Let us hear the beginning and the end of Solomon’s wisdom.
After he introduces himself and the purpose of Proverbs, the very first piece of advice Solomon gives is to fear the Lord. He tells his son and future readers that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Now, turn to the end of Ecclesiastes. As he heads toward the end of his life and can reflect back on all he has done and not done, the very last piece of advice Solomon gives his son and future readers is to fear God and keep His commandments. He says this is the end of the matter and the whole duty of man.
It is no coincidence that Solomon begins and ends his wisdom writing with the same advice. Fear God. You often hear fear is generally the source of our initsly obedience. We do not want to die and meet God without His mercy. This certainly meshes with Solomon’s wisdom. The fear of God is the BEGINNING of knowledge. It is the initial seedling of our faith and knowledge. We understand that God is God and we are not God so we fear that and seek to understand more about Jehovah so we can live a life pleasing to our eventual Judge.
Yet, we also hear (in growing frequency) that eventually we should stop fearing God and obey Him because we love Him. The second half of that sentiment is very true – we should come to a point in our lives that we obey God because we love Him. However, there should never come a time in our lives that we do not fear and revere God. Solomon tells us obedience AND fear are the whole duty of man. If obedience was the only duty of man, Solomon would not have listed Fear God. Yet he does and he puts it first. Why? Because without the proper and continu fear of God we will eventually stop taking our obedience to Him seriously. If we complete remove the fear of God from our lives, then we are living a life without knowledge and without purpose.
Does this mean we need to live in a constant state of trembling and terror directed toward God. No. But should we ever beyond completely beyond fearing God? Absolutely not. God is God. I am His creation. The creation is and will always be is subjection to its Creator. God will call me into judgement. He will make me answer for everything I have ever done or thought – whether in public or in secret. That truth alone still brings fear to my heart and that fear motivates me when I find myself slacking or making excuses for myself. I fear God because He is my creator and my judge. And it will be terrifying to stand before God on judgment day if you’ve lived a life without fear of God. You’ve lived your life for you and not for God. You will answer for that decision.
So, we conclude Solomon’s wisdom the way he did…The beginning – the whole duty of man – the end of the matter is to Fear God so that we obey Him.
Adonai's Appeal 