The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom 543 - 6 - 3

Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” This is not fear in the usual sense rather it is having a right relationship with God, of being absolutely in awe of God, holding him in complete respect and being obedient to His will.  

As for the fear of God being measurable, Proverbs 9:11, For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.” I’ve passed the Biblical three score and 10 and given my present state of health, I’ll live many more years.

However, Proverbs 9:12, “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.” It is to my advantage to be wise, however, if I chose to scoff, my bad and I will bear it alone.

Psalm 111:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” Holding the Lord in reverence is a start towards wisdom. Obedience brings more light from God, another measurement.

Proverbs is rich with admonitions. Proverbs 2:5, “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

There are many verses in the book of Proverbs that refer to the fear of the Lord including 2:5, 3:7, 9:10, 10:27, 14:26 and more.

Job 28:28, “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

From an earlier post, “Yes, our God is a consuming fire. He was the fire in the burning brush, the pillar of fire that kept the Egyptians at bay while the chosen people crossed the Red Sea parted by His breath, whose finger burnt the 10 Commandments into stone, was and is the Shekinah Glory that filled the temple, and so much more. God gives Job a lesson in the awesomeness of the Almighty’s power Starting in chapter 38.”

The justice of our righteous God often results in judgment. Ultimately, all will be judged; some at the Bema Seat judgment and some of the White throne judgment. Philippians 2:10, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." Therein lies the final measurement. As for me, I’m a work in progress.

A listing of what Proverbs says about laziness. 516 - 8 - 5

To quote CM, “In the Bible: faith and laziness will not mingle.” I did a word search for laziness as well as Lazy in the KJV with no hits in the Book of Proverbs. A search for diligence, diligent, sluggard and slothful had many hits.

Diligent occurs with its antonym slothful in several Proverbs including:

Proverbs 12:24, “The hand of the diligent (H2742) shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.”

H2742

חרץ    חרוּץ

chârûts  chârûts

khaw-roots', khaw-roots'

Passive participle of H2782; properly incised or (active) incisive; hence (as noun masculine or feminine) a trench (as dug), gold (as mined), a threshing sledge (having sharp teeth); (figuratively) determination; also eager: - decision, diligent, (fine) gold, pointed things, sharp, threshing instrument, wall.

Proverbs 12:27, “The slothful (H7423) man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.”

H7423

רמיּה

remîyâh

rem-ee-yaw'

From H7411; remissness, treachery: - deceit (-ful, -fully), false, guile, idle, slack, slothful.

Diligent occurs with its antonym sluggard in Proverbs 13:4, “The soul of the sluggard (H6102) desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”

H6102

עצל

‛âtsêl

aw-tsale

From H6101; indolent: - slothful, sluggard.

A few snippets from the Book of Proverbs concerning sluggards and slothful include:

4:23 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand

12:24 the slothful shall be under tribute.

13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing

6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise

6:9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard

10:26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing

26:16 The sluggard is wiser in his own

15:19 as an hedge of thorns

CM has stated a number of times that '"Proverbs is God's book on "How to wise up and live,"' In reading through the Proverbs God praises the diligent and has nothing good to say about the lazy/ sluggard/ slothful. Rather there are many warning for the lazy/ sluggard/ slothful.

Given the state of our economy in the United States with so many expecting unearned entitlements it is time we wise up and live in a diligent manner. Sadly it seems that covertness greatly outpaces diligence. 

What are the dangers of talking too much? 516 - 4 - 6

This question reminded me of a Clint Eastwood movie, “Dirty Harry.” Mr. Eastwood said “Are you feeling lucky, well, are you?” The courage of the criminal melted away on the sidewalk and, as I recall, he gave up his gun. Clint Eastwood seem to be an actor of few words but conveys so much information with his eyes. The less he talks, it seems the more the suspect he is questioning “Spills his guts”, so to speak.

For some reason it seems that many people just cannot enjoy each other’s company without having to talk. I find this is a bad habit with me as well. Depending on whose space you are sharing, too many words can lead to misunderstanding and/ or hurt feelings.

Often when we bloviate we miss out on what God would share with us. Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." I like CM’s quoting verse concerning priorities, Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you?”

The book of Proverbs is not kind to those who talk too much, with thanks to CM:

Proverbs 12:13, "The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble."

Proverbs 18:6-7, "A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul."

Along with the dangers of talking too much are the dangers of talking too soon and talking without thinking. Again, people just can’t seem to resist filling silence with much talking, often without thinking.

Proverbs 29:11, "A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards." Something I would do well to remember.

And the winner is Proverbs 18:13, “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.”

I can’t resist making a pun, the book of Proverbs, or talks a lot about talking.