The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. -Psalm 111:10 (NRSV)
Now this is the commandment -- the statutes and the ordinances -- that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. -Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (NRSV)
We are to love the Lord with fear. Fear has several meanings, one being to have "reverential awe" as is shown in the definition found on Dictionary.com (1). "Reverential awe" of God is the beginning of wisdom."
If we truly see God for who he is we are just beginning to have wisdom. Looking deep into God brings us understanding. We must spend time communing with God to have wisdom and understanding. How do we "commune" with God?Let’s look more closely at the words “fear” and “commune”. It helps while meditating on a passage of scripture to really think about the words in the scripture and words that come to mind while reading the scripture. Many times the words we use have deeper meanings than we first realize and we can glean understanding by looking at definitions, synonyms, and even by researching the original language of the Biblical text.
Going to Dictionary.com (2), we find the following definition for "commune":
1. To converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings.
2. To be in intimate communication or rapport: to commune with nature. –noun
3. Interchange of ideas or sentiments.
American Heritage Dictionary (3) proposes the following for "commune":
1. To be in a state of intimate, heightened sensitivity and receptivity, as with one's surroundings: hikers communing with nature.
2. To receive the Eucharist.
American Heritage Dictionary (4) provides the following for "Eucharist":
1. A sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus’ death; Communion.
2. The consecrated elements of this rite; Communion.
The Online Etymology Dictionary (5) provides the following for "Eucharist":
"sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the Communion," c.1350, from Gk. eukharistia "thanksgiving, gratitude," later "the Lord's Supper," from eukharistos "grateful," from eu- "well" + stem of kharizesthai "show favor," from kharis "favor, grace," from PIE base *gher- "to like, want". Eukharisteo is the usual verb for "thank" in the Septuagint and N.T.
We are to fear God, meaning we should have reverential awe of God. The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” I propose that we must commune with God to gain wisdom. When we commune we converse or talk together with God, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; we have an interchange of thoughts or feelings. This could mean prayer or actual conversation, talking with God from the heart. Also, the word commune relates to the Eucharist or communion sacraments. Part of communing with God is partaking of Communion, a service in which we remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The etymology of Eucharist contains the ideas of thanksgiving and gratitude, grace and favor. We need to commune with God with an attitude of awe, thankfulness, and gratitude. We need to be in prayer and communication with the Lord. We need to be participating in the service of Communion. We need to be aligned with the sacrifice of Christ and to be thankful and grateful for his sacrifice for us. These acts are the beginning of wisdom and by spending time with the Lord in this way we gain understanding.
Citations
1. "fear." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 05 Mar. 2008.
2. "commune." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 05 Mar. 2008.
3. "commune." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 05 Mar. 2008.
4. "Eucharist." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 05 Mar. 2008.
5. "Eucharist." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 05 Mar. 2008.
