Knowledge

He said it was going to happen…700 years before it did! The Old Testament prophet Isaiah described the coming of the Messiah using four names to explain his character. The first name Isaiah revealed is Wonderful Counselor.

After tragedy struck Job’s life, he moved into the natural and normal period of questioning. Then, as we saw last time, God rescued Job from his downward spiral and refocused his vision. Job was looking at his situation; God said, “Time to look at me.” With his eyes on the person and character of God, Job responds.

When an angel appears, you can bet that something amazing is going to happen! The amazing certainly took place when the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that he would be having a son. For Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, that dream had died long ago. In fact, because of Zechariah’s unbelief, he was unable to speak a word until his son was born. Then, he broke out in a song of praise about the one who would prepare the way for Jesus.

One writer captures our need to trust God when he writes, “You’re a soul made by God, made for God, and made to need God, which means you were not made to be self-sufficient.” Trusting in ourselves, our achievements, and our accomplishments is a losing proposition. Great men and women of God were people of faith. Abraham trusted God’s leading, even when he didn’t know where he was going.

Does God really love me? Is this the best God has for me? Why is God holding out on me? These questions, which have echoed through the ages, started in the garden when Satan showed up to bring down Adam and Eve. After Satan told Eve that God’s Word was not true, he moved to God’s motive.

Solomon’s teaching on wisdom always leads us back to God’s Word—the source of spiritual wisdom and understanding. There we learn of a God who loves us with unconditional love and embraces us through the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross. Our union with Jesus changes everything.

We know that education is essential in getting out of the slums, and we also know that a high score on placement exams does not transform the human heart. Without Jesus, the more we know, the sadder we become. But with Jesus, we can use the gift of knowledge to worship and honor him all our days under the sun.

Solomon forgot that all his wisdom came as a gift from God (1 Kings 3:11-12). Solomon said that he was wiser than kings before him. Remember, he followed King David—the standard-bearer for all Israel’s kings.

So, when we read in Scripture that we should live in fear of the Lord, it means that we are to live in awe and respect for our heavenly Father, who demonstrated his great love to us by sending his Son to die for our sins. We live in awe of his love, his greatness, and his power.