The Ellis County Press: The path to wisdom is fearing God

The path to wisdom is fearing God
================================================================================
Editor on 12/17/2009 14:52:00


ELISA NORMAN
_Living Word Jewish-Christian Congregation_
Godly wisdom, according to the Bible, is not the same as human wisdom. It does
not follow the same requirements or achieve the same results. Human wisdom is
based on age, observation, perception, education, experience, and cultural
environment. Godly wisdom may be enhanced by these factors, but is not based on
these factors.
Godly wisdom begins with 1) the fear of God, and proceeds with 2) the _ruach
elohim_ (breath, wind, or spirit of God). Godly wisdom is supernatural and
cannot be achieved through natural processes.
Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge," but
what is the "fear of the LORD?"
The Hebrew word for "fear" is _yirah_, which can mean "fear" or "terror," in the
sense that we understand these words in our cultural context, but it can also
mean reverence, awe, and piety. "Piety" is an interesting concept; to fear the
LORD means to revere him enough to follow him obediently, resulting in pious
behavior.
Our cultural context demands that we create a lukewarm god in our image:
politically correct, full of warm fuzzies, a god who is not punitive.
However, the truth of the matter is that the Creator God is also the Destroyer
God (Amos 9), he has the power of life and death (Matt 10:28), and he does give
us some commands that he expects us to obey (1 John 5:3).
Our response to God should be to fear him and walk in his ways. This is the
beginning of wisdom (Job 28:28).
Fear of the LORD is the beginning, the first step, down wisdom's path.
Godly wisdom is God-given through the breath, or spirit, of God.
Joseph was filled with the _ruach elohim_ and able to interpret Pharaoh's dream
(Genesis 41:38). Daniel, also, had the _ruach elohim, _a sharp mind, and the
ability to interpret dreams, solve problems and explain riddles (Daniel
5:11-12).
This step of wisdom cannot be achieved by human power but must be a gift of God.
Solomon, famed for being the wisest man ever, achieved his wisdom through God as
well (1 Kings 3, 4, and 10).
As a young king, he knew that he needed the wisdom of God to be a good ruler,
and he asked God for wisdom rather than riches.
God was pleased with his request and granted it, adding to it the wealth he did
not request.
Of course, we must always test the spirits, to see if a spirit is truly from God
(1 John 4). Human wisdom loves to claim to be godly wisdom.
Consider, for example, Elihu, in Job 32, who claims to have the spirit of God
(32:8) and the wisdom it brings, but then proceeds to regurgitate the human
wisdom already spouted. May the Torah be our litmus test.
_Elisa Norman, MTS, is ordained pastor of The Living Word: Jewish Christian
Congregation of DeSoto and author of Sacred Living: Interpreting and Applying
the Bible. Find out more or contact her at www.Liv ingWord-JewishChris
tian.com._