Golden Nugget - What is the fear of the Lord? Part 1

We read in many places in the Bible that the people feared the Lord.  Most of it is in the Old Testament, but we find a few occasions in the New Testament as well.  What is it to fear the Lord?  Some call it a reverent awe of the Lord, but it is more than that.  

Many of us had righteous parents who knew good values and principles and applied it in our upbringing.  Certain rules were set and when we did not abide by those rules, we were disciplined by the application of a painful experience that we would not have liked to be repeated should we have crossed the line again.  Sometimes you were tempted to disobey the rules a second time and when you did it, what was it that went through your heart?  You realized that, if your parents had to find out about what you did, a repetition of the painful experience will occur – and you feared the moment.  

Would I be right in saying that you feared your parents?  Would that mean that you were scared of them all the time and couldn’t bear to be near them at all, such as being scared of snakes?  No, you feared the consequences of your disobedience that they would apply in your life.  If you lived righteously in terms of their expectations, you would have had nothing to fear and your relationship with them would have been sound.  When you obeyed your parents, you felt confident in their presence, they could trust you, and from their side had a relaxed relationship with you.  Children, even adult children, who live in iniquity always have something to hide.  They are not comfortable in their parents' presence in case they find out and those who don’t care whether their parents know about their iniquity, live in a strained relationship with their parents.  The parents are unhappy, for they love their child, but cannot approve of the child’s behaviour, so the relationship is distant in many ways.  All of us can identify with both scenarios.  It is the same with God.  Our sin and disobedience strain our relationship with Him.  But let me not jump ahead of myself.

In the Old Testament, the Lord’s presence was very real.  The Israelites experienced His wrath in a tangible manner.  For example, after the Egyptians were destroyed in the Red Sea we read: That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.  And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant, (Exodus 14:30-31).  Would you have feared God if you experienced what the Israelites did?

In Leviticus 19 the Lord laid down His law by instructing things like not to steal, lie, deceive one another, swear falsely, defraud or rob your neighbour, withhold wages, etc.  These were all everyday, practical things affecting relationships between people.  Then He said in verse 14: Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.  We see the same in Leviticus 25:17.

In Proverbs 14:16, Job 28:28, and in Proverbs 3:7 we get a similar message: Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.  Proverbs 1:8 tells us that: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction, and Proverbs 9:10 tells us that it’s the beginning of wisdom.

In the New Testament we read in Acts 9:31: Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

        But what is the fear of the Lord?  In our next post, we're going to start answering this question, beginning with looking at why we have to fear Him. To be continued.  

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