Understanding the Fear of the Lord (Part 1)
May 14/15, 2005
Don Jaques
MAIN IDEA: All people must develop a healthy fear of the LORD in order to be in right relationship to God. To fear the Lord is to have an appropriate awe and respect for God’s holiness and power.
OBJECTIVES: Listeners will understand what it means to “fear the LORD”. Listeners will examine their lives to see if they truly hate evil and if they truly respect God’s holiness and power.
INTRO: “No fear”. It’s on clothing, it’s in commercials.
But having no fear is stupid. Little children with no fear of heights can get hurt badly. Having no fear of boiling water on a stove leads to burns. Having no fear of getting hurt leads to reckless driving. It may sound really brave to say “I have no fear”, but in many situations, fear is a very healthy thing to have!
In our spiritual life, fear is also a very healthy thing to have! In fact, having no fear of God has disastrous effects in our lives, and in the effectiveness of the Church.
The concept of the Fear of the LORD is found all throughout the Bible, with about 200 passages that teach those who are willing to listen how important this attitude is in our relationship with God.
In Deuteronomy 5:29, Moses reveals the heart of God toward His chosen people. Moses has gone to speak with the LORD, and the LORD says to him…
Deut. 5:29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!
God here sounds like the parent of a wayward child, doesn’t He? He longs for His children’s hearts to be inclined to fear Him – not for his own sake, but for theirs!
Did you hear that? God loves you and desires that your life go well, and that your children’s lives go well. But it comes in exchange for something. That “something” is living your life in the fear of the LORD.
Now, because I long for you to enjoy the benefits of a life blessed by God, and because I want my children and your children to know the same benefits, I’m going to embark on a new teaching series on the fear of the LORD. It’s going to be a challenging series. We’re all going to have to wrestle with our own responses to God and to His word. But I’m convinced it’s going to be worth it! Because the key to developing an intimate friendship with God is understanding and developing a healthy fear of the LORD. So friends, I hope you’ve got your hiking boots on, because the higher ground awaits us!
BODY:
Before we go too far into this series of messages we need to start right at the beginning and get a clear understanding of what is meant, and what is NOT meant, by this phrase “the fear of the LORD”. This week and next we’ll be looking at two key parts of what it means to truly fear the Lord as the Bible instructs us.
1. To fear the LORD means to have an appropriate awe and respect for God’s holiness. (Isaiah 6:1-5, Psalm 33:8-9)
ILLUS: Isaiah 6:1-5
Isaiah 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
Notice Isaiah’s response to his vision of the Almighty. When He saw Yahweh in all his glory – he cowered before him. It was as if in the glory of God’s presence, all of his own sin was magnified. What seemed OK when around other people was utterly contemptible in the presence of a holy God.
ILLUS: When camping you get used to a certain level of dirt and grime on your body and clothes, but when you come home the first thing you do is clean yourself up. You wouldn’t think of going to a friend’s home before you got rid of that grime.
This gives us just a glimpse into what Isaiah felt like when he came into contact with the presence of Yahweh. “I am filthy. I don’t deserve to be here. In fact, I think I’ll probably be struck down right here and now by God – and he’d be just in doing it!”
Isaiah had the fear of the Lord, because he saw the Lord for who he really was – and that vision exposed him for he who really was – and the comparison was shockingly painful.
Now, notice what the seraphs call out to each other, describing Yahweh. They don’t call out “loving, loving, loving”, nor do they call out “mighty, mighty, mighty”. The one word to describe our God is “holy”.
What does “holy” mean? In its most basic form, holy means “separate”. God stands apart from all the rest of creation – there is nothing that compares with him, even the mysterious angelic creatures we read of in Isaiah 6. But “holy” also carries with it the meaning “perfect”. Yahweh our God is perfect in power, perfect in righteousness, perfect in wisdom, perfect in purity, perfect in love, perfect in knowledge and wisdom. And it is precisely these traits which makes him “separate” from all the rest of creation.
Because Isaiah realized he was in the presence of this completely separate, completely perfect being – he responded as any of us would have. “Woe is me – I’m done for!”
TRANS: Yahweh our God is not “the man upstairs”. He is the almighty creator of the universe, and he is worthy of our reverence, our respect, our awe, our heartfelt worship! He is completely HOLY, but he is also MIGHTY IN POWER.
2. To fear the LORD means to have an appropriate awe and respect for God’s power. (Exodus 19-20, Job 38-41)
In Exodus 19, we read of the time when Yahweh came down in power upon Mount Sinai to meet with Moses and to give the people of Israel an indication of his power. Let’s hear the story…
Exodus 19:1-22
1 In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on the very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ’You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.
9 The LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you." Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.
10 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ’Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain."
14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations."
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them."
Then the story continues as God gives Moses the 10 commandments. We pick up the story after this has happened.
Exodus 20:18-20 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
When the people saw what happened when God came down to the mountain – they had the same reaction Isaiah had. They cringed in fear. They said – “Moses – you go up there! We don’t want God to speak directly to us or we will die! We can see his power, and we’re reminded of how sinful we are, and the fact that he could (and just might) wipe us out at any moment.”
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
This is such a key – and we’ll be talking a lot more about this in weeks to come – but Moses tells them that when they have this fear of God it will keep them from sinning! That’s why it is so important that we understand how powerful God is! Only when we rightly understand that he could, at any moment, wipe us off the face of the earth, and be completely justified in doing so, will we have the inner motivation to turn from sin in our lives.
We don’t always understand what God is doing in our lives or in this world. And sometimes we can fall into a sort of disrespect for God that comes out in statements like “well, when I see God I’m going to have a few things to ask him about!”
Job was a man who had plenty of questions for God. He had lost everything, his children, his livelihood, his wealth, his health. Seems like he is justified in questioning God, if anyone ever was.
But listen to how God replies to Job…
Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone-
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?…
16 "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 "What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
Job 40
1 The LORD said to Job:
2 "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!"
3 Then Job answered the LORD :
4 "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but I will say no more."
6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:
7 "Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
8 "Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,
and can your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at every proud man and bring him low,
12 look at every proud man and humble him,
crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.
Do you get the picture? God is almighty in power. He has complete perfect understanding and knowledge, and he holds all of creation in the palm of his hand. He is, in the true sense of the word, awesome.
We may say things like, “If God was here right now, I’d have a few questions to ask him! Why did this happen, or why didn’t that happen?”
But the truth that Job discovered is that God doesn’t owe us an explanation at all. He is the mighty King of creation. And it is our role in creation to fear Him by having awe and respect for his power!
CONCLUSION:
We have an informal setting here. We don’t typically dress up – we don’t have a lot of formal rituals such as bowing before an altar or entering the worship center with silence. And I’m not saying we necessarily want to incorporate those things into our worship style. But we do have to ask ourselves a question.
Question:
Is your relationship with God marked with awe and respect, or with something else? Familiarity, disrespect, contempt?
Because God is Holy, because he is mighty, we dare not waltz into his presence as if we belong there. The only way to approach God rightly is with an appropriate level of fear of his holiness and power.
I close with Moses’ exhortation to the Israelites as they stood on the borders of the promised land, which waited for them to take it.
Deut. 10:12-13 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
God was promising His people that if they would only fear Him, the promised land would be theirs. That promise was not only to the people of Israel thousands of years ago. It stands today for those who will choose the fear of the LORD.
TEACH SONG “we choose the fear of the LORD”
