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The Fear of the Lord
(Ac9:31)
God is to be feared (Ps76:7).
For there is no one like Him, He is to be feared (Jer10:7), and
Those who fear Him He blesses abundantly with
Life, forgiveness, answer to prayers, mercy, healing, food, promise fulfilled etc.
To fear means to revere, to respect, and to be pressed by majesty.
While religions create divine places and images and bring out fear from men,
Our faith is knowing the Lord who is to be feared (Ps76:7), and
The life of this faith is to delight in the fear of the Lord and make it one's duty (Ecc12:13; Is11:2-3).
Because of their ancestor, Adam, sinned (Ge3:4-6, 10),
Men generally have fear for the divine.
The Bible illustrates those who testified their fear of the Lord when they were tested (He11:17):
Once Noah was warned of the judgement by a flood,
In holy fear he built an ark to save his family (He11:7);
Abraham gave his only son as a burnt offering (Ge22:12); and
Isaac gave his own life was a burnt offering (Ge31:42).
Thus, it was only natural for their descendants, the Israelites, to fear the Lord (Jer10:7) for
They saw the deliverance of the Lord and what He did to the Egyptians (Ex14:13).
The Law that they received also demanded them to fear the Lord (Ex20:18-20; Dt10:12), and
The sanctuary that they built was the house of the Lord where
In reverence they worshiped Him (Ps5:7).
While their kings were to always put a scroll of a copy of the Law before them (Dt17:18),
David who remembered all his life the death of Uzzah because of how he
mishandled the ark
Ruled in fear of the Lord (2Sa23:3), and
His son Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem and consecrated it to the Lord.
Nevertheless, their history was the repeat of their rise and fall since
Despite the fact that they were to fear the Lord
They worshiped other gods (2Sa17:33).
According to the prophecy regarding the One on whom
The Spirit of the fear of the Lord would rest (Is11:2-3),
Yeshua came and said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days (Jn2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would let those who fear the Father also fear the Son (Jn5:23).
As such, those who saw His great works and signs
Trembled in fear (Mt9:8; Mk4:41, 5:25; Lk7:16).
As He died, Yeshua said, "It is finished (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) In His reverent submission to the Father's command revealed His fear for
the Father who alone can save Him from death (Jn10:17-18; He5:7);
2) Condemned the devil the proud one (Is12:14-15; Eze28:12-17); and
3) With His blood redeemed all men (Eph1:7).
He resurrected and let the doubting disciple touch His body so that
He would confess Yeshua as the Lord to fear (Jn20:27-28).
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord came
To those who believe in His name and
Let them fear the Lord Yeshua (Is11:12; 1Co12:3).
The man of the Spirit is he who
Makes it his duty and delights in the fear of the Lord Yeshua (Ecc12:13).
The name of the Lord (Dt28:58), His body the church,
The word of the Lord (Ps119:61), and one another (Eph5:21).
Therefore, he worships, serves, prays, treats his brothers in reverence
As he does before the Lord for
Those who fear the Lord while they are on earth will
See in heaven the Lord whom they fear (Mal3:16).
O Lord,
Hear this one thing.
Let us all fear the Lord! Amen.