fearofthelord

Proverbs 9:10

Woe betide the man or woman that dispenses of the knowledge of God.  We live in an era in the evangelical Church where experience trumps knowledge!  Everyone wants to experience God!!  Away with boring theology (they say) — let it perish with the seminaries!! Give us a fresh encounter!! Let us feel God!!  Let us experience His divine touch!!  I’m all for experiencing God, but again I go down on record to say, “THEOLOGY MATTERS”. How you understand God will determine how you relate to Him!!  What you know about God will affect how you live for God. 

In this sermon, we look at two of God’s divine attributes and how through the knowledge of God it ought to move us to fear.

The other day I Googled the phrase “How to Live Well.” 19.5 trillion entries popped up. Yikes! Apparently a lot of people have something to say on this matter. And I do as well in today’s episode. But it’s going to be different than what my 19.5 trillion colleagues are offering up, I’m sure.

But before we get into all this, welcome to You Were Made for This. If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for.

I am your host John Certalic.  As an award-winning author and relationship coach, I'm here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you.

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Today’s episode, number 168, is about a really important relationship God designed for you and me; namely, a relationship with Him! It’s where we’ll find the greatest amount of joy, for He teaches us how to live well in so many practical ways. For example, he devoted a whole book of the Bible to this subject, drawing from the life of Solomon. the wisest man who ever lived.

I’ll read the first chapter of this book from the Bible, the Book of Proverbs, and then comment from time to time as I read. It’s only 33 verses, so it won’t take long. As I read, notice the contrast between people who are wise, and those who are not, and notice the practical advice Solomon has for how to live well here in the 21st century.

NOTE: The comments I interject in reading of Proverbs 1 appear only in the audio version

The Purpose of Proverbs

1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.
2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
  to help them understand the insights of the wise.
  3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
 to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
  4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
 knowledge and discernment to the young.
5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
 Let those with understanding receive guidance
, 6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
 the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
 but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom

8 My child, listen when your father corrects you.
 Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
  9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
    and be a chain of honor around your neck.
10 My child, if sinners entice you,
 turn your back on them!
  11 They may say, “Come and join us.
 Let’s hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
  12 Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave;
 let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
  13 Think of the great things we’ll get!
 We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
  14 Come, throw in your lot with us;
 we’ll all share the loot.”
15 My child, don’t go along with them!
 Stay far away from their paths.
  16 They rush to commit evil deeds.
 They hurry to commit murder.
  17 If a bird sees a trap being set,
 it knows to stay away.
  18 But these people set an ambush for themselves;
 they are trying to get themselves killed.  
19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
 it robs them of life.

Wisdom Shouts in the Streets

20 Wisdom shouts in the streets.
  She cries out in the public square.
  21 She calls to the crowds along the main street,
 to those gathered in front of the city gate:
  22 “How long, you simpletons,
 will you insist on being simpleminded?
How long will you mockers relish your mocking?
 How long will you fools hate knowledge?
  23 Come and listen to my counsel.
I’ll share my heart with you
 and make you wise.
24 “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come.
 I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.  
25 You ignored my advice
 and rejected the correction I offered.
  26 So I will laugh when you are in trouble!
 I will mock you when disaster overtakes you —
  27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
  when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone,
  and anguish and distress overwhelm you.
28 “When they cry for help, I will not answer.
 Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
  29 For they hated knowledge
 and chose not to fear the Lord.
  30 They rejected my advice
 and paid no attention when I corrected them.
  31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
 choking on their own schemes.
  32 For simpletons turn away from me—to death.
 Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
33 But all who listen to me will live in peace,
    untroubled by fear of harm.”

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

So what does all this mean for YOU?

If you start going through the 19.5 trillion Google entries for “how to live well” I mentioned at the beginning, I’m sure you’ll find some things that sound attractive. But most of them are about behavior.

Solomon, however, takes it a step further and talks about behavior rooted in our relationship with God and our reverence for Him and all that he stands for. Which raises the question for all of us, namely, how much do my values align with God’s values?

Here’s the main takeaway I hope you remember from today’s episode

The answer to “how to live well” is found in growing in wisdom by looking beyond ourselves. It’s to live in reverence to God and embrace what is important to Him, and then live accordingly.

I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about today’s episode.

Closing

In closing, I hope your thinking was stimulated by today’s show, to ask yourself how wise are you living? Are you growing wiser as you allow the Spirit of God to teach you how to live well?

For when you do, it will help you experience the joy of relationships God designed for you. Because as you know by now, You Were Made for This.

Well, that’s it for today. Please consider telling others about this podcast if you think it would be interesting and helpful to them. And don’t forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I’ll see you next time.

Related episodes you may want to listen to

021:The most Important Relationship of All
139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast?

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WISHING ALL A HAPPY MOTHERS DAY AS WE CELEBRATE THE DIVINE MOTHER, THE GODDESS OF THE COSMOS.  Join Mandy as she teaches us where some of the lost threads are left that illuminate our picture of a Heavenly Mother and some of her amazing attributes.  We look to Egypt and texts from the Bible to find remnants of her beautiful work and legacy that lives in THROUGH YOU!  

Happy Thursday to you, friends! Today was a beautiful and warm day in central California, and I think that has many people - including my kids - antsy for a return to regular life. I am rooting for that to be sooner, rather than later, but fully expect it to be later rather than sooner. Alas. On a walk today with my wife, she asked me how much longer I thought the quarantine and shut down would last. I obviously have no idea, but the answer I gave her kind of came out of nowhere, and went something like this, "Until the people of God begin to walk in the fear of the Lord again." I didn't really intend for that kind of Bible-juke to come out, but there you go. I do believe there is some truth to the statement, especially after reading Leviticus 26 yesterday. I don't know about you, but that passage rattled me.

