On this final section of the essay, I have to note that Thesis 5 almost didn't make it out of the outline stage. When I was studying over the verses dealing with the fear of the Lord in Proverbs and attempting to make a series of points based on common themes, I debated with myself over whether to include that one. However, I am unapologetic. Besides, I would've heard about it if I'd left it out, too.
Thesis 5: The most essential trait to look for in a wife is a fear of the Lord; all else is secondary.
In Proverbs 31, we receive something rather unique in Proverbs: A teaching, not from Solomon, but from the mother of King Lemuel. I don’t know who Lemuel is, nor who his mother is. One ancient Jewish legend suggests that Lemuel is another name for Solomon. If so, the mother would be identified as Bathsheba. While not impossible, this is far from certain. It is probably best to simply identify her as an unknown mother who desired her son, a king, to marry wisely.
“An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.” (Proverbs 31:10, ESV).
What follows in this chapter is a description of this ‘excellent wife’. This hypothetical woman is summed up in verse 30,
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30, ESV).
It always fascinates me how people love to refer to their spouse as the ‘best’ or ‘greatest’ spouse ‘ever’. Dropping superlatives, or throwing around the ‘perfect’ label is rather curious, to put it mildly. In the first place, it’s biblically inaccurate – no one is perfect, or without sin. In the second place, it smacks of flattery (though, no doubt many would defend themselves by arguing that they are obviously using exaggeration. How this improves the statement remains a mystery) – why we would ever approve of flattery as a public (or private) compliment is baffling. What might be more appropriate is to speak of one’s spouse as, ‘the perfect one for me’. This would be accurate; after all, God, who ordains all things according to the perfect counsel of His will, must, no doubt, also prepare each one’s spouse for them. Some will obviously have more positive traits than others, just as all people are not precisely equal in positive traits. The point is that God knows what we all need and has prepared for all (at least of those who will marry) a partner fit for us (Gen. 2:18).
The mother of Lemuel does not say, ‘Who can find a perfect woman?’ Or ‘Who can find a woman without flaws?’ On the contrary, she says, ‘An excellent wife who can find?’ (v.10). And while the context is clearly intended for men, I don’t think the principle is untrue in reverse. Finding an excellent spouse is certainly harder than finding an excellent piece of fruit, for instance (although, even those can take a bit of searching for).
So what is it we are to look for? Verse 30: A woman who ‘fears the Lord’. Did someone just ask what that looks like, practically speaking? I sense you have not been reading closely. Moving back to our previous points, a woman (or man) who fears the Lord will seek to know the character and will of God and will desire to live in accordance with it. They will not be afraid of evil, but will fear (and trust in) the Lord.
“But aren’t there other important things to look for before we run off to get married?” Someone asks. Of course there are. Physical appearance, personality – these are part of who a person is. But, warns the mother of Lemuel, physical appearance will change over time. If that is all you care about, your relationship will deteriorate with your aging bodies. In addition to that, ‘charm’, that which is pleasing about their personality; the attractive part of it, is not the full story. A husband and wife will invariably go through hard times. How a person acts in courtship and how they act in difficult situations a year or two into marriage can no doubt be a bit of a changeup. While your spouse may be the rare jewel of contentment who never ceases to be gracious, the truth is that few people (even among the redeemed) are so blessed. And if they be so, it is purely a trickle-down blessing from the more important quality of fearing the Lord. That, this wise woman tells us, is the prime quality which we should look for in a wife.
I think that as we look at our first two points under fearing the Lord (knowing the Lord, and doing His will), we may note that they relate closely to the idea of faith, or belief. The things that are chiefly involved with saving faith are a trust in the Lord and a turning away from sin and turning toward godliness. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, is one of two women mentioned in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. Peter describes her in 1 Peter 3 in this way:
“5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to
their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if
you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.” (1 Peter 3:5-6, ESV).
As God’s purpose for marriage is to provide a partner fit for us, (Gen 2:18), marrying someone who does not fear the Lord will invariably hinder us from this quest. Solomon found this out the hard way. Ignoring the command and warning of God in Deuteronomy 17:17, he was led astray by his wives.
“Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite,
Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the
LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall
they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these
in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away
his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his
heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” (1 Kings
11:1-4, ESV).
And instead of being a helper for him in his position, they became a hindrance and a stumbling block. This is obviously why the Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments, warn against marrying those who do not worship the Lord and fear Him. They fail the first and most important requirement a husband or wife must meet: They do not have the common purpose of uniting to serve God as one with us.
Thesis 6: Choosing to fear the Lord leads to eternal life, rejecting it leads to spiritual death.
One might assume from passages such as Proverbs 10:27 that Solomon is thinking only of this current lifetime, not in terms of eternal life or death.
“The fear of the LORD prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked will be short.” (Proverbs 10:27, ESV).
This conception might be encouraged by other passages in Proverbs. For instance,
“The reward for humility and fear of the LORD
is riches and honor and life.” (Proverbs 22:4, ESV).
Riches and honor seem to suggest this current lifetime strictly. And again,
“The fear of the LORD leads to life,
and whoever has it rests satisfied;
he will not be visited by harm.” (Proverbs 19:23, ESV).
But if this current life be all that Solomon is concerned with, why would he say that the fear of the Lord, “leads to life”? Does this mean we have not attained it yet?
“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:27, ESV).
Life springs up like a fountain for those who fear God. Through it, we turn away from death. Is this turning away from death a permanent thing? In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon likewise says very little about any life to come. But if we examine carefully the end of the book, we may note something interesting.
