When is fear reverent awe? In order to have awe for something or someone, information about that person or thing must be gathered. No one fears or respects someone or something about which there is no knowledge. Solomon writes "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7). In order to fear the Lord there must be knowledge that there is one referred to as the Lord and such fear (whether respect or fright) is justified.
When studying Proverbs the reader discovers a progression involving Solomon's use of the phrase "Fear of the Lord." In 9:10 he says "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." First there was the assimilation of information Solomon refers to as knowledge. Knowledge properly applied is wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of each.
Solomon does not stop there. He admonishes the reader to choose the fear of the Lord (1:29), understand the fear of the Lord (2:1-5), and be zealous for the fear of the Lord (23:17, 18). He gives reasoning for his admonitions. The fear of the Lord leads to life (19:23), is a fountain of life (14:27), and provides strong confidence (14:26). The fear of the Lord is a mechanism for departing from evil (16:6) and is a treasure worth pursuing (15:16). Fifteen times Proverbs utilizes the fear of the Lord concept.
Job discusses the subject (28:28), Isaiah writes about it in five passages (2:10, 19, 21; 11:3; 33:6), as do the New Testament writers Matthew (10:28), Luke (12:5; Acts 9:31), and the author of Hebrews (10:31).
Is it fright or respect? It s both at the same time. Abraham fell on his face before God (Gen 17:3), Daniel passes out before God (8:17, 18), Ezekiel fell on his face before God (1:28-2:1), an entire detachment of Roman troops fell to the ground when exposed to the glory of God (John 18:1-6), and the apostle John fainted when he saw Jesus as the judge (Rev 1:17). An encounter with God is both a blessing and horrifying event. Being in the presence of God's holiness while still being a sinner is terrifying. Why else would these passages say men fainted at the site of the Holy?
Solomon wrote about the fear of the Lord but it wasn't a new topic for him. He learned it from his father, David (Psalm 19:9; 34:11). Just as David handed down pearls of wisdom to his son, let our legacy be the handing down of truth to future generations so that we are not guilty of propagating "a generation that is pure in its own eyes" (Proverbs 30:12).
No comments:
Post a Comment