Psalm 111:1-10 Wisdom’s Beginning
Our psalmist is singing praises to the Lord for all His wondrous works. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord and this comes by revisiting His works and word.
There is so much information and knowledge out there in our world. The names and habits of the dinosaurs, the planets locations and relative information, applied principles of accounting, engine repair, even how to build an electrical circuit using a potato. If you want to know how to do something just ask YouTube. They probably have a video or two on it. Some of this information is entertaining, some enlightening and some can be turned into a career. But NO information is as important as what is found in the pages of our Bible.
The Holy Spirit spoke through the quill and ink of men to record the AMAZING works of God. Words that we would read thousands of years later and still marvel at. Words that are still as relevant today as the day they hit the page. Words that tell us of a MAGNIFICENT God. One who is concerned with and responsible for every aspect of our life and history. Learning of Him is LIFE CHANGING.
ALL wisdom and knowledge begins with Him. He created the universe and set all its laws in motion. There was an understanding of right and wrong from the beginning. He placed it in the very makeup of man. It was also a result of taking the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. If it were not so Adam and Eve wouldn’t have hidden from God. Cain wouldn’t have killed his brother in secret and tried to hide it from God. God wouldn’t have needed to mark Cain to prevent him from being killed too. And there would have been no difference in the brother’s attitudes after bringing their sacrifices to God.
God also set down the first written Laws for His people. He documented specific rewards and punishments for behavior. He drew distinct lines between right and wrong and told His people to attend to those lines, regardless of what the other nations were doing. He labeled what is and isn’t sin. Before the Law the people had an ‘excuse’ for their behavior. “Everyone else is doing it” and “But I didn’t know…” God didn’t buy these excuses completely though. If He did there would have been no flood and Sodom and Gomora would still be standing. Man got what he was promised by Satan, at least in part, in the garden; the knowledge of good and evil.
But God didn’t just leave us with the knowledge of good and evil. He gave us principles for its application and examples to draw from to encourage us in the right direction. It wasn’t a written and codified Law for a LONG time but it was obvious to any who would seek the truth. The stories told by Adam and Eve were the first in the long line of examples and directions. I wonder if these stories were written down or passed on orally.
Moses was the first to compile the whole story from beginning to the days God finally put ‘pen to paper’ Himself and gave man His Laws. Did Moses have written documents to draw from or was all his insight through the Holy Spirit? I cannot imagine the number of scrolls he would have had to gather and sift through to get the depth of stories he related on his own. Where would he even have found them to begin with?
God provided the wisdom. And increased wisdom comes from studying what He has provided. Looking at how He blessed those who followed His heart and cursed or punished those who didn’t. Observed His use of natural consequences. Heeded His warnings of impending consequences for specific behavior. Recognizing His love reaching out to us and drawing us back to Himself. This is where wisdom begins.
Many have called the Old Testament irrelevant because we are no longer under the Law. But we would miss ALL the evidence of God’s great work if we ignore it. It is the very foundation of the work Jesus did on the cross. We need that foundation to build upon. Just think of all the wisdom that would be missed in the book of Proverbs alone and all the evidence of His hands in creation without Genesis.
Our psalmist says that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (verse 10a). This isn’t the hiding in the corner from things that go bump in the night kind but the kind of fear that brings about change. If you burn your hand after touching a hot burner you learn to be afraid of touching it while it is hot again. You check by hovering your hand near it if you are not certain of its status.
Fear here means reverence and an understanding that actions have consequences. Also understanding the nature of God and what those consequences may be and where they may lead. And this is only gained by looking at His examples. That is why the psalmist is calling for the people to look back and examine their history with the Lord and His history with the world. There’s wisdom in them there stories!
Father God, thank You for giving me all Your stories. I’m curious about the rest of the people from Adam on down but I guess I have to wait until I see You face to face for those stories. The ones You have included for me are WONDERFUL and they are the inspiration for all my faith. I would know nothing of Your character without them. I know life would be SO MUCH BETTER if we never knew sin but since it is a fact of life now, I choose to learn from Your lessons and run it out of my life. Keep them coming Father. And speak understanding to my heart Holy Spirit.
