Bonus Lesson 2023: Fear of the Lord
Why does scripture say we should fear a loving God?
“The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”
Oswald Chambers
Passage
1My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments;
2For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you.
3Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
7Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.
Proverbs 3:1–8 (NASB95)
Background
Quote-Oswald Chambers (24 July 1874 – 15 November 1917) was an early-twentieth-century Scottish Baptist evangelist and teacher who was aligned with the Holiness Movement. He is best known for the daily devotional My Utmost for His Highest. While teaching at Dunoon, Chambers was influenced by Richard Reader Harris, KC, a prominent barrister and founder of the Pentecostal League of Prayer. In 1905, Reader introduced Chambers as "a new speaker of exceptional power." n 1911 Chambers founded and was principal of the Bible Training College in Clapham Common, Greater London, in an "embarrassingly elegant" property that had been purchased by the Pentecostal League of Prayer. In 1915, a year after the outbreak of World War I, Chambers suspended the operation of the school and was accepted as a YMCA chaplain. Chambers was stricken with appendicitis on 17 October 1917, but resisted going to a hospital on the grounds that the beds would be needed by men wounded in the long-expected Third Battle of Gaza. On 29 October, a surgeon performed an emergency appendectomy; however, Chambers died 15 November 1917 from a pulmonary hemorrhage. He was buried in Cairo with full military honors.
Passage- The genre of Proverbs is mainly “Proverbs” as the name describes, there are also some Parables and Poetry. This book was written mainly by Solomon, the wisest king ever to rule. It was written during Solomon’s reign 970-930 B.C. He asked God for wisdom to rule God’s nation and He granted the request.
The main purpose of this book is to teach wisdom to God’s people. These are things which are typically true however, not always. They deal with life, principles, good judgment, and perception. They often draw distinctions between a wise man and a foolish man with parable type examples.
Lesson Notes
Opening Statement
“Fear of the Lord” isn’t the terror of a tyrant coming to punish or hurt you. Fear of the Lord is the realization of just how powerful God is, and that He takes an interest in us at all.
Ask: “I don’t understand why a loving God would want His children to be afraid of Him. Why does God tell us to be afraid of Him?”
Point: He doesn’t. Re-read verse 7 of Today’s Passage and then look at the Hebrew word behind “fear.”
7Be not wise in thine own eyes: Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Proverbs 3:7 (KJV 1900)
Ask: Why “revere the Lord” as the final source of what is Good or Evil?
Point: Because God made it all and gave us each everything we have. Please read the following:
13‘I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
14“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:13–15 (NASB95)
Ask: Is there an implication to our lives if we acknowledge God gave us everything we have?
Point: Yes. Please read the following:
5Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
Genesis 6:5–7 (NASB95)
Ask: If we acknowledge God’s power to create and destroy literally anything as reverence of His authority, then what do we do next? Is that mere acknowledgment enough?
Point: No. It is not enough. It is just the beginning. Please read the following:
1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,
3To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity;
4To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,
5A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.
7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:1–7 (NASB95)
Ask: Reverence to God, “fear of the Lord,” is the beginning but where do we get “wisdom and instruction” from?
Point: Please read the following:
14“If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God.
15“If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
1 Samuel 12:14–15 (NASB95)
Ask: Serving God and following His commandments or instructions doesn’t explain why fear is something a loving God wants. Doesn’t scripture say not to do things out of fear? Isn’t that a contradiction?
Point: Scripture does say that but this isn’t making decisions or taking actions based on being afraid of something.It takes a series of passages to connect the dots about fear of the Lord. Please read the following:
14For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Romans 8:14–17 (NASB95)
Ask: What does being led by the Spirit of God have to do with the fear of the Lord not being about being afraid of Him?
Point: It is the first step in understanding we are the adopted sons and daughters of the Most High through Jesus Christ, which is important for our next passage. Please read the following:
9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Isaiah 41:9–10 (NASB95)
Ask: Now God is saying not to fear but first He said to fear. We still have a contradiction, right?
Point: No. God is not telling us not to fear Him. He is instructing us that there is no one to fear because we are His. Please read the following:
26“Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
27“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.
28“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:26–28 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
“Fear of the Lord” is reverence for His ways. It is an acknowledgment that He set up the rules and abides by them. Those rules mean there is a clear cut difference between right and wrong. Those rules mean there are consequences for willfully and knowingly ignoring those rules. Fear of the Lord means understanding that God is with His children in a protective sense and having seen what it looks like when that protective and guiding hand of the Lord is removed, we do not want Him to leave us unprotected; we fear that protective hand being removed. At the end of the day we choose to follow Him or we don’t, but that choice has consequences and there are only two camps; the goats and the sheep. He gets to decide which camp we are in, we don’t.
Questions for the Week
Question 1 Pray and answer the question posed at the end of this scripture:
15“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15 (NASB95)
Question 2 If the implications of that decision cause you pause, study and pray on this scripture:
6“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NASB95)
Question 3 Read all of Proverbs Chapter 1 focusing on verses 20-33.
Question 4 Study and pray about verse 33 from Proverbs 1 and what implication that verse has if you “hearkeneth” or “listen” to “Wisdom shouts in the street.”
Definitions
7Be not wise in thine own eyes: Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Proverbs 3:7 (KJV 1900)
The Hebrew word is not a causative verb in this usage. It is in the moral sense of God being the ultimate source of right and wrong. Yes, the English translation puts “fear” in the position of a verb but in the context of the sentence we are to depart from evil based on our “fear of the Lord” meaning His definition of Good and Evil.
Hebrew Strong’s Number: 3372
Hebrew Word: יָרֵא
Transliteration: yārēʾ
Phonetic Pronunciation: yaw-ray’
Root: a primitive root
Cross Reference: TWOT - 907, 908
Part of Speech: v
Vine’s Words: Fear (To)
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
fear 188
afraid 78
terrible 23
terrible thing 6
dreadful 5
reverence 3
fearful 2
terrible acts 1
miscellaneous translations 8
[Total Count: 314]
a primitive root; to fear; moral to revere; causative to frighten:- affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence (-end), × see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).
James Strong, “יָרֵא (1),” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
hearken
hark·en
hahr-kuhn
verb (used without object)
1. Literary. to give heed or attention to what is said; listen.
verb (used with object)
2. Archaic. to listen to; hear.
Wisdom Crieth Without (outside)
20Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;
21At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
22“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?
23“Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
24“Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;
26I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,
27When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
28“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,
29Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30“They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.
31“So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.
32“For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33“But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
Proverbs 1:20–33 (NASB95)
Excellent! Looking forward to class tomorrow!