Proverbs 8:13
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”
What does “the fear of the LORD” entail? Another proverb, Proverbs 9:10, helps us to understand: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” While Proverbs 8:13 defines what the fear of the Lord is, Proverbs 9:10 shows what it produces. Understanding the effect of the fear of the Lord will help us to understand the cause.
Most translations hide the fact that the Hebrew word rendered as “Holy One” is actually plural. It refers to both holy, divine Beings—the Father and the Son. We can more fully grasp this in conjunction with John 17:3, where Jesus says that knowing the Father and the Son—having personal, intimate knowledge of the Holy Ones—is eternal life.
In Proverbs 8:13, we can see how hating evil fits into this. When we are vehemently opposed to all that does harm to life and Godliness, and our lives reflect this, we are beginning to live as God does. However, we have to put wisdom in the context of eternity. What may seem “harmless” in the short term may bear evil fruit in the long term. Unless we are willing and able to look as far forward as possible to see the outcome, we may not be able to see the harm.
People may not see the harm in a “little white lie” (Exodus 20:16), but the One “who inhabits eternity” knows that truth and life have a link of inseparability. When falsehood enters, so do defilement and ultimately death.
Humanity may not be aware of the harm caused by coveting (Exodus 20:17), but the One “who knows the end from the beginning” and who created the human intellect and human heart, knows that sin begins in the heart. The best way to stop sin at its source is to help people to guard their hearts before any sin becomes a reality.
