“Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God.
And here’s why: God gives out Wisdom free, is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding.
He’s a rich mine of Common Sense for those who live well, a personal bodyguard to the candid and sincere.
He keeps his eye on all who live honestly, and pays special attention to his loyally committed ones.”
Proverbs 2:5-8 The Message
King Solomon speaks from experience when he says, “Believe me.” King David’s father told his mother that her son Solomon would be king after him.
David began training Solomon very early in his life. In another place, Solomon recalls his father sitting him on his knee and instructing him. David taught his son to know God and follow his voice, and Solomon did—until lust corrupted his heart.
Solomon had a heart after God, and he found a place in God that pleased God.
So, when he says, “Believe me,” you can.
The Fear of God
What does the “Fear-of-God will be yours” mean?
To begin, God is a Spirit manifested in human form as Jesus, God the Son. To my knowledge, there is no adequate description of God.
1—God is purely righteous, and there is no human way to comprehend what that means. But you can understand that he does not tolerate unrighteousness—especially deliberate unrighteousness. This means he removes it (unrighteousness) from his presence. And deliberate unrighteousness is not only removed but it is also punished.
The Old Testament is filled with such stories. Even the story of the angelic choir director Lucifer’s fall depicts God’s punishment of deliberate unrighteousness.
2—God walked with his perfect creation (man=the species, male and female) in a place called Eden, or the garden of God, until man’s deliberate unrighteousness.
3—Being God, he removed unrighteousness and punished deliberate unrighteousness; thus, the man and woman were removed from the garden and forced to tend to live apart from God.
4—Because he is a loving God, he did not abandon humanity (The Bible states that Lucifer comes daily into God’s presence) but changed how he interacted with them.
5—He devised a plan to reclaim or redeem humanity. That plan is called salvation.
So, the fear of God is not someone huddled in paralyzing fear, too afraid to look at him or stand upright before him.
The fear of God is learning about the nature of God and approaching him in honor and respect. It is a learning process meant to be practiced daily. This is why Solomon says, “Before you know it.”
There aren’t five steps to knowing the fear of God. Someone might offer you five steps, but daily discipline and a patient attitude will reveal your fear of God.
The knowledge of God
The knowledge of God is critical in a close personal relationship with God. And you learn it in three ways.
1—The daily discipline of reading your Bible
The first five books of the Old Testament (called the Pentateuch) are a good starting place to learn the knowledge of God. The Old Testament books of Psalms and Proverbs are an excellent place to find understanding about the knowledge of God.
The New Testament books of Revelation (although difficult to understand) and the gospel of John are good places to learn about the knowledge of God.
Reading the Bible is a marathon and not a sprint. It is useless if you do not comprehend what you have read. Take it slow; make notes of things that you do not understand and things that intrigue you.
2—The experience of others
You are not the first to take this journey; many have gone before you. There are scores of books that will help you along the way.
George Mueller, Smith Wigglesworth, Reese Howells, and This is That are a few biographies that will inspire you. Look at my recommended reading list for more ideas.
3—Your experience
Nothing compares to your story—your experience. It makes the first two more meaningful, and (in turn) they make your experience more powerful.
I remember the first time I signed up to be part of the intercessory prayer team at Bible College. I have to commit to praying for one hour! What could take an hour to pray for, I thought.
It changed my life and opened a new world of God’s presence.
“And here’s why: God gives out Wisdom free, is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding.”
This is a powerful sentence because it reveals the nature of God. There is a part that you must play. You must show your willingness to get close to God. This is what verse five is talking about.
When you do (show your willingness to get close to God), God is ready to show up. He freely offers wisdom to anyone willing to get close to him.
I have so many stories where my ears heard my mouth saying something, and my brain went, how do I know that? The person I am speaking with affirms what I have said, and my spirit says because God has given you the wisdom of God. It is such a cool experience.
God wants a relationship with you; when you are willing to get close to him, he will be there for you.
A close personal relationship with the Godhead is needed now more than ever.
A close personal relationship with the Godhead is a journey. I invite you to follow along. I will pass it along as I learn so you, too, can learn. I hope that as you learn, you can pass it along so that I (and others) might learn.
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