The fear of the Lord is entirely the work of God’s grace. It inspires a revelation of who He is in you, and a heart to judge all else as inferior, esteeming Him alone with highest regard.
The subject before us in Holy Scripture is used frequently and always pointedly in both Testaments. An exhaustive study is well beyond me (used about 160 times in the OT and about 40 times in the NT, all of which are strategic). So instead we’ll look at a few key examples to gain an understanding and then make application, the hard part, of this awesome theme.
I. Abraham and the fear of the Lord. We begin our investigation in the Book of Genesis, chapter 22 and verses 1-19, the account of the Lord calling Abraham to offer up Isaac to God. You will recall that at the last climactic moment, his knife in hand ready to plunge into Isaac, God stops him. The key phrase in this section is the Lord shouting to Abraham, Stop! “Now I know you fear God” (v. 12). This is key. Where did that came from? To get at the meaning we must look at the back story and the development of Abraham’s fear of the Lord, who is the first in the Bible to talk it and walk it (i.e., this is the first time the fear of the Lord is found in the Bible – Gen. 22:12).
It begins with God, for reasons internal to himself, calling Abraham to pull up stakes and walk away from his old life, his father, and his kin to sojourn in a new country, which he would not know till he got there (Gen. 12). In the Book of Hebrews is an illuminating commentary about this that will help us get at it: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out (by the way, ‘called out’ is also the root definition of ‘the church’, who are the called-out ones in the NT) . . . obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went” (Heb. 11:8). Notice that part: ‘by faith Abraham obeyed’. Then when God showed Abraham the stars he said to him, ‘Look with expectation and try to fathom their number, so shall your descendants be. And Abraham was inspired to believe God’ (Gen. 15:5-6). We will learn from these passages that faith in God is intrinsically connected to the fear of God. More precisely, ‘faith’ belongs to the constitution, nature, and essence of the fear of the Lord. As Abraham had the fear of God, it also meant he had the faith of God (i.e. the faith that God inspired).
Look closer at Gen. 22. God had already justified Abraham, declaring him righteous simply on the basis of his faith. Isaac, long promised, but finally miraculously conceived and born in their old; old age is at this point a grown boy. V. 1 says that God wanted to ‘prove’ Abraham, so he called to him, and Abe said, Here I am. And God said, ‘Take your son, only begotten and beloved son, and go over to the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering wholly consumed.’ I must say, this command is charged with gut wrenching emotional difficulty. And not only this, it’s all totally God’s idea. But hold on: the ending is so amazing.
II. Death and Resurrection. What did Abraham do? Without any argument or hesitation he and Isaac headed out for Mt. Moriah early the next morning with a couple young men. The mystery of the promise of God, however, was at work in Abraham’s soul. Here are some observations.
1 The fear of the Lord is: Obeying God above what your rational mind thinks. This showed his regard for the Lord. His esteem for God out-weighed and redefined what sanity is. Having seen what God had done so far had created a relationship of hope where he moved forward step by step.
2 The fear if the Lord is: Having faith for the impossible. Abraham certainly saw the impossibility of the situation. That had to be there for death was at work in him. He was totally in the moment, gripped by the horror of it. This was a contradiction of the promise of God, and that by his own hand! This was their miracle son, who was longed for and waited on for twenty-five years, who against all odds was conceived and born, his promised seed, whom God called ‘Abraham’s only begotten.’
4 The fear of the Lord is: Flinging God and himself into this horrific living nightmare. It’s saying to God, This promise can’t happen unless you do something right now! Do you hear me? Unless you yourself come into this NOW all hope is lost and I’ve believed in vain. Death is at work.
5 The fear of the Lord is: being convinced God is up to more than just what the appearances are.
6 The fear of the Lord is: Utter focus on God alone. It is the most I can do. It is the only thing I can do. Faith! Gal 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
7 The fear of the Lord is: God going on oath for you to establish blessing that carries into the future and into eternity.
8 The fear of the Lord is: A prophetic demonstration fore-shadowing another Father who, centuries later, “spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32).