“13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is
the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing,
whether good or evil.” (Proverbs 12:13-14, ESV).
So if this life is all that there is, why does Solomon exhort men to fear God and keep His commands? Because, “God will bring every deed into judgment”. And if there is a judgment, there is some sort of afterlife. And the fear of the Lord leads to that.
Solomon is certainly aware that the concept of fearing the Lord did not originate with him. It was a traditionally accepted practice, but also one which he had personally subscribed to, as we see in his personal meeting with Almighty God (1 Kings 3).
Furthermore, an almost identical phrase is used in Psalm 111 to what Solomon himself says in Proverbs 9.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10, ESV).
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10, ESV).
Now, who wrote Psalm 111 is not certain; no author is named. My personal opinion is that it originated with David, thus creating a direct link to Solomon’s usage of it. However, it could be any number of different people. Solomon himself could have written it, or it could have been written after his death. Still, at the same time, whether David wrote this or not, the phrase clearly predated Solomon.
“And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” (Job 28:28, ESV).
Where Job is quoting God as saying this is uncertain, but the phrase, or idea, was known in his time and apparently predated him as well.
So why do those who practice the fear of the Lord have a good understanding? Because they ‘get’ it. Those who fear the Lord know that there will be a reckoning. Good and evil will be judged. While many on this earth would be deemed by the general populous as ‘wise’, God does not consider them so. Anyone who can live for even an hour and observe the world around him with a reasonable coherence should consider it obvious that a Creator God exists.
For men to seriously suggest that there is no God is the basest form of foolishness. And by foolishness, we do not suggest that these people are slow mentally, or that they are intellectually challenged more than the average person, we mean that they are morally foolish. They refuse to recognize God (Romans 1:28). Why would anyone ever refuse to recognize God? Because to recognize Him would necessitate a consideration of who He is and what He expects of us. Furthermore, it would necessitate an admission that our way of life is subject to examination by a higher power. When we do not live by the standard He has prepared for us, we condemn ourselves to judgment. The foolishness is seen in that they simply deny God’s existence. But whether they choose to believe in Him or not, they will one day be forced to not only admit His existence, but His power over them (Phil. 2:10-11).
There is nothing more tragic than a condemnation of eternal separation from God with everlasting torment. Yet that is what awaits those who ignore the obvious.
3. A Warning Regarding ‘The Fear of the Lord’
Now that we’ve waded through the biblical pool of teaching on the fear of the Lord, one might wonder, “Does fearing the Lord make everything perfect? Will all my problems be fixed if I fear the Lord?” And the obvious answer is? It depends on what you’re looking for.
Let us consider for a moment some examples of those who are described as fearing the Lord.
First, let us look down the road to a time long after Solomon had passed on. The king of Assyria, after conquering the northern kingdom of Israel, sent a colony of peoples from other parts of his kingdom to settle in Samaria.
“25 And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD
sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So the king of Assyria was told, “The
nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the
god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them,
because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria
commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him go
and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom
they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should
fear the LORD.” (2 Kings 17:25-28, ESV).
So God chastised the new inhabitants of the land He had given to His people. They recognized that the problem was a result of their sin. That is, they did not know the law of the Lord. So recognizing the need of this, they sent to the king who caused a priest of Israel to live among them and teach them the law of God.
“29 But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that
the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived…33 So they feared the
LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they
had been carried away.” (2 Kings 17:29,33, ESV).
The subsequent end that we hear of them is that ultimately they did not listen to the Lord’s commands. While they tried for a time to fear both God and their other gods, the final result was pure idolatry.
Whatever this fear of the Lord was that they possessed, it apparently was not enough to cause them to devote their ways fully to God Almighty.
Another example that we find is that of Jonah. If you’ve ever read his story, you know that he is not a particularly strong example of model evangelism. God instructs him to go to Nineveh and preach against it (Jonah 1:2). Jonah immediately takes off in the opposite direction. When God sends a mighty storm to threaten the boat he has taken passage in, the sailors are terrified. They determine that it’s Jonah’s fault that this storm has occurred, and he admits it:
“9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the
sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9, ESV).
Jonah instructs them to throw him into the sea, which they eventually do. God prepares a giant fish to swallow him, which carries him around in its belly for three days. Finally, Jonah is thrown back on land by the fish after he repents before God. He preaches judgment to Nineveh, but when they do repent, Jonah exits the city and pouts. He is unhappy that God isn’t going to punish the enemies of Israel. God uses an illustration to teach Jonah why He is choosing to be merciful, however no further response is recorded from Jonah. So we really don’t know if he ever accepted God’s reason. While he is self-described as fearing the Lord, Jonah disobeys, repents, obeys, and then becomes upset at God over the results. While this may be simply an example of the way far too many Christians act, Jonah may never have repented, we are simply not told.
Finally, we look to the author of Proverbs himself: King Solomon. We see much that is exemplary about him. His request for discernment from the Lord shows maturity. The teachings in Proverbs are first-rate. God used him greatly for His glory. Yet at the same time, Solomon turned aside from the way of the Lord because of his many wives. He worshipped idols and acted very sinfully. Did Solomon ever repent? Ecclesiastes, particularly the end, gives us some hope for him, but again, we simply don’t know.
Can one truly fear the Lord in the way described in Proverbs and be unsaved? Honestly, I don’t think so. I think one might purport to fear the Lord, but at the end of the day, the things that comprise a genuine fear of the Lord (which we have described above) do not belong to unbelievers. A knowledge of God and a desire to do His will is, at its root, what it means to be a Christian. Wisdom comes from God alone (James 1:5,17). No one seeks after God, we are told in Psalm 14:1-3 and Psalm 53:1-3 (in fact, Paul reaffirms this truth by quoting it in Romans 3:10-12), except those whom the Father has appointed to do so (John 6:37) through the leading of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14).
