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Introduction
Recently a friend
wrote on Facebook a consideration on
the lack of the fear of the Lord.
It was a subject I had spoken on
some six weeks before in a series of
meetings in Ireland.
In reading her
comments I was faced again with this
theme.
In
the more serious moments of life the
individual may ask, “What is the
problem with my spirituality?”
Despite the outward appearance of
spirituality, despite the professed
“adherence to the Scriptures”, there
are times when one may feel that
their spiritual life is missing
something. An individual may be
saved but the pressing question each
has to ask themselves
is,
“Do I have the effective power of
divine life?” Or is the effective
power of the gospel in transformed
lives almost non existent? In
various countries of the world I
have met many saints who feel this
way spiritually, and a second
question comes, “Where is the fire
of God, the effective preaching of
the gospel?”; “the maturing of the
saints?” Is it possible that due to
the lack of fear of the Lord I can
be like Israel of whom God said:
“this people
draw
near me with their mouth, and with
their lips do honour me, but have
removed their heart far from me, and
their fear toward me is taught by
the precept of men” (Isa. 29:13).
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The expression, “The fear of the Lord”, is a
clause which occurs in twenty-seven verses in the scriptures.
Coupling with it are the clauses, “feared the Lord” (8 verses)
and “fear God” (10 verses). On three occasions the expression,
“fear God”, is a command by God through the human penman. Those
references are: |
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a) |
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and
keep His commandments” (Ecc. 12:13). There is then given to us
in the following verse why we should fear God, for there is a
day of divine assessment. |
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b) |
“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the
King.” (1 Pet. 2:17) |
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c) |
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven . . . saying
with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him.”
(Rev. 14:6-7) |
Clarification
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What is the fear of the Lord? |
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a) |
There are two aspects of this subject: |
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i) |
That which the unsaved ought to have is a genuine frightening
fear of facing God in His anger. |
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1. |
“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2
Cor. 5:11) |
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2. |
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God.” (Heb. 10:31) |
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3. |
“God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psa. 7:11) |
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4. |
“Fall on us, and hide us” (Rev. 6:16) |
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ii) |
That which ought to mark the believer. |
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1. |
For the believer it is not frightened fear but a godly reverence
and becoming lifestyle. It does not mean a down faced
appearance and a fear lest God seems ready to pounce on me if I
fail, or that I must constantly live in dread of failure. |
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2. |
It does mean a glorious freedom like a little child knowing the
boundaries of the home. |
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3. |
It is the attitude of approaching God having: |
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(a) |
His respect due to His position. Cp. Solomon on his throne,
approachable but with respect due to the throne. (1 Kgs. 10:19) |
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(b) |
The awareness of the consequences for wrong doing, Shimei,
before Solomon's throne.
(1 Kgs. 2:36-46) |
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(c) |
An appreciation of the fulness of His love, unlike Esther who
did not know if she would be accepted until the king held out
the scepter (Est. 5:2). The
scepter God holds out is the invitation to: “Come boldly unto
the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). |
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(d) |
The glory of the place He has brought me into, His banqueting
house, and his banner over me is love. (Song of Sol. 2:4) |
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(e) |
Living in a way becoming to Him, not to take his name in vain. (Prov.
30:9) |
The Prerequisites For Fearing God
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To fear God I must: |
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a) |
Believe that God is the absolute God of divine revelation. He
is not a mythical being. |
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b) |
Believe He is and eternally exists. |
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c) |
Having a living faith in the character and attributes of God, in
other words, God is not theoretical but a real living being. |
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Illustration:
When driving the roads I see a speed limit sign, but that law is
theoretical to me, yet the moment I see a police man,
immediately I glance at my speedometer, at that moment the
theoretical law becomes a living reality. |
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The distinctions: |
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a) |
There is a distinction between knowing God intellectually and
knowing Him by experience. |
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i) |
Knowing about God intellectually could be the result of: |
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Environment through creation. (Psa. 19:1; Rom. 1:20) |
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2. |
Education, as the children of Israel were told to do to their
children. (Deut. 4:10; 6:7) |
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3. |
Enlightenment, as with Abraham. (Acts 7:2) |
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ii) |
Knowing of God experientially is by recognizing His activities
in one’s life. When this happens the individual begins to sense
the closeness or distancing from His presence, when one is
pleasing or grieving to Him. His presence becomes a reality. |
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b) |
Another distinction is between factual belief and a living life
changing belief. |
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i) |
When John wrote his gospel he made a major distinction (Jn.
20:30-31). Twice he mentions the matter of believing, but
changes the words. He wrote: “These are written, that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing ye might have life through His name”. The first
“believe” is a noun, a fact, but the second is a verb, an action
word. Many believe intellectually that Jesus is the Son of God
but have never put their trust in Him for salvation, that is
believing. |
The First Impressions of God
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1) |
First impressions are so important, either for an interview or
in meeting an individual for the first time. This being so,
what is the first impression we get from God of Himself?
