Promises to Fearing God (Part 1)

We’ve talked about how to fear God according to the scriptures in Proverbs 2:1-9 but did you know that the same chapter also gives us promises for doing so?  Proverbs 2:5-11 gives us those promises.  Here is the scripture in ESV

then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
⁷ he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
    he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸ guarding the paths of justice
    and watching over the way of his saints.
⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice
    and equity, every good path;
¹⁰ for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
¹¹ discretion will watch over you,
    understanding will guard you,

As far as I can see, there are ten promises to fearing God.  They are as follows

1. We will understand the fear of the Lord (v.5)
2. We will find the knowledge of God (v.5)
3. The Lord will give us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding (v.6)
4. He stores up this wisdom for us (v.7)
5. He is a shield for those who walk in integrity (v.7)
6. He guards our paths (v.8)
7. He watches over our way (v.8)
8. We will understand righteousness, justice, equity, and every good path (v.9)
9. Wisdom and knowledge will come into our heart and be pleasant to us (v.10)
10. Discretion and understanding will watch over and guard us (v.11)

I will go deeper into what these promises mean and start by discussing the first five.

Promise 1 – We Will Understand the Fear of the Lord

That’s what we’ve been talking about so far right?  We take the steps needed as described in the first part of learning how to fear the Lord and this other post where it gives the rest of the steps on how to fear the Lord. However, in the verses above, we are promised that we will understand what it means to fear the Lord.  Again, this fear simply means to have a holy awe and respect for God so much that you want your life to change so it comes in line with His standards.

Promise 2 – We Will Find the Knowledge of God

God is an infinite being and has always been even before time began.  He created us, everything we see, and everything we don’t see so it stands that He has more knowledge than we can even fathom.  In His creating He knows how everything works and how they should work.  This is good news for us who are searching for our purpose.  We can go to Him and ask Him what we should be doing with our lives, what our purpose is.  He has the knowledge because He created you with a purpose in mind.

Promise 3 – The Lord Will Give Us Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding

He will give us the ability to know what to do through His knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  Let’s define what each of these terms mean according to Webster’s 1828 dictionary and what that looks like in regard to finding our purpose.

Knowledge is information. It is a clear and certain perception of that which exists or of truth and fact.  It is also described as learning and the illumination of the mind.

Understanding is where we comprehend or apprehend the ideas or sense of another.  It is the faculty of the human mind by which it apprehends the real state of things presented to it or by which it receives or comprehends the ideas which others express and intend to communicate.

Wisdom is the right use or exercise of knowledge.  This means that we take the knowledge and apply it in a way that is best, most just, most proper, and most conducive to prosperity or happiness.

For a modern day illustration, I think back on when I was teaching a concept to my students.  I would teach them the information (knowledge) they needed to master, such as long division, and give them examples of why this information is good to have.  I would go over each and every step they would need to utilize.  I would have them come to the board and try to work on problems as I guided them through. 

As we talked through and practiced as a class they would begin to grasp the information (understanding) and practice these new found skills independently. 

The wisdom came when they applied their knowledge and understanding when they used division in their everyday life. 

So knowledge is the information, understanding is when the light bulb goes off and you have that “AHA!” moment, and wisdom is applying the information and understanding of that information in your life.

We approach God with our questions trying to figure out our purpose, through a series of events, circumstances, giftings, talents, etc. God begins to shed light on His plan for our lives.  When we begin to understand what it is He is calling us to do then we use wisdom in carrying out our purpose through the strategies, steps, directions He gives us. 

Promise 4 – He Stores Up Wisdom for Us

You can’t have wisdom without knowledge and understanding as described above.  However, we can get so inundated with information and understanding and still not know how to execute a thing. Or we could have all the information we need but not sure which way is the wisest choice to follow through with. This promise states that God stores up wisdom for us.  We are on a journey of discovering our purpose and God will give us wisdom along the way of how to fulfill that purpose.  He “stores it up” because He knows that if He were to give us every piece of information at the time we ask then it would overwhelm us, we wouldn’t rely on Him because we “got it”, or a myriad of other reasons.  He knows just what we need at just the right time and will dispense the wisdom accordingly.

Promise 5 – He is A Shield for Those Who Walk In Integrity

As we walk with Him in fear and awe our we begin to walk in integrity because we want every aspect of our lives to reflect and honor Him.  Because of that He promises to shield us.  Shield us from what?  Attacks from the enemy which could come in many forms.  The key is to walk in integrity which should not be a problem if we are walking in the fear of the Lord.

Which of these promises has blessed you so far?  Please comment below.