The fear of the Lord is a recognition that He is great, and must be obeyed, and that we cannot do it in our own strength. Only through faith and repentance, which comes from God (Phil. 1:29, Eph. 2:8), can we fear Him and receive the life in Christ Jesus promised to those who fear Him.
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.
Amen.” (Romans 11:36, ESV).
Sources:
Bunyan, John. The Whole Works of John Bunyan, Volume 3. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977.
Crossway Publishers. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway, 2007.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Boston: Hall, 1986.
Phillips, Dan. God’s Wisdom in Proverbs. The Woodlands: Kress, 2011.
Definition of ‘fear’ quoted from Webster’s 1828 Dictionary online at: “http://www.webster1828.com/definition.aspx?word=Fear”
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
The Fear of the Lord - How it is Used in Scripture
All right then. Yesterday, I promised to do a new post today with the next part of the essay on the fear of the Lord. I've opted to do it in three parts...against my better judgment. Common sense says to break it up more, but I just hate waiting. And I want to post it sooner.
2. The Biblical Usage of ‘The Fear of the Lord’
Not only Proverbs, but also the whole testimony of the Scriptures bears witness to the importance of fearing the Lord. In view of this, I will submit six theses to demonstrate the full scale of this teaching in the Bible. While our study will be primarily grounded in the Proverbs of Solomon, we will move through the rest of God’s Word to clearly show both that these truths are universal and timeless for God’s people. That is, that they don’t expire after a few weeks of disuse, and that they are not unique to God’s national people of Israel, but that they are important and vital for the church today.
Thesis 1: The fear of the Lord is closely related to knowledge; foolishness is invariably the defining
characteristic of those who reject it.
I know you’re dying to ask, what does knowledge have to do with ‘fear’? I’m glad you asked. The answer is found right at the beginning of Solomon’s tome:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, ESV).
There can be no knowledge without that foundation. Those who lack it reject wisdom. Why? Because true wisdom has as its source an inner fire to learn more of Yahweh, the Creator and Sovereign God.
In the world, there have always been men who were recognized for their intelligence, but did not fear God. While they may know a lot of facts, Solomon says that they don’t even have the beginning of the true essence of knowledge. Look farther in to Proverbs and examine this gem of truth:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10, ESV).
Knowledge of God follows after the fear of the Lord. No knowledge that does not have as its foundation a fear of God and desire to learn of Him is true knowledge.
We also see that fearing the Lord is a cure for intellectual self-confidence (Prov. 8:13). On the reverse, a righteous and Godly confidence belongs to those who fear the Lord (Prov. 14:26).
Knowledge is essential to the fear of the Lord, otherwise it could not be anything but an emotional response. If we do not ‘know’ what we are to do, what good is it to fear God? Holy fear is the attitude with which we approach God. It is how we understand His character; how we know how we ought to behave in His presence, whether coming in praise or supplication; how we understand His law and His will for us. Look to the New Testament also for an example of this:
“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and
spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1, ESV).
Fearing God is first of all how we correctly perceive Him. Until we have a right understanding of who He is and what He is like, we cannot fulfill our created purpose to glorify Him. But the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Without grasping that point, we are likely to miss the entire meaning of what it is to fear Him.
Thesis 2: The fear of the Lord is closely related to righteousness; the absence of it inevitably results in sin.
While knowledge of God’s will is essential for fearing the Lord, and seems to be strongly linked, if not equated, with it, it is not in itself sufficient. Consider: if we know what the Lord desires, what His law is, and what His character is, and we do not walk in accordance with it, can we truly be said to be fearing the Lord? Certainly we must know these things in order to fear Him, but that is only the first step. See here:
“Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD,
but he who is devious in his ways despises him.” (Proverbs 14:2, ESV).
Also,
“The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil.” (Proverbs 8:13, ESV).
And if this be so, the reverse must also be true. Looking back to Proverbs 1, we observe Lady Wisdom crying out to the simple, the scoffers, and the foolish. In verses 8-29, she pleads for them to turn away from evil. In the following verses, she warns them of what will follow if they persist in their wickedness:
“23 “If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.” (Proverbs 1:23-28, ESV).
She has condemned their wickedness; she has warned them what will take place. But why, we ask, do they act in this way? Why are they unwilling to seek wisdom? The answer she tells us in verse 29.
“Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,” (Proverbs 1:29, ESV).
Those who are wicked do not choose the fear of the Lord. They have chosen their path, and the toll will cost them dearly.
Thesis 3: The fear of the Lord is incompatible with a fear of man.
So we understand now that the fear of the Lord requires knowing something about Him; what He is like and what He desires us to do. We also see that, more than just knowing these things, we must also choose to live uprightly; the way He has set for us. But now we come to another stumbling block that impedes us in our quest for godliness.
While some men are foolish and are content to remain in their foolishness, and others are led astray by vain promises of wealth and possessions into wickedness, there comes before us now this third category of those who turn away from the fear of the Lord. These are they who perhaps start out on the right path, but turn back at the first sign of difficulty.
I am reminded here of two faint-hearted flakes in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress,
“Now when he was got up to the top of the hill, there came two men running amain; the name of the one
was Timorous, and of the other Mistrust: to whom Christian said,
“Sirs, what’s the matter? you run the wrong way.”
