“Fear of the Lord” teaching is too woefully absent from many families today. Throughout the marketplace of popular fads and influencers is a common rejection of authority. Those who seems most admired in our world are those who march to the beat of their own drum: the captain of their own ship.
God’s Word gives a very different picture of our place in this world. Furthermore, it seems that all right behavior will flow from right thinking, and that foundation must be built on a solid understanding of who God is and who we are in relationship to Him.
Observations & Conclusions:
Proverbs 1:7
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
The “fear of the Lord” is foundational in:
1. Recognizing and respecting God as God
– This is His house
Psalm 24:1
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.”
John 1:3
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
Proverbs 9:10
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
2. Relating to and revering God as God
– This is how I behave in His house
Malachi 1:6-8
“A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ “By offering defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.
Proverbs 14:26
In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.
Proverbs 14:27
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.
Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.
3. Receiving the blessings of a right relationship with God
– This is the benefit of living in His house
Ecclesiastes 8:13
“Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.”
Romans 3:10-18
“As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Application:
You must model “the fear of the Lord”