Our scripture reading this evening will come from the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs chapter 1, and we'll read the first 7 verses. The book of Proverbs, one of those books of wisdom literature that we'll discuss this evening. Different from what we've seen recently. Proverbs chapter one, reading the first seven verses. This is the word of the Lord. The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity, to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Thus far, the reading of God's Holy Word. As I said just before the reading of God's Word, in recent weeks you've been hearing from different parts of the Bible. Reverend Freswick has been going through the book of Ruth, so we have a historical narrative there. And with historical narrative comes certain rules of interpretation. And last week, the book of Amos was opened up to you. The book of Amos is a prophecy. And yet, a book of prophecy requires a similar set of rules to historical narrative, and yet they're a little bit different. This evening, we come to the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is considered to be wisdom literature, and therefore, as I'm sure you've guessed, it takes a slightly different tack. Congregation, tell me if any of these phrases sound familiar to you. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Look before you leap. Easy come, easy go. A penny saved is a penny earned. Live one day at a time. Or as things have been said in recent generations, YOLO, you only live once. Well, various polls have shown that many Americans think that some of these phrases actually come straight from the Bible. They're certainly not. Yes, these statements bear some truth. They have nuggets of truth in them. But unlike the book of Proverbs, these statements are not the inspired written word of God. Proverbs gives us the word of God in a memorable and practical way. In Proverbs, we learn that the foundational beliefs we hold, the core of our belief system, has serious implications for how we act and live in God's world. The words on the page here before us this evening are not saying, be good for goodness sake, because Santa Claus is coming to town. But they tell us how white life looks when we recognize who we are. Creatures created by God, creatures who have fallen into sin, And also it tells us who God is, the one and only Creator King, the merciful Redeemer of His people. The fear of the Lord is the only beginning to knowledge, and only with this understanding can we pursue true wisdom. Otherwise, one remains a fool, no matter how wise he might appear to the whole world. And so tonight we'll see first that wisdom is a teacher, Second, that the Christian is a student. And third, that the fear of the Lord is the foundation to all of this. Wisdom is a teacher, the Christian is a student, and the Lord is the foundation to all of this. But we read in verses one through four that these are the Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel. They're meant to help us to know wisdom and instruction, how to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and equity, and to give prudence to the simple, and the young man may get knowledge and discretion from them. And so very quickly we see that there are two dimensions to godly wisdom. Two dimensions. First, the moral dimension, that there's justice, judgment, and equity. And second, that there's an intellectual facet to this as well. That prudence can increase in knowledge. So before the Lord had brought His people into the Promised Land, He knew that they would ask for a king to reign over them just like all the other nations. And so the Lord laid out some instructions for his people on what a godly king ought to look like, how he should operate in his day-to-day life, how he should shepherd God's people. He would look very, very different from a worldly king. Those nations who surrounded Israel, he would not look like them. So if you would look with me at Deuteronomy chapter 17. We'll go there and read a few verses on what the Lord established a godly king should look like. Deuteronomy chapter 17, we'll begin reading at verse 14. When you come to the land which the Lord your God has given you, and possess it, and dwell in it, and say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me, you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One from among your brethren you shall set as king over you. You may not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. For the Lord has said to you, you shall not return that way again. Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he greatly multiply silver or gold for himself. And it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this book in the law for the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that it may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in the kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel. The king's behavior would not be the same as a regular earthly king. He would be ruled by God's law, by the wisdom of the Lord, God's written word, that which was both directly revealed by God and that which was inspired, the Holy Spirit inspired in the pen of Israel's forefathers. Yes, he would look very different from a worldly king. This man ought to be a man who was from God's people. He was not to be an enemy conqueror. He would not rule with military might. He wouldn't multiply his horses. He would trust in the protection of the Lord God, and he would shepherd his people by keeping them from returning to Egypt into bondage. He would not multiply wives. He would not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. and nor would he stockpile wealth for himself, and nor would he cripple his subjects under a heavy tax burden. No, this man would not be a king for himself, a king who would amass power that he would receive honor and glory. No, he would be a shepherd of God's people, bringing the honor and glory to God alone. He would not trust in his own military might. He would not trust in his own wealth, but he would trust in the Lord to protect him and his nation. He would trust in the Lord to provide wealth for him and his nation. He would not find worldly wisdom. He would find wisdom in the one and only source of wisdom, God himself, God's Word. Wisdom shows the believer what righteousness and justice look like. Solomon here says that wisdom is to know wisdom and instruction. It's to perceive the words of understanding. It's to receive instruction in these things. And it's to make the simple prudent or wise. Young men are to chase after this knowledge and to procure it. And so as this man, this king, would copy