Timorous answered, that they were going to the city of Zion, and had got up that difficult place: “but,”
said he, “the farther we go, the more danger we meet with; wherefore we turned, and are going back
again.”
“Yes,” said Mistrust, “for just before us lie a couple of lions in the way, whether sleeping or waking we
know not; and we could not think, if we came within reach, but they would presently pull us in
pieces.”” (Bunyan, pg. 105).
Frankly, their concern seems quite legitimate on a superficial level. If there are lions blocking the way, how can one go forward? However, look at Christian’s response to them:
“Then said Christian,
“You make me afraid; but whither shall I fly to be safe? If I go back to mine own country, that is
prepared for fire and brimstone, and I shall certainly perish there; if I can get to the celestial city, I am
sure to be in safety there: I must venture. To go back is nothing but death: to go forward is fear of death,
and life everlasting beyond it: I will yet go forward.”” (Bunyan, pg. 105).
This is the attitude all those who fear God must have. However serious or desperate circumstances might be, we must never fear. Recall the words of Yahweh, the Sovereign King and Lord of all.
“25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:25-28, ESV)
And again,
“10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
11 I, I am the LORD,
and besides me there is no savior.
12 I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.
13 Also henceforth I am he;
there is none who can deliver from my hand;
I work, and who can turn it back?” (Isaiah 43:10-13, ESV).
We see a tragic example of failure to trust God in the life of Saul, the first king of Israel.
“8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and
the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the
peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the
burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel
said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from
me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at
Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not
sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”” 1 Samuel
13:8-12, ESV)
While Saul does not admit any fear, the truth is painfully clear. He saw his people beginning to scatter and the Philistine army drawing near (v.11). While he recognized the need of seeking the Lord’s favor (v.12), he was foolishly ignorant to the importance of trusting God and obeying his command.
As king, it was not his place to offer the burnt offering. He pragmatically decided that the only way he could win the battle was to offer the burnt sacrifice and receive the Lord’s help. He treated God as though He were a magic lamp that had to be rubbed before it had any value. God is no charm or device that will help us in response to the proper ritual actions. He is our Lord and God. Saul was His servant, not the other way around.
If Saul had any true fear of God, he would have been far too frightened to dream of deviating from Yahweh’s command. And Saul paid the ultimate price for his foolishness. He died in battle (1 Sam. 31:4). And, given his life as we see it in Scripture, we are left with no alternative but to believe that he was not a true child of God, and now lies under the condemnation of eternal punishment for his refusal to fear God.
Those who fear anything other than God are not obeying His command; God promises in Ezekiel 11:8 that their own fear will come upon them as punishment. On the contrary, we should say with David,
“Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.” (Psalm 27:3, ESV).
How can David be so unconcerned? Where does this confidence come from?
“The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, ESV).
Now, having examined what the fear of the Lord is and what is contained in its meaning, let us examine what is present in the lives of those who fear the Lord.
Thesis 4: A genuine fear of the Lord is not fundamentally motivated by earthly needs or desires, but by
obedience to God and a reverence and love for Him.
Many in the world see Christianity as a crutch for the weak. We cling to God, they say, because we are unable to get through a day without something holding us up. And while they are, ironically, correct (though not in the way they mean it), they miss a key distinction that characterizes genuine God-fearers: We don’t fear God because he blesses us, we fear Him because He is worthy to be feared.
Even the devil with all his experience, apparently misses this fact,
“8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him
on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then
Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a
hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of
his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch
all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”” (Job 1:8-11, ESV).
Whether the devil was simply ignorant, or was choosing this line of argument in order to be allowed to attack Job we do not know. What we do know is that this is a common misconception. Satan’s argument was conceived on the notion that Job’s sole reason for fearing God was the blessings that God provided. Job had no struggles, Satan argued, because God protected him. Without that protection, the reasoning continued, Job would no longer have any reason to fear God.
And while Job does struggle with frustration and doubt as to why God is allowing this attack on him, his defining response is one we should all take note of:
“Though he slay me, I will hope in him;” (Job 13:15, ESV).
While it is certainly true that God takes pleasure in blessing those who are faithful to Him and fear Him (Job 42:10; Proverbs 22:4; 1 Kings 3:10-14), it is not a guarantee (Proverbs 15:16).
Many who grow up in Christian households accept the basics of Christianity as true, yet do not fear the Lord on a personal level. They are not truly saved. What inevitably follows is conviction. For my part, in my early years, my interest in God was purely on a self-preservation level. I didn’t want to go to hell. I think many have this same problem. While Satan was incorrect about Job, is his argument true of us? Do we serve God because He blesses us? When things go wrong, do we trust in Him? If there were no Heaven offered, simply oblivion after death, would God be worth serving simply because of His intrinsic worth and greatness? Would the fact that He is great, and perfect, and created us to serve Him be enough cause to do so?
I say it is.
We owe God fealty and love because He created us for that purpose. As His people, we owe Him our all because of His greatness. How much more, then, ought we to serve Him because of all that He does for us?
“1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!…
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:1a,4, ESV).
2. The Biblical Usage of ‘The Fear of the Lord’
Not only Proverbs, but also the whole testimony of the Scriptures bears witness to the importance of fearing the Lord. In view of this, I will submit six theses to demonstrate the full scale of this teaching in the Bible. While our study will be primarily grounded in the Proverbs of Solomon, we will move through the rest of God’s Word to clearly show both that these truths are universal and timeless for God’s people. That is, that they don’t expire after a few weeks of disuse, and that they are not unique to God’s national people of Israel, but that they are important and vital for the church today.
