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My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.Proverbs 2:1-5

The Bible talks often about the “Fear of the Lord”. I remember first reading and hearing about it when I was younger and thinking I understood. It seemed straightforward enough.. I figured that the Bible meant that we’re supposed to be afraid of God. I’ve since learned that the Bible is not a book of any private interpretation. As clear as something may seem to be in our minds, the Bible wasn’t given to us to interprete, we’re to let it interprete itself.

Interprete itself? Yeah. Though still an infant in the Scriptures, I’ve learned in my short experience that there is nothing, with prayer, diligent searching, and God’s blessing, that cannot be made plain in His Word. God has blessed the Bible and inspired its writers in such a way that the Bible interpretes itself so that we need not stumble in darkness.

Let’s look at today’s example:

Then shalt though understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.Proverbs 2:5

Our question is, “What is the fear of the Lord?”. This verse provides a clue. What does it say?”Then shalt though understand the fear of the Lord..” So if we’re to “understand the fear of the Lord”, something first must happen and “then” we’ll understand. Let’s start from the top and take note of all the conditions leading up to the “then”:

• My son, if thou wilt receive my words… so that thou incline thine ear to wisdom.. apply thine heart to understanding..
• Yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding..
• If though seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures..
• Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

So, if we’re to understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God, we must start by receiving His written word into our minds and hiding His commandments in our hearts. As we do this (verse 2), we’re to incline our ear to wisdom and apply our hearts to understanding. Rather than just reading for the sake of reading, we’re to recognize that there is something deeper here and (verse 3) we’re to cry out for knowledge and lift up our voice for understanding. Each day in prayer, present your case to God and ask for a blessing as you read His word in search for truth that you may understand what it means to fear God and that you may find a knowledge of Him.

God promises that whatsoever we ask, it will be given us, and whatsoever we seek, we shall find, and when we knock, the door will be opened unto us.Matthew 7:7 But, there is a condition..

God promises to give us what we ask for, but what is His condition for doing so? See 1 John 3:22, 1 John 5:14, and John 15:7

In 1 John 3:22, we find that “whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” In Psalms 66:18 we read that “if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” So we see that a condition for God to answer our prayer for understanding is to obey His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight (See Isaiah 58 for some examples).

In 1 John 5:14 we find that if we “ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.” What a promise! Does God want is to understand what it means to fear Him? Read Leviticus 25:17. If so, then we can be sure that He will grant our request.

In John 15:7, Jesus tells us that “if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Remember the first if statement this morning? “If thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee..” Jesus strengthens our starting point even further by showing that if we follow those steps, starting with a reading of the Scriptures, and then we we cry out for knowlege and seek for it as silver (Matthew 7:7) then we will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God

Call To Action: Open the Scriptures each day with the desire to know God’s will that you may obey it. Then, cry out and ask Him for knowledge, lift up your voice in secret for His understanding. Then, having faith and knowing that He has heard your prayer, seek for understanding as silver and as for hid treasure. Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

One Response to “Proverbs 2:1-5 - Understanding the fear of the Lord”

1. Dulce R. Says:
   July 13th, 2010 at 11:20 am

   This was very helpful, Thank you

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