As I mentioned in my last post, I just finished a series at KeyStone Church about the 7 Pillars of Wisdom, based on the verse Proverbs 9:1, “Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her 7 pillars.”
A few years ago, I went on a journey trying to discover what the 7 pillars were. I simply went through the book of Proverbs asking the Great Teacher to reveal to me what they were. I didn’t read any other material other than the Proverbs and other books in the Bible. I truly wanted “fresh bread”, and didn’t want to be skewed by other writings (there is nothing wrong with reading other writers, I do it all the time) but in this case, I just wanted to hear what the Lord wanted to say from this adventure.
Over the next few blogs, I will be sharing what I felt like the Lord revealed as the 7 pillars of Wisdom. Of course this is not an exhaustive list. Nor is it the absolute 7 Pillars, this is just what I have discovered by reading and studying Proverbs.
Before anything can be built, it must have a sure foundation, I learned this first hand when my wife and I built our first home. We had used a less than reputable firm to lay our foundation, and within the first year of our home being built, the main beam began to sag because the foundation wasn’t poured correctly. Because of this, the drywall began to crack and separate from the celling…it was a mess, and it couldn’t be corrected from the top, it had to be corrected from the foundation.
Proverbs 9:10 says that “The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom…” This is where I started. If the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom then it only makes sense to understand what the Fear of the Lord is. It is the Foundation on which the Pillars are built!
The Hebrew language uses pictures and images to tell a story about the words they are expressing. In the case of the Fear of the Lord, it is the Hebrew word YIRAH. It simply means “living a life in awe of God.” So every pillar is built on the premise of the awesomeness of God. Some people believe the God is up in heaven waiting to strike us down when we mess up. Grant it, God will correct and discipline those He loves, this is a good thing, but it is not in the way of hate or impatience. The Fear of the Lord is recognizing that He is absolutely Awesome, and He operates out of absolute Love.
My wife and I took our kids to the Grand Canyon last summer. It was my first time seeing this amazing Wonder. When we drove up to it from the South, it didn’t look real, and when we got close to it and walked around the perimeter, it made us stop in astonishment and awe. This is the life we should be living about God; in wonder and awe. Our only response to this was worship. There were no words to express other than, “Oh, my God”, the best form of worship, expressing His name in absolute wonder and amazement.
When we talk about the 7 Pillars, we must understand that each one is built on the premise of the absolute wonder of God. Living a life of wisdom is living a life of worship. It is the foundation that wisdom is built on.
“The Fear of the Lord (Living a Life in Awe of God) is the beginning of Wisdom”
How are you living your life? Is it in correct alignment with how He has called us to live, or are you living in a false fear of hate and anger, or do you understand the real meaning of the Fear of the Lord?
I hope you enjoy the next 7 blogs as we unpack the 7 Pillars of Wisdom!
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