Thesis 1: The fear of the Lord is closely related to knowledge; foolishness is invariably the defining
characteristic of those who reject it.
I know you’re dying to ask, what does knowledge have to do with ‘fear’? I’m glad you asked. The answer is found right at the beginning of Solomon’s tome:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, ESV).
There can be no knowledge without that foundation. Those who lack it reject wisdom. Why? Because true wisdom has as its source an inner fire to learn more of Yahweh, the Creator and Sovereign God.
In the world, there have always been men who were recognized for their intelligence, but did not fear God. While they may know a lot of facts, Solomon says that they don’t even have the beginning of the true essence of knowledge. Look farther in to Proverbs and examine this gem of truth:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10, ESV).
Knowledge of God follows after the fear of the Lord. No knowledge that does not have as its foundation a fear of God and desire to learn of Him is true knowledge.
We also see that fearing the Lord is a cure for intellectual self-confidence (Prov. 8:13). On the reverse, a righteous and Godly confidence belongs to those who fear the Lord (Prov. 14:26).
Knowledge is essential to the fear of the Lord, otherwise it could not be anything but an emotional response. If we do not ‘know’ what we are to do, what good is it to fear God? Holy fear is the attitude with which we approach God. It is how we understand His character; how we know how we ought to behave in His presence, whether coming in praise or supplication; how we understand His law and His will for us. Look to the New Testament also for an example of this:
“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and
spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1, ESV).
Fearing God is first of all how we correctly perceive Him. Until we have a right understanding of who He is and what He is like, we cannot fulfill our created purpose to glorify Him. But the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Without grasping that point, we are likely to miss the entire meaning of what it is to fear Him.
Thesis 2: The fear of the Lord is closely related to righteousness; the absence of it inevitably results in sin.
While knowledge of God’s will is essential for fearing the Lord, and seems to be strongly linked, if not equated, with it, it is not in itself sufficient. Consider: if we know what the Lord desires, what His law is, and what His character is, and we do not walk in accordance with it, can we truly be said to be fearing the Lord? Certainly we must know these things in order to fear Him, but that is only the first step. See here:
“Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD,
but he who is devious in his ways despises him.” (Proverbs 14:2, ESV).
Also,
“The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil.” (Proverbs 8:13, ESV).
And if this be so, the reverse must also be true. Looking back to Proverbs 1, we observe Lady Wisdom crying out to the simple, the scoffers, and the foolish. In verses 8-29, she pleads for them to turn away from evil. In the following verses, she warns them of what will follow if they persist in their wickedness:
“23 “If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.” (Proverbs 1:23-28, ESV).
She has condemned their wickedness; she has warned them what will take place. But why, we ask, do they act in this way? Why are they unwilling to seek wisdom? The answer she tells us in verse 29.
“Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,” (Proverbs 1:29, ESV).
Those who are wicked do not choose the fear of the Lord. They have chosen their path, and the toll will cost them dearly.
Thesis 3: The fear of the Lord is incompatible with a fear of man.
So we understand now that the fear of the Lord requires knowing something about Him; what He is like and what He desires us to do. We also see that, more than just knowing these things, we must also choose to live uprightly; the way He has set for us. But now we come to another stumbling block that impedes us in our quest for godliness.
While some men are foolish and are content to remain in their foolishness, and others are led astray by vain promises of wealth and possessions into wickedness, there comes before us now this third category of those who turn away from the fear of the Lord. These are they who perhaps start out on the right path, but turn back at the first sign of difficulty.
I am reminded here of two faint-hearted flakes in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress,
“Now when he was got up to the top of the hill, there came two men running amain; the name of the one
was Timorous, and of the other Mistrust: to whom Christian said,
“Sirs, what’s the matter? you run the wrong way.”
Timorous answered, that they were going to the city of Zion, and had got up that difficult place: “but,”
said he, “the farther we go, the more danger we meet with; wherefore we turned, and are going back
again.”
“Yes,” said Mistrust, “for just before us lie a couple of lions in the way, whether sleeping or waking we
know not; and we could not think, if we came within reach, but they would presently pull us in
pieces.”” (Bunyan, pg. 105).
Frankly, their concern seems quite legitimate on a superficial level. If there are lions blocking the way, how can one go forward? However, look at Christian’s response to them:
“Then said Christian,
“You make me afraid; but whither shall I fly to be safe? If I go back to mine own country, that is
prepared for fire and brimstone, and I shall certainly perish there; if I can get to the celestial city, I am
sure to be in safety there: I must venture. To go back is nothing but death: to go forward is fear of death,
and life everlasting beyond it: I will yet go forward.”” (Bunyan, pg. 105).
This is the attitude all those who fear God must have. However serious or desperate circumstances might be, we must never fear. Recall the words of Yahweh, the Sovereign King and Lord of all.
“25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:25-28, ESV)
And again,
“10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
11 I, I am the LORD,
and besides me there is no savior.
12 I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.
13 Also henceforth I am he;
there is none who can deliver from my hand;
I work, and who can turn it back?” (Isaiah 43:10-13, ESV).
We see a tragic example of failure to trust God in the life of Saul, the first king of Israel.
“8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and
the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the
peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the
burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel
said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from
me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at
Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not
sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”” 1 Samuel
13:8-12, ESV)
While Saul does not admit any fear, the truth is painfully clear. He saw his people beginning to scatter and the Philistine army drawing near (v.11). While he recognized the need of seeking the Lord’s favor (v.12), he was foolishly ignorant to the importance of trusting God and obeying his command.
