“The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:1-7
Do you fear the Lord? This introduction to Proverbs tells us that fearing Him is the beginning of knowledge, and this is the thematic statement of this entire book of wisdom. To fear the Lord is to know who God is and then to respond to Him appropriately.
Do you fear the Lord? If God is who He has revealed himself to be in the Bible, then we must respond to Him with trust, love, and, yes, appropriate fear. This is the holy God, whose law is perfect, whose promises never fail, and whose justice will be satisfied. As one author wrote, the fear of the Lord means that you “believe his promises and love him; and you believe his threats and fear him.”
Do you fear the Lord? If you fear Him, you will no longer be able to easily excuse sin. If you fear Him, you will desire to please Him and to be with Him. If you fear Him, you will trust in his goodness, mercy, love, and justice more each day. If you fear Him, righteousness, justice, and equity will move to the center of your motivations.
Do you fear Him?
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