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 ---
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