9 The fear of the Lord is: A confession of faith. First, Abraham told the young men, I and the lad will worship on the Mount and we will return (Gen. 22:5). And second, Isaac asks, Father, where is the Lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham declared, My son, God will provide himself a lamb (Gen. 22:8). And he did, here at Mt. Moriah, and at the Cross.
10 The fear of the Lord is: naming a place of great obedience: “In the mount of the Lord he shall be seen”, i.e. the Messiah shall be seen (Gen. 22:14). This is the very sight of Golgotha, Mount Calvary.
11 The fear of the Lord is: Confirming that God is incapable of lying, which is verified in experience. It is to revere by death and resurrection. This forges a communion and friendship with God that has been tested to the limit, and is ‘proven.’ This bond is called ‘the fear of the Lord.’
III. The Fear of the Lord Applied.
Isaiah 11:2, 3 – “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.”
This Prophecy describes Messiah, and those who have the Spirit of the Lord indwelling (Rom. 8:11). Notice the work of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit is ‘the Spirit of the fear of the Lord’, and he made Christ ‘of quick understanding of the fear of the Lord.’ It is the major description Isaiah gives about our Lord. It is demonstrated in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before the betrayal: “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (Matt. 26:42). Jesus knew the moment he was in, and how he should judge or reprove in righteousness, but not according to his own wisdom, but the Spirit’s. Does the Spirit of the Lord rest upon you? If so, the fear of the Lord will be upon you too, for it is the work of the Holy Spirit. Get that.
Isaiah 33:6 – “The fear of the Lord is his treasure.”
This is the treasure house that God gives. It’s the best thing he has. But it also means that when God sees the fear of the Lord in someone else, it is an absolute treasure to him. To apply this you must ask yourself, Is the fear of the Lord my treasure? Do you prize it? It is a gift from God but you must ask for it. God is so relational, but you will not treasure it without the fear of the Lord.
Psalm 25:14 – “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.”
To fear him means God will confide in you, and you’ll get revelation about his covenant, his relationship with you. He doesn’t give away his secrets without this bond. Are you interested?
Proverbs 14:27 – “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”
The fear of the Lord is a continual spring of ‘lives’ (plural – life after life, etc). If you mess up it’s still there. From it you get so much satisfaction and refreshment. Drinking from that will give you eyes to see the hidden snare of death, that inferior thing that seems to be the popular path, because that’s where snares go. Doesn’t that make you want to hug the fear of the Lord? What’re you drinking?
Jeremiah 32:40 – “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.”
This whole chapter is about the New Covenant that the Prophet Jeremiah wrote of. The point is: God grants his fear in your heart, so that you won’t run from him. It is the only chance you have to not ‘depart from the living God’ (Heb. 3:12). I want that fear. Where? In my heart. Ask God for it.
Romans 3:10, 18 – “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. . . . There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Paul is arguing the case that the whole entire world from all of time is guilty before God. He is using OT statements one after the other nine times in a row to prove his point. I find that this situation for mankind to be profoundly disturbing. The bottom line: there is no fear of God before their eyes. Get this: if the fear of God is in your own soul, it is because of an absolute work of the grace of God. If it’s not there, stop what you’re doing right now and seek this treasure to your last extremity.
Matthew 10:28 – “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
This is so deep. Jesus redefines who we should fear. For the none-fearer of God, their fear should turn to dread because of the coming judgment day, and the inestimable loss that is theirs. But for those who fear God, they should not even fear being killed (God’s that good!) because of the inestimable gain coming their way. Whom do you fear?
Mark 4:41 – “And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Jesus fundamentally changes what you should fear. He silences the storm and pronounces peace upon it, which really freaked out the disciples. He was asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat in tranquil slumber, and they wake him and rebuke him for it. But the peace he had sleeping was the same peace he commanded on the sea. Jesus questioned their fear and interrogated their unbelief (these usually go together), and they are so surprised they are speechless, because he made it seem like they should have stilled the storm. What storm do you fear? Identify it.
Luke 5:26 – “And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today.”
They saw with their own eyes the paralyzed man get his legs at Jesus’ command. O man! This is all true, all this about the Kingdom of God and everything else is inferior and not worth it. Good fear.
Luke 7:16 – “And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, that a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.”
