“The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1, King James Version) We tend to see a fool as someone that, lacks ‘common sense’, or at least the ability to make rational decisions. But in the context of what God has shared with me in these past few weeks, it has implications beyond what the word itself means, and the type of person we believe it describes. After spending some much needed time in the books of Proverbs and Psalms at the start of this year, i have begun to see the incredible importance of having a “fear of the LORD” present in one’s life. In it’s recent emphasis, i felt the Lord impress on me that it may be a decent idea to take a deeper look at what the “fear of the LORD” truly is, and what it opens up to us.
…Our relationship with God is not what the word (fear) means at face value
Let us start with our misunderstanding of what it means to ‘fear the LORD’. I am of the firm belief that the word translated as ‘fear’ from Hebrew (yir’âh – יראה – H3374) is better translated as ‘reverence’ in this day and age: an unwavering respect for the creator of the world. In reconciling this we realise that our relationship with God is not what the word means at face value; which would mean simply adding our all heavenly Father to a long list of ‘fears’ that already plague the world. Instead, we can begin to explore a relationship that produces a supernatural depth of love; love and respect for the creator of our universe.
King Solomon tells us in one of his many proverbs, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of Knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverb 1:7, King James Version). This is our link; this is what will make a lot of what i am about to share with you come together in coherent revelation – i know it did that for me. Without this level of understanding, God will not be able to get anything else through to us, so let us communicate what is being said here in this way; ‘to fear the LORD is wise; because it is our first step into wisdom.’ For someone to lack this particular characteristic, makes it impossible for them to be knowledgable, or to posses any amount of wisdom.
“…seekest her (wisdom) as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”
Proverbs 2:4-5, KJV
You are forgiven if up to this point you have surmised that a ‘fear of the LORD’ is the catalyst for personal revival, and a simple reshuffling of our priorities shall suffice. ‘I have to give God more time in prayer, cut off the entertainment, and replace it with a deeper level of consecration,’ you may be thinking: and though this always – and i truly mean ALWAYS – comes as a result of our reverence for a God that is well deserving of it, it is not the reason for it. No no no no no no, what brings us to a deeper level of reverence (and consequently, relationship), is In Proverb 2:1-5; in which Solomon encourages us to, “…seekest her (wisdom) as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:4-5, King James Version)
…What do you think? You got a word for it yet? I’d be impressed if you did; because the answer has only come to me during my writing of this piece (I’m sure it is evident by the incredibly sloppy authorship). The catalyst that will start you on your journey to a depth of relationship like none other…just hold on a second, it will come.
As we take a step back and look at the first proverb however; and almost ironically, it is wisdom herself that is crying out, and reaching for us to grasp an understanding of the ‘fear of the LORD.’ We see as much in the first proverb, “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:…Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.” (Proverb 1:20-23, KJV) So just as God sought us before we ever thought about seeking Him, Wisdom has been crying out for our involvement in the kingdom of God.
I apologize for this longer than normal introduction, but all of this is now reminding me of a particular Bible character’s backstory. You may know him as Israel’s greatest prophet or the writer of the torah, but i know him as ‘The Boss’! (for full effect, say this word like house, but with a ‘B’ replacing the ‘H’….Bouse, if you please.) I digress, but the impact his relationship with our God has had on my personal life is tremendous. I have decided to seek for nothing less than the relationship Moses has with Jesus; in this lifetime, and the life to come. After being exiled from Egypt by his adopted grandfather, Pharaoh, for his murder of an Egyptian soldier, Moses has made a comfortable life for himself. He has a wife (not an Israelite) children (uncircumcised) and he is a pastor (a shepherd…an actual shepherd, looking after actual sheep)…not quite the calling he had in mind, but at least he is comfortable. One day he is in the desert, looking after his flock, when he sees a bush on fire. A burning bush is not uncommon in the desert, so he was likely to walk on by: but i wonder how the fact that the bush was not burning caught his eye. Did he pass by it more then once on his way to and from his destination? Was he making a routine stop on his way to his destination? Or maybe he just enjoyed the show of a bush on fire? It is all just speculation, but however it happened he became curious. It was not enough for him to just see the sight on his passing, he had to turn and study the sight before him – why was this bush not burning?!?! It is in his curiosity that a fear, a reverence for the LORD came and he began to increase in wisdom.
Curiosity, that is the key!!
Curiosity, that is the key!! And as kings in the kingdom, it is our honor to search out the hidden treasures of God (Proverbs 25:2). Moses shows us what we need to understand the fear of the LORD; consequently receiving the favor and blessings that come with it.
It is strange, but as i go to write more on what i have found pertaining to this subject, i feel as though i would do a disservice to what God has done in this blog post. I believe all that read this will be like ‘the Boss’ – curious. Allow that to help you flow in to greater levels of consecration, not necessarily leading to greater levels of power, but deeper levels of love and relationship. Maybe one day i will be permitted to share more on the subject of the fear of the LORD, Wisdom etc; but for now i encourage you…turn, and study this great sight.