Days 6 & 7

Wisdom

Have you seen the movie Evan Almighty? I enjoy this movie especially because of the intricate use of Biblical references that are subtly interwoven throughout the script. It's a good fiction story that illustrates the faithfulness of God and His capacity to transform lives. Some people will say it is heretical or blasphemous, but from the standpoint that the film is fiction, the message is truthful; God delights when we trust in Him. This scene had me laughing because of the Biblical reference. Steve Carrell's character is driving in his car, overtly trying to ignore and run from the character who portrays God. God shows up in his backseat suddenly and without warning and Steve's character screams out of fright and shock. God says, "Let it out son, it's the beginning of wisdom."

I laughed quite a bit because I knew the film was referencing the passages that say, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Psalm 1:17)", and "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10)."

But Hollywood has the fear of the Lord all wrong. While funny it may be, the fear mentioned here and elsewhere in scripture is not referencing the idea to be scared or to be frightened. The Hebrew noun Yare translated means to fear, to revere, to stand in awe of, to honor, to respect. Likewise the Hebrew noun Yirah also means to fear an object, find an object awesome, reverence, piety. The fear of the Lord is respecting God's authority, revering his power, standing in awe of his majesty, reveling at his marvelous works. In essence, it is the knowledge that you and I are the Created and that He is the Creator. According to the Bible this is the beginning of all wisdom.

This weekend was busy for us and I chose not to blog because I wanted to make the most of the family time together with Tyler while he was off work. I saw Evan Almighty on TV and it got me thinking down this rabbit trail regarding wisdom. A huge desire as a parent is that I impart wisdom to my children. It's been a prayer on my heart..."Lord give me the wisdom to know how to love these children, how to discipline them, how to raise them..."

These are my thoughts from this past weekend while acclimating to parenthood. :)


Some references if you are interested in further studies/hermeneutics regarding the fear of the Lord:

Website with Biblical Hebrew translations regarding fear:
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Eikev/Yirah/yirah.html

Article outlining Biblical Hebrew references to fear:
http://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/who-is-god/fear-of-the-lord/

John Piper's entry on fear:
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-goodness-of-god-and-the-fear-of-god

John MacArthur's study on fear:
http://www.gty.org/resources/bible-qna/BQ083112/fear-god-with-all-your-heart