The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7
The term ‘philosopher’ means ‘lover of wisdom’, and is believed to have been coined by the Greek sage Pythagoras. From the 5th century BC, Pythagoras compassed land and sea in search of learning. Over the course of decades, this prodigious architect of Mystery Babylon attended the most revered Eastern mystery schools of his age, treasuring up arcane knowledge from the feet of Babylonian and Egyptian magi. Yet if acquiring knowledge was his true intention, the strenuous efforts he put forth were an abysmal failure, for all his knowledge could not save him from the power of the grave.
It is true that men who fear not God may acquire a form of knowledge, but without the fear of the Lord, this knowledge is superficial, and is used in serving vanity. The ancient Egyptians, for example, had excellent knowledge of mathematics and engineering. The pharaohs used this knowledge to construct colossal statues of themselves for future generations to worship. But these men in fact ‘hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD’ (Proverbs 1:29). Trusting in their own knowledge, they built pyramidal tombs in which they believed their ghosts would live on after death.
Similar to the Egyptians, many today believe that the legacy of their lifework will live on after they die. Yet any man who refuses to fear the Lord ‘shall be as though he had not been’ (Obadiah 1:16). The supposed knowledge that he trusted would preserve his legacy will vanish eternally, for of things eternal he knew nothing.
True knowledge dawns when a man chooses the fear of the Lord. When this is established as the guiding principle, every day of a man’s life is filled with knowledge that ‘tendeth to life’ (Proverbs 19:23). The spiritual lens placed over his mind’s eye will instruct him as he surveys the things of nature. The daily trials he faces will teach him how to live in the sight of a holy God. Then, breaking out of the tomb, this pure soul will forever build upon his terrestrially acquired knowledge; the knowledge that began when he first feared the Lord.
Christopher Sparks