The Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Our God is not a terrorising God from whom we must cower in fear. Those who know God will not hesitate to testify that we are not emotionally blackmailed into following His commands.

What then does this verse mean? What does it mean to ‘fear’ God?

To fear God is to not take His Being, His Name for granted or lightly. It is to revere Him and to esteem Him as who He is. It is to take His word seriously and not to make light His being.

You see God is a being apart from all of us. He is not created but the creator. He is life Himself from whom all living creatures, including you and I, draw our breath. He is the being APART from this world. Though deeply concerned and involved in our world, He stands apart from us. He has no beginning and no end. You do not take such a being lightly. You should not and dare not.

The best way is to think about approaching a king in charge of the entire kingdom. By his command, he can bestow pardon or death on his subjects. If you are a subject before the king, you better fear him. However, that is not the full picture when it comes to our relationship with God.

What if this King is also your Father? Would you disobey him and dismiss his command because of the blood relationship? No. But what if this kingly father also loves and is endearing toward you, will you want to respect and honour him even more?

This is what it means to fear God. To see Him in a dual image – the High King in whom all authority rests and the loving father from whom we derive all our favours.

Hold those two images of God in our minds and that will enable us to fear him – to choose the wise ways of listening to His commands and truly liberate us to love Him wholeheartedly; thereby fulfilling the first Great Commandment.