Accepting the fact we know nothing of Him, the questions range
from, “What is He like?”; “What has He done?”; What can he do?”
In the following books God unfolds the glories of His person,
position, power, principles, and prerogatives. Reading Genesis
chapter one the first words are arresting: “In the beginning
God!” In those few words there is revealed: |
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a) |
His descriptive Name. He is Elohim and it is a plural word
which means either, plurality of persons (as we learn from later
passages) working as one; or plurality of glories or
excellencies. In the first creation narrative
He is the God of power for He
alone had power to: |
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Speak into existence: “let there be” and it was so. (Gen. 1:3,
6, 9, 11, 14, 20; Jer. 51:15; Heb.11:3) |
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ii) |
Create (Gen.1:1, 21, 27). He has the exclusive ability to bring
into being. |
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Form (Gen. 1:7, 16, 25, 31 ; 2:2, 3). He has the exclusive
ability to form with wondrous intricacy and make it beautiful,
first time but never first attempt. |
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iv) |
Divide (Gen. 1:4) |
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v) |
Set (Gen. 1:17) |
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vi) |
Bring to ultimate fruition (Gen. 1:31: 2:1) |
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vii) |
Bless (Gen. 1:28; 2:3) |
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b) |
Another observation and revelation is His pre-creation
existence, for He creates the heavens and the earth. Later we
would learn of: |
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His attributes: |
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His wisdom: “To him that by wisdom made the heavens” (Psa.
136:5) |
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His exclusiveness and self sufficiency: “Thus saith the LORD . .
. I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth
the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself”
(Isa. 44:24) |
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His wisdom and understanding: “He hath made the earth by his
power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath
stretched out the heaven by his understanding” (Jer: 51:15) |
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2) |
While Genesis chapter one does not tell why God created, we do
get a major reason in the writings of other scriptural writers. |
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a) |
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth
his handywork.” (Psa. 19:1) |
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b) |
“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself
that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he
created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the
LORD; and there is none else.”
(Isa. 45:18) |
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c) |
“For Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are
and were created.” (Rev. 4:11) |
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3) |
The second impression of God is joined with the first
manifestation of man. |
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a) |
He is the God who created the circumstances through which in man
the blessing of curiosity and discovery could be awakened and
enjoyed (Gen. 2:10-14), for the natural question would be, “What
is at the end of the other rivers?” |
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b) |
He is the God of legislation and morality: |
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Adam could eat of every tree except that of good and evil. (Gen.
2:17) |
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Adam was given a responsibility. (Gen. 2:15) |
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iii) |
God instructed man there would be consequences for disobedience
(Gen. 2:17). This is further developed in Gen. 6:5-7; 11:2-9. |
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God is the God of sympathetic understanding. (Gen. 2:18) |
The Manifestation of God in Exodus
and Leviticus
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1) |
The Manifestation of God in Exodus |
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a) |
Exodus reveals God in a different way, not as much now in
sovereignty, but in His supremacy over every thing which is
called or worshipped as “god”. |
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“For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will
smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and
beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgment: I am the LORD.” (Ex. 12:12) |
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b) |
He is manifested as the Deliverer of His people in the
fulfillment of His promise: |
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“And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be
a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them;
and they shall afflict them four hundred years.” (Gen. 15:13) |
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ii) |
“And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty
years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts
of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 12:41) |
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iii) |
The difference shows they were in Egypt 30 years before the
affliction started. |
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c) |
Having delivered His people He has the power to sustain by
providing their daily needs and to solemnize His legislation
with demonstrated power and intimidation (Ex. 19:3-20:21). He
supplied: |
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i) |
Water to drink: |
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“And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed
from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to
the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there
was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did
chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink.
And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye
tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the
people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that
thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our
children and our cattle with thirst?” “Behold, I will stand
before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite
the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people
may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of
Israel.” (Ex. 17:1-3, 6) |
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ii) |
Food to eat: |
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1. |
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the
murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying,
At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be
filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your
God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and
covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the
host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the
face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small
as the hoar frost on the ground.” (Ex. 16:11-14) |
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2) |
The Manifestation of God in Leviticus |
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a) |
The truth of God’s authority over man (mentioned in Ex. 6:6;
7:5) in every aspect of life, comes to the fore in the
expression: “I am the Lord”, mentioned 45 times. |
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i) |
“For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify
yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall
ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up
out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be
holy, for I am holy”. (Lev. 11:44-45) |
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ii) |
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the
LORD your God . . . Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine
ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall
therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do,
he shall live in them: I am the LORD”. (Lev. 18:2-5) |
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iii) |
“Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the
LORD” (Lev. 19:30) |
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iv) |
“Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after
wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God” (Lev.
19:31) |
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v) |
“Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face
of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:32) |
. . . . Rowan Jennings
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