As king, it was not his place to offer the burnt offering. He pragmatically decided that the only way he could win the battle was to offer the burnt sacrifice and receive the Lord’s help. He treated God as though He were a magic lamp that had to be rubbed before it had any value. God is no charm or device that will help us in response to the proper ritual actions. He is our Lord and God. Saul was His servant, not the other way around.
If Saul had any true fear of God, he would have been far too frightened to dream of deviating from Yahweh’s command. And Saul paid the ultimate price for his foolishness. He died in battle (1 Sam. 31:4). And, given his life as we see it in Scripture, we are left with no alternative but to believe that he was not a true child of God, and now lies under the condemnation of eternal punishment for his refusal to fear God.
Those who fear anything other than God are not obeying His command; God promises in Ezekiel 11:8 that their own fear will come upon them as punishment. On the contrary, we should say with David,
“Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.” (Psalm 27:3, ESV).
How can David be so unconcerned? Where does this confidence come from?
“The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, ESV).
Now, having examined what the fear of the Lord is and what is contained in its meaning, let us examine what is present in the lives of those who fear the Lord.
Thesis 4: A genuine fear of the Lord is not fundamentally motivated by earthly needs or desires, but by
obedience to God and a reverence and love for Him.
Many in the world see Christianity as a crutch for the weak. We cling to God, they say, because we are unable to get through a day without something holding us up. And while they are, ironically, correct (though not in the way they mean it), they miss a key distinction that characterizes genuine God-fearers: We don’t fear God because he blesses us, we fear Him because He is worthy to be feared.
Even the devil with all his experience, apparently misses this fact,
“8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him
on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then
Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a
hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of
his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch
all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”” (Job 1:8-11, ESV).
Whether the devil was simply ignorant, or was choosing this line of argument in order to be allowed to attack Job we do not know. What we do know is that this is a common misconception. Satan’s argument was conceived on the notion that Job’s sole reason for fearing God was the blessings that God provided. Job had no struggles, Satan argued, because God protected him. Without that protection, the reasoning continued, Job would no longer have any reason to fear God.
And while Job does struggle with frustration and doubt as to why God is allowing this attack on him, his defining response is one we should all take note of:
“Though he slay me, I will hope in him;” (Job 13:15, ESV).
While it is certainly true that God takes pleasure in blessing those who are faithful to Him and fear Him (Job 42:10; Proverbs 22:4; 1 Kings 3:10-14), it is not a guarantee (Proverbs 15:16).
Many who grow up in Christian households accept the basics of Christianity as true, yet do not fear the Lord on a personal level. They are not truly saved. What inevitably follows is conviction. For my part, in my early years, my interest in God was purely on a self-preservation level. I didn’t want to go to hell. I think many have this same problem. While Satan was incorrect about Job, is his argument true of us? Do we serve God because He blesses us? When things go wrong, do we trust in Him? If there were no Heaven offered, simply oblivion after death, would God be worth serving simply because of His intrinsic worth and greatness? Would the fact that He is great, and perfect, and created us to serve Him be enough cause to do so?
I say it is.
We owe God fealty and love because He created us for that purpose. As His people, we owe Him our all because of His greatness. How much more, then, ought we to serve Him because of all that He does for us?
“1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!…
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:1a,4, ESV).
--- Check back Wednesday morning for the final section: The Fear of the Lord - Scripture Usage Conclusion and Warning ---
Sunday, August 12, 2012
The Fear of the Lord - What is it?
Recently, while studying through the book of Proverbs for Sunday School, Dad encouraged folks at church to write a paper on the fear of the Lord. Having no sermons upcoming for two Sundays, I decided it would be a good use of time to study over it and write on it.
The essay is lengthy (about fifteen pages in total), so I will be spreading it out over several (probably three or four days) in order to make it more palatable. Let's face it, not many people would read a blog post that's the equivalent of fifteen pages.
Normally I would not do acknowledgements for a simple essay, but looking back on it, I do want to mention my Dad's helpful teachings on Proverbs and theology in general over the course of my life. Apparently he liked it, so we must think similarly. I will always be grateful for his solid biblical teaching. It would also be wrong to not mention the influence of a book by Dan Phillips that I will speak more of in the essay. While I'd already crafted a rough outline when I started reading his chapter on Proverbs 1:7 discussing the fear of the Lord, his work was very helpful in putting my mind on the right track regarding the basic meaning of the fear of the Lord.
The essay is long enough on its own, so I'll end the preamble at this juncture and let you dive right in.
In C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, there is a scene in which the protagonists are told about Aslan, the lion whom Lewis used in the Narnia series to represent Jesus Christ. When informed that Aslan is, in fact, a lion, Susan and Lucy question whether he can really be safe.
“‘Safe?’ said Mr. Beaver…‘Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” (Lewis, pg. 73).
Throughout the series, one description of Aslan that Lewis’ characters repeatedly return to is this: “He’s not a tame lion.”
In writing tales that allegorically teach biblical concepts, Lewis has come up with perhaps the most profound explanation I have ever heard on the dual nature of the concept of fearing the Lord.
What does it mean to ‘fear the Lord’? This theme is absolutely foundational to the understanding of the book of Proverbs. Solomon uses the phrase no less than 18 times. In fact, Proverbs is practically book-ended by the phrase. It follows immediately after the introduction of the book (Proverbs 1:1-6),
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, ESV).
It also is found in the second to last verse of the book,
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30, ESV).
