Practical wisdom, wisdom for living - this is what we have
in Proverbs. The teaching of Proverbs is base on the principle: "The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7). This does
not mean that God is mentioned frequently. In Proverbs 25 - 27, there is
only one mention of God (Proverbs 25:2). The concern is with life on
earth, our relationships with our fellow human beings. These
relationships are to be lived out from the godly perspective which comes
from "the fear of the Lord."
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
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