I’ve grown up hearing the phrase “the fear of the Lord.” I have to say, it confused me for the longest time. All over the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, the Lord tells us not to fear. There are 33 times in the Bible as a whole (29 in the Old Testament and 4 in the New Testament) where various authors talk about the fear of the Lord. For me, and you might find something different which is just fine, it boils down to two simple questions: “Why should we fear the Lord?” and “How should we fear the Lord?”. So with that I’m going to just dive right in.
Why should we fear the Lord?
1. Because He will test us so that we we won’t sin Exodus 20:20
2. Because God will have no part in unrighteousness 2 Chronicles 19:7
3. Fearing the Lord is the foundation of my confidence Job 4:6; Proverbs 14:26
4. So that we can encourage others not to despair Job 6:14
5. Because wisdom flourishes in the fear of the Lord Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10; Proverbs 15:33
6. The fear of the Lord endures forever Psalm 19:9
7. Because through it knowledge begins Proverbs 1:7
8. It develops in us a hatred of evil Proverbs 8:13
9. It prolongs our life Proverbs 10:27; 14:27; 19:23
10. It’s better to live with few possessions in peace than live in turmoil with great wealth Proverbs 15:16
11. It keeps us away from evil Proverbs 16:6
12. The rewards of fearing the Lord are huge Proverbs 22:4
13. Because the fear of the Lord is a treasure Isaiah 33:6
How should we fear the Lord?
1. It is taught Psalm 34:11. Realize that learning to fear the Lord is a process and takes time. The Bible is the best place to start.
2. It is a choice Proverbs 1:29. We have to make a conscious decision to put our fear of everything else aside so that we can focus on God.
3. It takes discernment Proverbs 2:5. It will be different for each of us just how fearing God will be worked out in each of our lives. I didn’t quite understand this one either until I realized that only through sitting at the feet of Jesus can we discern how fearing Him works itself out in our individual lives.
4. Live in it always Proverbs 23:17. It’s a daily process.
5. God puts it in us Jeremiah 32:40. This seemed a bit odd to me. Then I realized that when we choose to fear God we open the door for Him to grow and cultivate that fear.
6. We are persuaded by others 2 Corinthians 5:11. Let the example of other saints teach you how to fear God.
7. Be accountable to each other Ephesians 5:21. This goes well with the above point. The Christian journey is not intended to be a lonely path. We need each other.
Well that’s pretty much it. I don’t have any words of wisdom, and I certainly don’t have the skill to go delving in the the Greek and Hebrew translations of this phrase. I would encourage each of you who are reading this to pick up your Bible and look up these verses to see if the Lord brings anything else to light. The most amazing thing about God’s word is that you can go back again and again to the same passages and learn something new.
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Loretta- I think of it like this… Fear of the Lord is different for the believer and the unbeliever. The unbeliever ought to fear the Lord because of His righteous sovereign judgment. At the end of days, God alone will judge man’s heart and will hand out the sentence – eternal life with God – or eternal life of separation from God. I’d say that is worthy of a healthy fear.
For the believer, I think we fear disappointing God – not because of His wrath – but because of His great love for us. Because he first loved us and has drawn us to Himself, we desire to please him. So I want to hear, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant.” It is the same as a child fears disappointing a loving Father.
I may be wrong, but that is what I think.
I’ve enjoyed reading your blog.
Love Mrs. Vicki