Understanding The Fear of the Lord
By: Dr. Mike Jones
Many people think of wisdom as something intellectual, like being clever. But wisdom isn’t cleverness, because cleverness can be compatible with evil. The fear of the Lord is incompatible with evil.
Psalm 25:12 is an excellent benefit of the fear of the Lord. ”Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.” This verse indicates that God doesn’t teach everybody. He chooses us on the basis of our character. Then in verse 14, God lets us in on another awesome thought: He says, “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His
covenant.” WOW! If we fear the Lord, He will share His secrets with us. [Remember] We only share our secrets with those we’re intimate (close) with.
Proverbs 14:26 is said to be one of the most amazing verses in the Bible; it’s short, but says a lot about the fear of the Lord. “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence.” The fear of the Lord doesn’t make you timid or weak. It gives you strength. When you fear the Lord, you don’t have to fear anything else.
By now, some of YOU are asking, “Dr. Mike, how do I obtain this fear of the Lord?” [I’m glad that YOU asked!]
Here’s the answer: In Proverbs 2:1-5 we have a step-by-step overview of how to receive the Fear of the Lord.
Verse 1: My Son, if you receive my words, and treasure (hide) my commandments within you, (Translated: Treat my Word with respect; submit to it as an act of obedience, you will soon discover that it’s a valuable treasure.)
Verse 2: So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding, (Translated: It gives a picture of what the Apostle John was doing to Jesus when the scripture says “he was leaning on his breast.” This passage gives that same connotation of leaning in to hear ••• in a submissive posture. The Apostle wasn’t lying on Jesus’ breast, as people imagine.)
Verse 3: Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, (Translated: Heart committed to passionate prayer.)
Verse 4: If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures, (Translated: God forces us to dig deep in scripture for hidden treasure of the passage. All things you are initially reading in scripture, are just the surface: the hidden treasures of the verses are below ground.)
Verse 5: Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. (Saying: King Solomon concludes this passage by saying, “Fear and knowledge goes together – they cannot be separated!]
(Adapted from the Teaching Understanding the Fear of the Lord: all Scripture references are taken from the KJV unless otherwise noted.)