We all have heard the phrase “The Fear of the Lord”. Does this mean the Lord is too scary and so we should be very afraid of Him? Or does it mean we should stay frightened before Him? Normally when we are frightened of someone, we try to hide from them and avoid them completely. We also cannot love such a person as the “fear factor” towards them overpowers everything else.
But, 1 John 4:8 says GOD is LOVE. He is the purest, truest and perfect form of love. 1 John 4:18 says, there is NO FEAR in LOVE but perfect love casts out fear. Also, 1 John 1:5 says GOD is LIGHT and in Him is NO DARKNESS at all. Darkness is very scary but Light is never scary. In fact Light drives away Fear. Furthermore, the word of God teaches us to Love the Lord with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength and all our soul (Give it all). We also learned that the Lord is the Best bestie we can ever have (Besties for life). If God is all of these, it is quite evident that He is not scary.
So “The Fear of the Lord” doesn’t mean to be too scared or frightened of Him. Then what does it mean?
Let us open the treasure book and find clues as always.
OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK 
Clue 1: What is “The Fear of the Lord”?
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverse mouth I hate.
Proverbs 8:13
King Solomon is the wisest of all times. He has explained in simple words the meaning of “the fear of the Lord”. The Fear of the Lord means to “HATE EVIL and EVERY EVIL WAY”. Pride, arrogance and perverse mouth are all evil and we should hate these evil ways. We already learned about the consequences of perverse mouth (Speaking right), pride & arrogance (Have an attitude?).
So “the fear of the Lord” is not to be frightened of God but to Hate evil and all evil ways with your whole heart.
Clue 2: Why “Fear of the Lord / Fear God”?
We should fear God because it is Godly wisdom.
And to man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.
Job 28:28
Here, the word of God says that the Fear of the Lord is wisdom. Also Proverbs 9:10 says “The fear of the Lord is beginning of Wisdom. So “to hate evil and all evil ways” is wisdom and departing from all evil is Understanding.
We should fear God because this is what is expected of us.
Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
We should fear God and keep all his commandments. That is, we should hate evil & hate all evil ways and keep all God’s commandments. This is all what God expects from us. So, we should fear God because God expects us to do so.
We should fear God because Blessed is every one who fears the LORD and there are countless blessings that follow a person who Fears the Lord.
The fear of the LORD leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.
Proverbs 19:23
Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.
Psalms 25:12-14
And His mercy is on those who fear Him. From generation to generation.
Luke 1:50
A person who fears the Lord will embrace life and will be very satisfied with it. God will guide his ways, give him council and teach him. He will prosper in all his ways. His generations will be blessed. The Lord shares His secrets with those who fear Him. His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. Father Abraham is a great example and in him all the nations of the earth is blessed.
We should fear God because it keeps us from sinning
If there is no Fear of the Lord, meaning if we do not hate evil – then we are for it. Evil is darkness and Fear is a baggage attached with it. Evil causes us to Sin which in turn causes us to to be scared of God and also causes us to hide from Him. We see that from the life of Adam and Eve. When they sinned against God, they were too scared to stand before Him so they hid from His presence. It is like a robber or a thief who tries to hide from police officers because they know that they have done wrong and if caught will be punished. But, if we do not do any wrong, then we are under their protection and security. We will have the confidence in approaching them and do not have to hide away from them or be scared of them. Similarly, if we depart from Evil and hate Evil ways then we keep ourselves from sinning against God and so we do not have to be scared of Him or hide away from Him but is under His divine protection.
When we hate something with our whole heart, we do not even dare to look that way. Even when evil knocks at our door, we will not let it in as we hate it with all of our heart. So fear of the Lord keeps us from sinning and hiding from God.
How to get out from clutches of Sin?
If you are under the clutches of SIN and is struggling, there is Good News for you my friend!!!
Jesus died for YOUR SINS and took YOUR punishment. You only need to REPENT, believe in Jesus and invite Him into your heart to be your Lord & Savior. He will cleanse you and will bring you to right standing with God so that you can approach His throne of Grace with confidence and do not have to HIDE away or be scared to stand in His Presence!!!
Hate Evil and all Evil ways – Fear God and walk with Him
Treasures uncovered
The Fear of the Lord means to “HATE EVIL and EVERY EVIL WAY”
We should fear God because
- It is Godly Wisdom and departing from Evil is Understanding.
- This is Man’s ALL and what is expected of us.
- There are countless blessings that follow a person who Fears the Lord.
- Evil and evil ways leads us to sin against God
God loves us unconditionally and He himself is Perfect Love. He gave his only son Jesus to die on the cross as a punishment for our sins. Believe in Jesus and turn away from all sinful ways. Fear the Lord – Hate evil and all evil ways with your whole heart.
Prayer:
Father, help us to Hate Evil and all Evil ways. Help us to turn away from everything that displeases you. Thank you for your unconditional love. Thank you Jesus for taking our punishment on the cross so that we can approach the father with confidence. We love you Lord Jesus, in Jesus name Amen!
Bible lessons 4 young Christians 