The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7; Psalm 111: 10). Two aspects are important here- ‘bhakti’ and wisdom. Bhakti is an intense love. Bhakti is always looking up to God and living a life that is pleasing to God. The word ‘bhakti’ originated from the word ‘bajdathu’ which means shelter and serve. It is an emotion that goes beyond bounds and a love that expects nothing in return. It is said that this bhakti is the beginning of wisdom. The thought of wisdom is very important in the Bible. Wisdom is seen as a translation of the Hebrew word Chokmah. This word is seen 141 times in the Old Testament. It is translated in Greek as Sophia. Three books in the Bible talk about wisdom. They are known as wisdom literature. These books are Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Psalms 19, 37, 104, 107, 147 and 148 also belong to this literature. God gave wisdom to certain people to create a priestly dress for Aaron (Exodus 28: 3). Bezalel and Oholiab were given wisdom to build the tabernacle (Exodus 31: 3, 6). Wisdom denotes human skills that are godly or otherwise. It can also mean efficiency. But the Greek word means spiritual wisdom or God’s wisdom (Romans 11: 33, 1 Corinthians 1: 21, 24; 2:7; 3: 10; Revelation 7: 12). But this word has been used for Christ’s wisdom (Mat- 13: 54, Mark 6: 2, Luke 2: 40, 52; I Cor. 1: 30; Col. 2:3; Rev 5:12) and human- spiritual wisdom (Luke 25: 13; Acts 6: 3, 10; Romans 7: 10; 1 Cor. 2:6).
Wisdom is an important thought in Indian religions. The fifth chapter in Bagavthgita is dedicated entirely to wisdom. So that chapter is given the name ‘njanayogam’. The age of Vedas have been divided into three in the Upanishads- karmakhandam, Upasanakhandam, Njanakandam. They believed that wisdom was a way for salvation. But this wisdom is not earthly but godly.
‘Even though you are more sinful than all sinners you can board the ship of wisdom and sail through the ocean of sins’. Shankaracharyar (AD 788- 820) gave importance to gain godly vision through wisdom. It is through this wisdom that ‘ahambrahmasmi’ is to be attained is what he envisioned. Jesus’ message that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free(John 8:31,33) is not that different from this. It can be said that this wisdom will bring salvation. Like how the Bible points out that ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’, the Malayalam devotional poet Poonthanam believed something similar to this. His devotional poem ‘Njanappana’ is an example of this. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Job 28: 12- 28; Psalm 111: 10; Proverbs 1: 7). In other words we can say it is ‘worship’. Daniel’s bhakti gave him wisdom. John’s bhakti gave him revelation. Bhakti is a pillar of wisdom.
Wisdom: Three facts
- The trait that is wisdom or condition.
- Jesus that is wisdom (1 Cor. 1: 24). This is also called Godly wisdom.
- The Church that is wisdom.
To say that we should become wise, is to say that the church is to be wise.
In wisdom literature especially in Proverbs wisdom is pictured as a person and also a trait. A lady who is wisdom built a house and it had 7 pillars (Proverbs 9:1). 7 denotes completeness. The house of wisdom is the completeness of a person. Jesus who is wisdom has 7 qualities- mighty, knowledge, omnipotent, eternal, ‘swayambhu’,purity and love. These qualities that are in God are seen in Jesus. The house called wisdom is also built in these qualities. John envisioned the church as seven lamps and the angels of the church as seven stars (Revelation 1 : 19, 2: 1). It is said that these seven pillars are the seven foundational messages or seven sacraments.
1.The Source of Wisdom (I Kings 3: 4- 15)
The source of wisdom is God and that is why Solomon asked for a heart of wisdom to rule the nation. For this he offered sacrifices. God appeared to Solomon at night at Gibeon. God gave the gift that Solomon asked for. Our God watches over us and teaches us (Psalm 32: 8; Isaiah 30: 20, 21). God is the source of all knowledge. Owing to the bhakti that Solomon had towards God wisdom was poured on him.
2.Prayer gives Wisdom (1 John 5: 13- 21)
If we ask anything according to God’s will he listens to our petition (I John 5: 15). The prayer for wisdom is a prayer according to God’s will. We have the right to ask wisdom to God who gives to all men liberally (James 1:5). Our God teaches and leads us in everything (Psalm 32: 8). We can pray to God for a wisdom like that.
3.Infants receive Wisdom (Luke 10: 21- 24)
Jesus prays thus: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” (Luke 10: 21). He states this with his disciples in his mind. Most of his disciples weren’t learned men (Acts 4: 13). But God gave them wisdom. So they were used by God to reach the many corners of the world with the gospel. When godly wisdom is attained ordinary men become extraordinary people. At the same time a message to be infants again is also put across (Mat 18: 3; Mark 10: 15).