The widow of Nain’s dead son was being carried out, except Jesus interrupted the funeral, touched the bier, and commanded “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise – and he came back to life. It’s the fear of the Lord, which included that there comes a day in which we shall all give an account for everything. And it’s a day of mercy right now. I tremble; so should you.
Acts 2:42, 43 – “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”
Get the impact of being in an environment where people were being filled with the Holy Spirit and the fellowship that flowed. The result: first, the fear of the Lord came upon all, and second, signs and wonders are just popping by the Apostles. Have you ever been around people being filled with the Spirit? Suddenly you can’t get enough fellowship. It is a foretaste of heaven itself. And you tremble at how you used to think you were just fine without the Holy Ghost and the Body! Very punky, to say the least. Remember your own history, or remember Acts and make it your own.
Acts 5:4-5, 11 – ‘Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. . . . (the same death happened to Sapphira who like her husband lied to the Spirit of God). And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”
This is a foretaste of the powers of the age to come, of the presence of the day of judgment here now, ahead of time. We are accountable to God. That ought to bring the fear of God on a soul.
II Cor. 5:11 – “Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.”
We convince people because we have a God-ordained role in their salvation, for “How shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14). On judgement day we must answer God, Did they hear?
Revelation 1:17 – “And when I (John) saw Him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
Like the Apostle John, this is also your true state before Christ. The time is at hand. Are you ready?
IV. Conclusions
1 To fear the Lord is to trust him; without it I am incapable of faith – Jonah 1:9.
2 To fear the Lord is to understand and know him by experience – Prov. 2:5.
3 To fear the Lord is to hate evil. Amen – Prov. 8:13.
4 To fear the Lord is to live with a holy anticipation of inestimable gain – Ps. 31:19.
5 To fear the Lord is to know his direct angelic protection – Ps. 34:7
6 To fear the Lord is to be unfathomably inspired by his life at work in mine – Prov. 14:27.
7 To fear the Lord is to gain the very foundation of wisdom and understanding for life – Ps. 111:10.
IV. The Parable of Hebrews 11:19. Finally, notice once more Abraham’s mindset as Isaac lay bound on the stone altar from the commentary of Heb. 11:19: He was “accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” The word ‘accounting’ was first used by God in Gen. 15:6 in response to Abraham’s faith in him. He figured up Abraham’s faith and ‘accounted’ it as righteousness (cf. Rom. 4:3). To account also means to count, calculate, enumerate, set down, regard, think upon, and ponder. This is how God thought about Abraham in Gen. 15. But in Heb. 11, Abraham is doing some reckoning himself, and comes to a conclusion. Without a doubt, the Lord would do the unprecedented thing: raise his son from the dead. I reckon so.
And we read that Abraham received his son back from the dead, literally in a paraba’le. A parable means ‘to throw alongside.’ The Bible is teaching us that Isaac’s death and resurrection was a parable that reflects another Father who gave his only begotten Son, who died upon the alter of the Cross, and rose from the dead: Jesus’ resurrection. It is a deep mystery how the Gospel was given through these beloved ancient actors. It’s so prophetic! This is an OT mosaic piece, one of many, that gave hints, clues, and even the very words used by Jesus, through the voice of the Prophets. Paul uses the parable when he exhorts: “I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Rom. 12:1). We must think of Isaac here.
This parable runs astonishingly parallel to the NT accounts. It is an exact replica of the NT Original. By drawing us in by dramatic story form, we ‘see’ ahead with Abraham to the perfect Original. When he saw the ram caught in the thicket, revelation popped. His version of a burnt offering got transformed by God’s version. The revelation began with the word that had already come out of his own mouth: God would indeed provide the lamb, and that lamb would be the Lord himself. That’s what Abraham saw, and where his eyes were fastened. For Gen. 22:14 could be translated: ‘The Day! In the Mountain of the Lord He shall be seen.’ Where? Golgatha. What day? Jesus had this very verse in mind, saying, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). Be astonished. Touch the wonder and the power of the mystery. Sense the ambiance. Be awestruck. For you are in big trouble without him. That is the fear of the Lord.
Tim Halverson
lionsheadcafe.com 