The Foundation of Wisdom 1:7

1:7 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The fear of the Lord is the prerequisite for true knowledge. The “fear of the Lord” is “trust, love and obedience” to God (Lane, 17), something for which fools have no desire. But the “fear of the Lord” is also to see sin as God sees it (8:13), and therefore something which warns and keeps one from sinning (14:26-27; 16:6; 23:17), and it involves a spirit of humility and submission to God (15:23; 22:4). Since wisdom is what God is (Lane, 17) we must pursue it through a personal knowledge of God. Since fools reject God they also despise wisdom and instruction which has its source in God, which leads them into rebellion to God (sin). Kidner states: “knowledge, then, in its full sense, is a relationship, dependent on revelation and inseparable from character…”

The fear of the Lord has its rewards (2:5-9; 10:27; 14:26). Since wisdom and the fear of the Lord are connected, it should not surprise us that following this verse are extended verses about wisdom and its benefits in life.