The Fear of the Lord!

Psalm 19:9 -The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

I trust that you have been enjoying these blogs on the word of God. As I have been writing them, I have also been learning more about the Word of God. Can we ever learn enough? Will we ever know it all? Someday, maybe! But today is not that day!Anyway, today I am looking at the fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is not being afraid of the Lord or His word; but it is a reverence of the Lord. The Greek word for fear is “eulabeia”, which means “caution, reverence, godly fear. I am not afraid of God in the sense that He frightens me. Quite the opposite. He draws me with His love! But I have such a reverence for Him, for His Word that I don’t take lightly what He says to me.

David spoke much about the fear of the Lord. Here are a few things David had to say:

• Psalm 25:12 -Who is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]? He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose. (AMP) When you fear the Lord, God Himself will teach you! That’s a huge benefit!

• Psalm 25:14 – The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning. (AMP) God’s counsel is for the one who fears Him, and He will reveal His word to him/her.

• Psalm 33:18 -Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him [and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience], On those who hope [confidently] in His compassion and lovingkindness, (AMP). God’s eye is on those who fear Him and whose hope is in Him.

• Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience], And He rescues [each of] them. AMP. Angelic protection and deliverance is available to the one who fears the Lord!

• Psalm 111:10 – The [reverent] fear of the Lord is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom; A good understanding and a teachable heart are possessed by all those who do the will of the L ord; His praise endures forever. AMP. Fearing the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom. You’re pretty smart if you fear Him!

And I could continue in this vein, going through scriptures to share the wondrous truths of fearing the Lord. None of these benefits, are to keep us under God’s control, but to bless our lives immensely. None of these scriptures talk about tyrannical rule (where He exercises His power in a cruel or arbitrary way). Contrary to what some may say about God “getting us,” everything He has ever done has been out of a heart of love for us. Israel & New Breed sang a song, “Surely Goodness and Mercy”. In the song he sang, “And you’re not mad at me, no you’re not mad at me, you’re madly in love with me!” That’s the reason we can fear Him without fear! That’s the reason we can submit to the God of the Word and to the Word of our God! His word is a love letter to let us know the extreme He went to for us to redeem us to Himself! The extreme love He has for all us! And therefore, to fear Him, to reverence Him, to give Him that which is due Him, is our reasonable service to Him!

Joshua said, “Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; remove the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the (Euphrates) River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14

Yes, in fearing Him, it means letting go of the worldly gods that you and your family may have embraced willingly and unwillingly. Yes, in fearing the Lord, you are going to have to walk away from some things: SIN! But He won’t force you! He wants you to do it because your fear Him. You reverence Him and care about what He says and asks of you!

I went a little different with this one. I felt I had to. The psalmist wrote that the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever! Well, one thing I can attest to about the fear of the Lord: it will definitely lead you to a life that is clean and has everlasting rewards! Wonderful Jesus!!