reject God and try to be their own little tin-pot-gods (cheap and poorly made; worthless).
We are not born with knowledge and godly wisdom. We have to learn and experience it. It comes first with our salvation through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit then dwells in us to help us in our lifelong sanctification... learning about God and how to be more like Jesus. We have to grow in our spirit. Many people become stunted and immature spiritually because they are lazy in pursuing God. They are saved but have built, on their foundation of Jesus Christ, with "wood, hay and stubble". It reminds me of a Flamingo party our family had one summer at my sister's house. She had a new above-ground pool and wanted to have a Flamingo themed party. I got the bright idea of making Flamingo farts. I got pink cotton candy and placed it in paper bags and marked them "Flamingo Farts". I put the bags out of the reach of the children until the party got started. When I went to get the bags and hand them out, the cotton candy had melted due to the heat of the day and there was nothing but traces of pink sugar in the bags. I called them "wet farts".

But that's what it can be like. People may be saved and believe in Jesus Christ but they don't put forth any effort to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to learn, mature and grow in godly wisdom which results in fruit of the Holy Spirit. Natural fruit grows from a relationship with God. So, when they get to Heaven and go before God, they may open their bag of Flamingo farts to find only melted "wet farts". They are saved but will have few rewards in Heaven. But if they have sought God, looked for Him, valued and treasured His Word and grown with the Spirit, they may have built on their foundation with "gold, silver and jewels". In other words, it will not disappear and melt in a judgment fire but will come out even purer and of great value.
The longest Psalm in the Bible is Psalm 119. If you read it, you will see how much the Psalmist treasures God's Word. God's Word gives us God's perspective which is wisdom.
Psalm 119:98–100 (ESV) 98
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
Having God's perspective puts our problems in perspective. We don't have to be God, and that frees us to love and worship the one true God! We can let Him be God and free ourselves to be who He made us to be. As His Children we are in His loving Hand, the best and safest place for us to be. If we can truly take hold of this in faith, our lives would be much less stressful. We could learn to release and let God. We could walk in freedom.
When we immerse ourselves in God's Word, we begin to feel praise and worship rise up in us.
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Godly wisdom grows in the fertile ground of faith, seeking God, asking for wisdom, obedience in faith, and worship.
James 1:5 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him”
- If we look back at James 3:13-18, make a list of characteristics of someone who DOES have godly wisdom and a list of characteristics that shows someone DOESN'T have godly wisdom.
- "If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you". Can you name some rewards that godly wisdom bestows?
- "If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer". Can you think of ways people suffer from scorning godly wisdom?
- Write out 1 Chronicles 23:9. Ponder it and pray it.
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