Fear God!

King Solomon, the wisest person that ever lived, after he had pondered on life and its meaning, declared in the Book of Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:

“Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” NLT

So, what does it mean to fear God?

Well, fear of God can mean a godly reverence for him.You should love, honor, worship and obey God and deal with the things of God with reverence. Fear of God can also mean that you obey his commandments, statutes, laws, decrees etc which can be found throughout the Bible. The most obvious are the 10 Commandments and other laws on social justice. Furthermore, the Bible declares in Micah 6:8:

“He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the LORD really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God.”

NET Bible

When a Pharisee expert in law wanted to trap Jesus Christ, he asked him what he considered to be the greatest law in the Bible. In Matthew 22:37-40:

“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” NLT

Furthermore, the Bible says in Proverbs 1:7:Fear

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”NKJV

In Psalm 36 :10-13, we see some of the basic requirements that are prescribed by the Psalmist to show reverence and fear of the Lord. It says:

“Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord. Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good.Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” NLT

Some of the benefits and blessings that comes from the fear of the Lord are found found in Psalms 33:17-18 and 145:17-20:

“But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.” NLT

“He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked. The Lord is righteous in everything he does;he is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on him,yes, to all who call on him in truth.” NLT

The Lord is not pleased with those that do not fear him. However, he has reserved special punishment for those who do not fear him and show this by being hostile to a certain category of those considered as weak and helpless in society. In Deuteronomy 27:19, there is a special curse reserved for those who oppress this class of people.It says:

“‘Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.’And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’NLT

Also, in Malachi 3:5, the Lord says:

““At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” NLT

Now, let us look at some Bible characters that did not fear God and were instantly punished by him. First, let us look at the children of Aaron, the Priest. Even though they were consecrated as priests, they did not fear God. They offered a strange fire to God and were instantly punished by him. In Leviticus 10:1-2:

“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. So, fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.” NLT

In Daniel 5:1- 12. And 25-30:

“Many years later King Belshazzar gave a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking the wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.