the book of the law, He would keep this book with him all the days of his life as he was commanded to. He would fear the Lord and be careful to observe all the statutes which God had given his people. In this way, he would be able to help his people find security and rest from all their enemies. They would find rest under the true king, God himself. The king was simply an under-shepherd. But we know that in the life of Israel, this is not how things worked out. We see right away in our passage here that these are the words of Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel. And so Proverbs is meant to be a teaching tool given after this pattern that we have just read about in Deuteronomy 17. Proverbs is not secular and political wisdom. It's not wisdom of the world and in the domain of politics above gathering power for yourself. No, this is godly wisdom, which points its hearers to God in obedience of Him. Wisdom is a teacher. Paul put it this way to his disciple Timothy in the book of 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 14 through 15. 2 Timothy 3, 14 through 15. There Paul tells his young protege, but you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. And so in part, Proverbs was a way of parenting, one facet of passing down the knowledge of the faith from one generation to the next. perhaps a way of catechesis. Proverbs 22 verse 6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. So certainly Proverbs would serve as one way that the line of David could prepare each and every successive generation on the throne, that they could lead God's people to know God and to know His Word, that they could rule God's people with justice and equity, and they could teach God's people to do the same, to teach God's people to be discerning and wise. So if they were able to be discerning, they could judge right from wrong. If they were prudent, they would be sensible, careful, and cautious. Last week we heard briefly about God's covenant with David, granting him the land and the sons who would be on the throne after him. And so this is what David would be teaching those sons who would come after him. So wisdom is indeed a teacher, but teachers have students. And so secondly, this evening we see that the Christian is a student. Wisdom is a teacher and the Christian is a student. This wisdom that we have can only be found in God's Word. It's the only place which is honest about our natural condition, which is to be lost in sin. God's Word is the only place where we can find a fully honest evaluation of our abilities before God. Our Lord Jesus Christ told His own people in John chapter 6, verses 44-50, that no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be taught by God. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Wisdom knows that in and of ourselves we are completely unable to come before God. We must be drawn to him by the power of the Spirit. Proverbs 1 verses 5 through 6 remind us, let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. So how do we gain wisdom? James writes to the church In chapter 1, verse 5 of his book, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. Because of our weakness, we have to seek wisdom outside of ourselves. We know we must be guided. We know we must seek it because we do not possess it. We know that this life is full of complicated riddles. We know that the scriptures can be hard to understand. And if we ask for the Lord's wisdom, He will guide us by His Spirit. So we begin by admitting that we don't have wisdom and that we must ask God for it. Often we forget that we don't have it because we're not humble enough to ask for it. We think that we can depend on ourselves. We think we can figure it out on our own. How do we raise children in a culture which shows itself to be resolutely opposed to God and His Word, even more every day? How do we pursue things like righteousness and justice? We recognize our place under the authority of God's Word. We acknowledge that His Word is the only guidance standard for our lives. We know it more and more, and we become more skilled and discerning as we lead our little ones to Christ. As we observe God's word, we are able to put the pieces together better than before in how we ought to live in God's kingdom. It's helpful here to notice that many of the sayings in the Book of Proverbs didn't come by some direct revelation from God. Solomon wrote these words down. Nor were these Proverbs revealed through dreams and through visions. The way the Spirit of God inspired these words was through certain men's observational skills. Of course, Solomon did not have the strength on his own accord. It was a gift granted to him by God. We see some of his observations, like in Proverbs 6, verse 6. He says, Go to the aunt you sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise. Or in Proverbs 28, verse 22, another observation, a man with an evil eye hastens after riches and does not consider that poverty will come upon him. And so Solomon has observed the way of the wicked man, a man whose way of life is riches, who trusts in them. And he knows that this will end in devastation. Another observation Solomon makes is in Proverbs 24, verses 30-34. Proverbs 24, 30-34 says, I went by the field of a lazy man, and by the vineyard of a man devoid of understanding. And there it was, all overgrown with thorns, its surface was covered with nettles, its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well. I looked on it and received instruction. a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man." You see, instead of pursuing what feels right to us, whatever that may be, or to seek the Lord's will, what He has established through His Word, Even in complicated and difficult situations, we must humbly seek to unravel these mysteries and riddles by the power of the Spirit, and by way of having much knowledge of God's Word. And as we do so, we become more able to teach others about it. We begin to understand some of the riddles, and we can serve God by serving others and training them in the knowledge of God's Word. And we do this as those who, according to verse four of our text this evening, those who are simple. We know our need to be taught. We know our own ignorance. We know we must seek guidance. We desire instruction and wisdom from outside of ourselves. And in doing so, we flee from ourselves. We cling to the only one in whom we can find refuge, God himself. And when we hear of this task that we have of pursuing wisdom, when we grasp what a high, difficult calling this is, perhaps we tremble and shake. One man put it this way many years ago, I am ignorant of many things, but