So, recognizing that the fear of the Lord is important, we must now set ourselves upon the task of understanding what Solomon (or, more importantly, God) means by the phrase. For this task we will primarily be trekking through its usages in Proverbs, but we will also take a few detours along the way around other parts of the Bible that impact our understanding of this seminal concept.
Our study will go through three main points:
- The range of meaning for ‘fear’
- The biblical usage of ‘the fear of the Lord’
- A warning regarding ‘the fear of the Lord’
First,
1. The Range of Meaning for ‘Fear’
For most people, when we think of the word ‘fear’, we probably tend to view it in an abstract sense, not far removed from this definition from Webster’s 1828 dictionary:
“To feel a painful apprehension of some impending evil; to be afraid of; to consider or expect
with emotions of alarm or solicitude. We fear the approach of an enemy or of a storm. We have reason
to fear the punishment of our sins.”
And, to be sure, we do not want to categorically dismiss this idea entirely from how we understand ‘fearing the Lord’. But at the same time, as Dan J. Phillips argues persuasively in his volume, God’s Wisdom in Proverbs:
“The fear of Yahweh is not a concept without a context, hanging on nothing. It is not a vibration, not
a virus. We don’t catch it, and it doesn’t happen either outside of us, or to us. It is an attitude, it is a
mindset. More, it is a worldview: it is the grid through which we perceive, arrange, understand, interpret
and interact with the world.” (Phillips, pg. 66).
Phillips points us to Deuteronomy 17:18-19, to help develop this thought. God’s command for the future kings of Israel who would one day take the throne was this:
“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law,
approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life,
that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and
doing them,” (Deut. 17:18-19, ESV).
Do you see that? Solomon is to ‘learn’ to fear the Lord. In the Lord’s instructions and revelation of His will to Israel, He makes clear that fearing the Lord is not simply an emotion that is brought on us by dire circumstances. Rather, it is a state of mind that all true believers must possess.
After all, Solomon informs us that, ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’, (Prov. 1:7). Without knowledge, we cannot conceive anything accurately about God; and the beginning of knowledge is the fear of the Lord.
Does this mean, then, that we are not to fear God in the traditional sense of the word ‘fear’?
I think, at this point, it is helpful to look at examples of those who received a fuller revelation of God’s glory throughout Scripture. We want to look carefully on how sinful men reacted in response to a greater visual revelation of Almighty God. First, let us return to the very beginning of creation in Genesis 3.
“6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and
that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to
her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard
the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God
called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the
garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” (Gen. 3:6-10, ESV).
Adam and Eve sinned, and subsequently experienced fear in the presence of God. The man specifically says that he ‘was afraid, because [he] was naked’. His recognition of his nakedness was a direct result of his sin in eating fruit from the forbidden tree (v.6-7). Thus, while mankind was not created to feel sin in God’s presence, the presence of sin in our flesh necessitates fear when we come before a holy God.
We see another example of this in Isaiah 6, when the Lord sends a vision of His holiness to Isaiah the prophet.
“1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train
of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered
his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the
thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said:
“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1-5, ESV).
While we see no written description of whether Isaiah was afraid, his words in verse 5 can hardly be taken otherwise. Nothing less than sheer terror could have led him to cry out, “Woe is me! For I am lost;” (v.5). And again we see that it is sin present in Isaiah that brings this statement from his lips. He is ‘a man of unclean lips’, and his ‘people [have] unclean lips’ (v.5).
More precisely, Adam and Isaiah recognize that they are in the presence of a Being far greater than themselves. This One is not only far greater than them, but He also hates sin. And when they find themselves in His presence, they become overwhelmed by a realization of how sinful they are and that they deserve to be punished. While the Creator, Sustainer, and Lord of all the universe should always be approached with awe and respect, for practicing sinners, the closer we are brought to Him the more we become aware of how far short we have fallen from His standard. And while, for those of us who share in His grace and the atonement and redemption that has been provided through His Son, Jesus Christ, there is a new confidence present in us that we can come before His presence without terror, that feeling of awe in His presence never wholly can or should disappear. On the contrary, it should (and will) grow more and more as we learn more of Him throughout eternity.
We could examine every instance in Scripture in which God reveals some degree of His glory and holiness to mankind, in order to demonstrate the consistent response that these men gave to these extraordinary visions, but the two we have given are sufficient to demonstrate our point: In fearing the Lord, while the primary and dominant purpose of the command is in regards to a mindset or worldview, the emotional aspect of this fear cannot be entirely absent from our conception of it.
The relation of sin to this fear of God will be something that we will return to as we continue this study.
--- Check back Tuesday morning for Section Two: The Fear of the Lord - How it is used in Scripture ---
The essay is lengthy (about fifteen pages in total), so I will be spreading it out over several (probably three or four days) in order to make it more palatable. Let's face it, not many people would read a blog post that's the equivalent of fifteen pages.
Normally I would not do acknowledgements for a simple essay, but looking back on it, I do want to mention my Dad's helpful teachings on Proverbs and theology in general over the course of my life. Apparently he liked it, so we must think similarly. I will always be grateful for his solid biblical teaching. It would also be wrong to not mention the influence of a book by Dan Phillips that I will speak more of in the essay. While I'd already crafted a rough outline when I started reading his chapter on Proverbs 1:7 discussing the fear of the Lord, his work was very helpful in putting my mind on the right track regarding the basic meaning of the fear of the Lord.
The essay is long enough on its own, so I'll end the preamble at this juncture and let you dive right in.
