#12 The Fear of the Lord

#12 The Fear of the Lord

I think that there is a lot of misunderstanding about the phrase and concept “the fear of the Lord” or “fear of God” among believers and non-believers. Most people imagine us cowering before an angry God who is ready to crush us with a single lightning bolt from heaven if we don’t grovel before Him. I think that this means something far deeper and loving. Consider the following texts:

·        “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” ^{Proverbs 1:7}

·        “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” ^{Proverbs 8:13}

·        “through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil” ^{Proverbs 16:6b}

Job says “and God said to man, ‘The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’”^{Job 28:28}

Job is described as a man who “feared God and shunned evil”^{Job 1:1} before his trials befell him. And in Acts, the phrase “God fearing” appears at least 7 times, once referring to God-fearing Jews from other lands and most other times referring to God-fearing gentiles, who attended the synagogues and contributed monetarily, but had not become converts.

In fact, the outer court of the temple was designed for God-fearers to come and pray to the God of the Jews, which is why Jesus cleared out the temple court each and every time He saw it full of money-changers and sellers of trinkets, preventing worship by Gentiles.

So what I have come to understand is that to be “God fearing” is to actively reject the false gods of one’s culture, and to actively seek the one true God. We can’t begin to search for God until we reject the entrapment of the false ones. The apostle Paul preached first to the Jews in the synagogues on his mission trips, which also included God-fearing gentiles, who rejoiced that they too were now included in God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Cornelius, the Roman Centurion gentile to whom Peter was sent to preach the Gospel, was described as “devout and God-fearing.” ^{Acts 10:2}

I believe that no matter where or when each of us was born, we innately know what is false and evil, even when we don’t quite know what is true and good. That is why to be a God-fearing person is to reject evil and search for God, which is the beginning of wisdom, a necessary and important first step in our finding God. In mathematical proofs, we call that a “necessary but not sufficient condition.”

That is also why the Jews, who were to be the vehicle of salvation to the world, were warned by Moses and the prophets not to worship idols, so that they would be a light to the Gentiles. When they returned from the Babylonian exile, they never again worshiped the idols of the nations – which is why they carefully examined each person claiming to be the Messiah and put Jesus on trial.

I remember when I was in high school and college, going to different churches and college groups, looking for God until I finally discovered a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I know of good, God-fearing people, who have been turned off by organized religion, yet still hunger to find God. They are just waiting, searching to hear the Gospel and become God worshippers rather than just God-fearers.

The writer of Ecclesiastes summarizes the book: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” ^{Ecclesiastes 12:13}

And Jesus reinforces this in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, specifically:

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." ^{Matthew 22:37-40}

What do you think about “the Fear of the Lord or Fear of God”? Click on the comment section or on the link to the blog in the email version.