1. The Fear of the Lord Various Proverbs

2. 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 1:28 [Those who hate knowledge] will not find me. 1:29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD

3. 2:4 …if you look for [wisdom] as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 2:5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 2:5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8:13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil…

4. 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 10:27 The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. 14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the LORD, but he whose ways are devious despises him. 14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the LORD, but he whose ways are devious despises him.

5. 14:16 A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless. 14:26 He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

6. 15:16 Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil. 15:33 The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. 16:6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.

7. 19:23 The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. 22:4 Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life. 22:4 Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life. 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.

8. 24:21 Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious… 28:14 Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

9.  We have seen that the book of Proverbs was written to give us wisdom and that wisdom is what gives us the skill and knowledge that we need to deal with the complexities of life – even in areas outside of what is moral or immoral.  Today we will be focusing on a theme that runs throughout the book of Proverbs and, in fact, throughout the Bible: the fear of the Lord.

10.  In an earlier lesson we saw that the fear of the Lord is the starting point for getting this wisdom or knowledge that we need to understand how the world works:  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7a)  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)  In other words, Proverbs tells us that in order to have a right view of the world and how it works you must first have a right view of God.  People in modern society don’t think like this.

11.  In much of our culture today, people think that we can make sense of the world around us through reason – apart from what we believe about God.  Our society views faith as something that is opposed to reason and should be kept private.  Proverbs tells us just the opposite: unless you start with God, nothing in the universe makes sense!

12.  What does the Bible mean when it says that we must fear the Lord? Does this mean that we are supposed to be scared of God or afraid of God?  The Bible tells us that Adam was “afraid” of God after he sinned (Genesis 3:10). Should Adam have been afraid?  The Apostle Paul tells us that one of the marks of human depravity is that There is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:18)

13.  John Murray put it this way: “ It is the essence of impiety [i.e. ungodliness] to not be afraid of God when there is reason to be afraid ” (John Murray, Principles of Conduct, p. 233)  Pharaoh is a classic example: Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go. (Exodus 5:2).  Even after the Egyptians had suffered through seven of the ten plagues, Moses said to Pharaoh, But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD God. (Exodus 9:30)

14.  The Bible often links a lack of the fear of the Lord with sinful conduct and attitudes:  “Should you not fear Me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in My presence? … But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the LORD our God…’ (Jer 5:22-24)  [Those who hate knowledge] will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD (Proverbs 1:28-29)

15.  Should Christians be afraid of God? Haven’t we been rescued from God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10)? Doesn’t “perfect love drive out fear” (1John 4:18)?  And yet isn’t Proverbs describing the people of God when it talks about those who have the “fear of the Lord”?  He whose walk is upright fears the LORD, but he whose ways are devious despises him. (Proverbs 14:2)  Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble. (Proverbs 28:14)

16.  What does it mean for a Christian to “fear the Lord”?  The Hebrew word for “fear” ( yira ) can mean to “be scared or afraid”.  But when God’s people are told to “fear the Lord” it means something like “to be in awe of, or have deep reverence for” God.  One problem we face using a term like “awe” – even reverential awe – is that the true meaning of the word is so little understood in our culture today. Its meaning has been debased through flippant usage.

17.  We can often determine the meaning of an expression like “the fear of the Lord” by observing how it is used in various contexts.  For example, what does Exodus 20:20 tell us about the “fear of the Lord” and being afraid of God?  Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”  It tells us that a fear of the God motivates us to avoid sin so that we don’t have to be afraid!

18.  Many of the Proverbs also tell us that the fear of the Lord changes the hearts of those who have it so that they come to hate and avoid evil:  … fear the LORD and shun evil. (3:7b)  To fear the LORD is to hate evil… (8:13)  A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil… (14:16a)  … through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. (16:6b)  The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. (15:33)

19.  What is it that causes the people of God to have a fear or awe of God? Is it because they are afraid of him?  One of the obvious things that has motivated God’s people to fear or be in awe of Him is seeing Him display His great power, like the time the Israelites were rescued from the Egyptian army:  And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him (Exodus 14:31)

20.  Psalm 130:3-4 shows us that another reason that God’s people fear the Lord is because of His mercy in forgiving them:  …with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

21.  Rather than the fear of the Lord being a negative thing where we cower in fear of God, for the people of God, the fear of the Lord is a huge positive.  For example, Isaiah 11:1-3, a Messianic prophesy, shows us that the “fear of the Lord” is given by the Holy Spirit and is a delight (i.e. brings joy) to the one who has it:  The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him… the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

22.  Many of the Proverbs speak of the blessing and benefit of having a fear of the Lord:  The fear of the LORD adds length to life… (10:27)  He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress… The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. (14:26- 27)  Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil. (15:16)  The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. (19:23)  Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life. (22:4)

23.  So, pulling together a number of the passages that talk about the “fear of the Lord” such as those that we just looked at, we can define the “fear of the Lord” like this:  The “fear of the Lord” is the life-changing, joyful awe and wonder that we experience as we look on the greatness of who God is and what He’s done.  In short, to “fear the Lord” is to experience the transforming power of knowing God for who He is.

24.  The fear of the Lord does not come all at once - it is something that grows in our life as we pursue it.  The Proverbs tell us that we grow in our fear of the Lord as we grow in godly, biblical wisdom:  My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1-5)

25.  Proverbs 20:9 asks the question: Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? The answer is: no one!  In Psalm 130:3, David asks a similar question: If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? Again, the answer is: no one!  But then in verse 4 he gives us hope: But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.  The ultimate reason that we should fear and revere God is that in love He found a way to satisfy His just wrath against us in the death of His Son on the cross!