not of my own ignorance. We know this. We know how ignorant we are and we know how far we fall short. And yet we desire to increase in our learning. That we may know that the Lord and his ways, how good they are. That we may see these ways more clearly and distinctly. Yet we know we fall short. And this lifelong pursuit of wisdom is an impossible task on our own. This knowledge of our own inability, compared to God's holy character, is indeed the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom as a teacher, we as believers are students. And thirdly this afternoon, the fear of the Lord is the foundation to this knowledge and wisdom. It alone is the beginning. Proverbs 1, verse 7, the last verse in our text this afternoon, says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. In this verse, the words knowledge, wisdom, and instruction are all used as synonyms, interchangeably for the same word. They all mean the same thing, wisdom. The word we render beginning can mean the chief or the starting point, the head, And so this verse is the foundation for the entire book of Proverbs. Without it, whatever follows would be of no use to us. Each wise saying and instruction that we find in Proverbs goes back to this very foundational fact. One of the concluding verses of Ecclesiastes 12, which also was likely written by Solomon, says that man's all is to fear God and to keep His commandments. So not only is it the beginning, it's the conclusion of knowledge. Of all the knowledge in the universe, knowledge of God is principal and foremost. Without it, nothing else that we study, nothing else we desire to know will matter. We will be chasing after a vapor in the wind, and we will never catch it. But what exactly does it mean to fear the Lord? Especially when we hear this as children, we wonder, does this mean I need to be afraid of God? Ought I to be terrified of God? Well, this is not the case. Certainly, we come before God and we're reverent before His holiness and His power. And so fear of the Lord is to reverence God, to serve him and to worship him. This is the beginning of knowledge. And those of us who will not do this will know nothing. And so in doing this fear and having this fear of the Lord, we bring everything that we are in obedience to him and his word. It creates in us a desire that everything we do ought to please Him, that we don't want to offend Him by our sin. This is our desire. And yet fearing God knows means knowing that we are frail, and that we are inadequate, that we do not reverence the Lord as we ought to. We don't serve Him as we ought to, nor do we fully worship Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. So it's not a terror of a God. but it's a response of worshipful faith in God, who has revealed Himself not only as Creator and King and Judge, but also as Savior. We talked earlier about how the Lord has revealed His Word in different ways, prophecy, narrative, wisdom. If you would look with me quickly at Hebrews chapter 1, The Lord speaks of how He has revealed Himself. Hebrews chapter 1, and we'll read just a few verses there. God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days, the days which we are in now, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made all the worlds, who, being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty and High, having become so much better than the angels, as he has by his inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." And the Apostle John, the disciple John in his gospel, in the first few verses we read this, John 1, And the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not comprehended it." And moving down to verse 14, And the Word became flesh. and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, He comes after me, is preferred before me, for He was before me. And of His fullness we have received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth come through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared Him. There are the foolish who reject God and His Word, those who despise God, but they cannot overcome the light of the world. They have no fear of God, no fear of His wrath against sin, no desire whatsoever to be obedient to Him. and this will certainly be their undoing. They may become rich, they may seem to succeed in all sorts of ways, but their end is destruction, as Solomon would say in Proverbs 10, 14. If we reject God, we cut ourselves off from the only source of wisdom and blessing. We may be wise in our own eyes, but we are foolish, trusting a twisted perspective. only if we do not fear the Lord. Wisdom not only knows God's holy character, His justice, and His righteous requirements. We must be confronted by these. We must know God's justice. We must know that we must be obedient to Him. In knowing God's holiness, in knowing His law, we come to know our sinfulness and our need for Him. But wisdom also knows and trusts in God's loving, merciful, and gracious character—the One who came full of grace and truth. This is the God who we fear—the One who, in the Person of the Son, took on our flesh and dwelt among us. This is also the God the foolish reject. Not only will they not submit to God, not only will they not put themselves under the authority of His Word, they also reject His mercy and grace as well. They reject the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And they will not escape His wrath, as Christ took for us. And so when we know God as Savior and Redeemer, when we know the Lord as the Word made flesh, when we know Him as the King who has given all for His people instead of taking advantage of Him as Israel's kings often did, when we know the King whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light, then we can gain knowledge and we can rightfully fear Him. Not with worldly fear or terror, but with Godly fear, with reverence, with awe, with trust, and with faith. Only with this Godly fear can we make sense of our world and find our place in it. Congregation, let us together fear the Lord. Let us worship Him and obey Him, knowing that our Savior has gone before Him, that the Word made flesh has dwelt among us. that He, as true wisdom, has made us wise in Him. Amen. Let's pray. O gracious God and Heavenly Father, indeed Your infiniteness, the infinity of Your knowledge is unsearchable. And Father, we will never fully grasp that, but help us, help us to pursue wisdom in knowing our Savior. Help us to pursue wisdom in knowing Your Word, knowing that we have been made right with You, and that in Christ we can possess all this knowledge. We ask this in the name of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.