The Fear of the Lord
an essay by Justin Orman
In C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, there is a scene in which the protagonists are told about Aslan, the lion whom Lewis used in the Narnia series to represent Jesus Christ. When informed that Aslan is, in fact, a lion, Susan and Lucy question whether he can really be safe.
“‘Safe?’ said Mr. Beaver…‘Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” (Lewis, pg. 73).
Throughout the series, one description of Aslan that Lewis’ characters repeatedly return to is this: “He’s not a tame lion.”
In writing tales that allegorically teach biblical concepts, Lewis has come up with perhaps the most profound explanation I have ever heard on the dual nature of the concept of fearing the Lord.
What does it mean to ‘fear the Lord’? This theme is absolutely foundational to the understanding of the book of Proverbs. Solomon uses the phrase no less than 18 times. In fact, Proverbs is practically book-ended by the phrase. It follows immediately after the introduction of the book (Proverbs 1:1-6),
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, ESV).
It also is found in the second to last verse of the book,
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30, ESV).
So, recognizing that the fear of the Lord is important, we must now set ourselves upon the task of understanding what Solomon (or, more importantly, God) means by the phrase. For this task we will primarily be trekking through its usages in Proverbs, but we will also take a few detours along the way around other parts of the Bible that impact our understanding of this seminal concept.
Our study will go through three main points:
- The range of meaning for ‘fear’
- The biblical usage of ‘the fear of the Lord’
- A warning regarding ‘the fear of the Lord’
First,
1. The Range of Meaning for ‘Fear’
For most people, when we think of the word ‘fear’, we probably tend to view it in an abstract sense, not far removed from this definition from Webster’s 1828 dictionary:
“To feel a painful apprehension of some impending evil; to be afraid of; to consider or expect
with emotions of alarm or solicitude. We fear the approach of an enemy or of a storm. We have reason
to fear the punishment of our sins.”
And, to be sure, we do not want to categorically dismiss this idea entirely from how we understand ‘fearing the Lord’. But at the same time, as Dan J. Phillips argues persuasively in his volume, God’s Wisdom in Proverbs:
“The fear of Yahweh is not a concept without a context, hanging on nothing. It is not a vibration, not
a virus. We don’t catch it, and it doesn’t happen either outside of us, or to us. It is an attitude, it is a
mindset. More, it is a worldview: it is the grid through which we perceive, arrange, understand, interpret
and interact with the world.” (Phillips, pg. 66).
Phillips points us to Deuteronomy 17:18-19, to help develop this thought. God’s command for the future kings of Israel who would one day take the throne was this:
“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law,
approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life,
that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and
doing them,” (Deut. 17:18-19, ESV).
Do you see that? Solomon is to ‘learn’ to fear the Lord. In the Lord’s instructions and revelation of His will to Israel, He makes clear that fearing the Lord is not simply an emotion that is brought on us by dire circumstances. Rather, it is a state of mind that all true believers must possess.
After all, Solomon informs us that, ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’, (Prov. 1:7). Without knowledge, we cannot conceive anything accurately about God; and the beginning of knowledge is the fear of the Lord.
Does this mean, then, that we are not to fear God in the traditional sense of the word ‘fear’?
I think, at this point, it is helpful to look at examples of those who received a fuller revelation of God’s glory throughout Scripture. We want to look carefully on how sinful men reacted in response to a greater visual revelation of Almighty God. First, let us return to the very beginning of creation in Genesis 3.
“6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and
that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to
her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard
the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God
called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the
garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” (Gen. 3:6-10, ESV).
Adam and Eve sinned, and subsequently experienced fear in the presence of God. The man specifically says that he ‘was afraid, because [he] was naked’. His recognition of his nakedness was a direct result of his sin in eating fruit from the forbidden tree (v.6-7). Thus, while mankind was not created to feel sin in God’s presence, the presence of sin in our flesh necessitates fear when we come before a holy God.
We see another example of this in Isaiah 6, when the Lord sends a vision of His holiness to Isaiah the prophet.
“1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train
of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered
his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the
thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said:
“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1-5, ESV).
While we see no written description of whether Isaiah was afraid, his words in verse 5 can hardly be taken otherwise. Nothing less than sheer terror could have led him to cry out, “Woe is me! For I am lost;” (v.5). And again we see that it is sin present in Isaiah that brings this statement from his lips. He is ‘a man of unclean lips’, and his ‘people [have] unclean lips’ (v.5).
More precisely, Adam and Isaiah recognize that they are in the presence of a Being far greater than themselves. This One is not only far greater than them, but He also hates sin. And when they find themselves in His presence, they become overwhelmed by a realization of how sinful they are and that they deserve to be punished. While the Creator, Sustainer, and Lord of all the universe should always be approached with awe and respect, for practicing sinners, the closer we are brought to Him the more we become aware of how far short we have fallen from His standard. And while, for those of us who share in His grace and the atonement and redemption that has been provided through His Son, Jesus Christ, there is a new confidence present in us that we can come before His presence without terror, that feeling of awe in His presence never wholly can or should disappear. On the contrary, it should (and will) grow more and more as we learn more of Him throughout eternity.
We could examine every instance in Scripture in which God reveals some degree of His glory and holiness to mankind, in order to demonstrate the consistent response that these men gave to these extraordinary visions, but the two we have given are sufficient to demonstrate our point: In fearing the Lord, while the primary and dominant purpose of the command is in regards to a mindset or worldview, the emotional aspect of this fear cannot be entirely absent from our conception of it.
The relation of sin to this fear of God will be something that we will return to as we continue this study.
--- Check back Tuesday morning for Section Two: The Fear of the Lord - How it is used in Scripture ---
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