Fear? Yes, please!

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, 

but fools despise wisdom and instruction."  Proverbs 1:7

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."  Proverbs 31:30

Do you find it interesting that the first and last chapters of the book of Proverbs speaks of the fear of the Lord?  That means something to me.  As I have gone through the Proverbs over and over this year, I have seen numerous verses that speak to this subject, and the fact that the writer begins and ends with counsel concerning the fear of the Lord only magnifies the fact that this is something that we are to desire and to work to attain.

I have given you my favorite definition of the fear of the Lord.  I will repeat this one and give you another.

"The fear of the Lord is the painful but motivating awareness that God is watching, weighing and judging everyone of my words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes."

"Genuine fear of the Lord is always seen in obedience to the Word of God,. People who do not walk in line with God's Word do not fear the Lord, regardless of what they profess with their lips. Therefore, when we fear the Lord, there is an elements of dread at what His wrath can do, but there is also such a respect for Him and for His will that nothing else matters but doing that which pleases the Lord."  http://sermonnotebook.org

Oswald Chambers said, "The remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else."

Let's take a look at the  verses in Proverbs that give us insight into the fear of the Lord:

Proverbs 1:7--It is the beginning of knowledge.  Want knowledge?  Fear the Lord.

Proverbs 2:1-5--Understanding the fear of the Lord comes by treasuring God's Word.

Proverbs 8:13--Fearing God leads us to hatred of evil.

Proverbs 9:10--As we fear God, we gain wisdom.

Proverbs 10:27--Fearing God leads to a longer life.  That is an obvious statement, because as we exercise the fear of the Lord in our lives, we will avoid many of the things that can bring about a shortened life.

Proverbs 14:26--As we fear the Lord we will have strong confidence, and we will give our children a place of refuge.  (I love this verse!)

Proverbs 14:27--The fear of the Lord enables us to turn away from the snares of death.  (Remember 10:27)

Proverbs 15:16--Even having a little with the fear of the Lord is a good thing.

Proverbs 15:33--As we fear God we are taught wisdom.

Proverbs 16:6--The fear of the Lord shows us how to turn from evil.

Proverbs 23:17--As we fear the Lord, our heart will not envy sinners.  (Come on, you know that's a temptation.)

Proverbs 28:14--The fear of the Lord brings blessing on our lives.

Proverbs 31:30--The fear of the Lord is praiseworthy.

No wonder the Proverbs 31 woman is praiseworthy!  She explodes with the fear of the Lord.  Why would we not want to fear the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe and all that's in it?

Praising the Source of my "Strong Confidence," 

Gloria