Today's Bible readings are from Leviticus 27, Psalms 34, Ecclesiastes 10 and Titus 2. A few episodes ago, we talked about the fear of the Lord. Perhaps the main thing we saw in that episode is that the Bible discusses the fear of the Lord frequently, and points to walking in the fear of the Lord as absolutely crucial to prospering, protection, and persevering in the faith. It will be a theme we return to fairly regularly, much like the resurrection, the Gospel, spiritual gifts, repentance, and others. Today we are going to get some practical advice from the Psalms that gives us directions on HOW to fear the Lord - what it looks like when we fear the Lord. Let's go read Psalms 34 and then come back and discuss it.

First, we see the beautiful promise of God to be free from fear:

I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him are radiant with joy;
their faces will never be ashamed.
⁶ This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.

Psalm 34:4-7

And then we see the how-to of God-fearing:

Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Who is someone who desires life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do what is good;
seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,
to remove all memory of them from the earth.
¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.

Psalms 34:11-18

How do you walk in the fear of the Lord? It's pretty simple:

1. Keep your tongue from evil. The word for 'evil' in Hebrew is 'רַע raʻ, rah' it means the opposite of good - hurtful, malicious, wicked - against the ways of God. This is a fairly blanket term and would include pretty much anything that God's Word forbids - swearing, complaining, attacking, grumbling, tearing down, course and crude joking, hate speech, etc.

   2. Keep your lips from deceitful speech. This doesn't merely include lying, but also deceit, guile and deception. In other words, to walk in the fear of God, you should be straightforward and honest in your words.

   3. Turn away from evil. This is another way of saying repent - turn away from evil deeds and actions and walk in God's ways.

   4. Seek AND pursue peace. This double command seems to indicate an impassioned pursuit of peace, not just a half-hearted attempt at it. A person of God will not only desire to be peaceful, but will seek and PURSUE IT.

What are the promises of walking in this way? Myriad. Long life and blessing. The protection of God. The Angel of the Lord camping around you. Rescue from adversaries and the refuge of the Lord. This is the way, walk in it!

Let's close with a brief word from brother Spurgeon:

He who can manage his tongue can manage his whole body; for the tongue is the rudder of the ship, and if that be properly held, the vessel will be rightly steered. If thou wouldst escape the quicksands and the rocks, look well to thy tongue; keep it from evil, that it speak neither blasphemy against God nor slander against thy fellow-men; and keep thy lips from guile, that is, from deceit, from double meanings, from saying one thing and meaning another, or making other people think that you mean another,—an art all too well understood in these days. God make us plain-speaking men, who say what we mean, and mean what we say! When, by the grace of God, we are taught to do this, we have learned a good lesson.

C. H. Spurgeon, “The Great Change,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 42 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896), 347.

Happy Wednesday, friends! Today is officially episode 94, but only because I messed up yesterday and skipped a number. Therefore, episode #92 never officially existed. Or maybe it did, and had the 8 secrets of humanity on it, but the Illuminati got a hold of it and deleted it. The illuminati is always messing up things like podcasts, and the world and stuff. Alas. Speaking of numbers, today is day #15 of shelter in place for us central Californians. I heard lots of criticism around the country - some of it extreme and absurd - for that move when it happened, but it actually seems to have kept cases on a lower level here for now, which is actually a blessing. I never thought I'd see the day when I would defend a broad-reaching government order to stay sheltered in place, but the world has gone mad, so there you go.

I had the privilege of talking on the phone today to a first-responder/fire-fighter who is a daily listener to the show. Shout out to you, Rooster. Very interesting conversation! He told me all of the precautions and such that first responders are having to take now in the midst of this coronavirus catastrophe, and it was pretty extreme to hear. These are unnerving times for all of us. Pray for our first responders - our firefighters, medics and police officers. Pray for our nurses and doctors and other medical care and support staff too. Double shout-outs to all of you guys and ladies who are on the front lines of this scary situation. May the Lord bless you and keep you and shine His grace and favor on you! Thank you from the bottom of the hearts from the rest of us.

Today's Bible readings are Leviticus 4, Psalms 1 and 2, Proverbs 19 and Colossians 2. Our focus passage today is actually a focus verse, which is found in Proverbs 19:

The fear of the Lord leads to life;
one will sleep at night without danger.

Proverbs 19:23

Let's talk about the fear of the Lord, shall we? We haven't focused much on Proverbs so far in the pod, but this is an excellent place for us to begin, and this is an excellent time for us to discuss the fear of the Lord. I suspect that, if you could measure the net amount of fear in the world by some sort of tangible measurement - perhaps a GigaPhobe, than I believe that the amount of fear in the world, and the amount of fear in the United States of America hasn't been higher in my lifetime. People were shook during and shortly after the 911 attacks, but there was also great confidence that our nation's military and leadership would be able to battle back against terroristic attacks, and better defend the country. People are more shook, I perceive, by this coronavirus threat - primarily because our best minds and our best leaders and all of our money has been of no avail to us at this point.

And yet, one of the most common and repeated commands of the Bible is to "fear not." Conversely, one of the most commonly repeated commands of the Bible is also to fear the Lord! In this paradox, we find some important wisdom, that I believe Jesus beautifully, and terrifyingly sums up:

²⁸ Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:28-31

To sum up - don't fear murderers and scary things. Don't fear diseases and illness. DO fear God the Father. But, overall - don't be AFRAID. Interesting advice - and quite paradoxical at first glance. Looking back at our Proverb - it is also a little paradoxical, isn't it? It seems a bit self-contradictory to say that the fear of the Lord will lead to life AND will help you sleep well at night! And yet, that's precisely what the fear of the Lord does! That brings us to our main question - what exactly does it mean to fear the Lord? I'm glad you asked. I've heard preachers and pastors try to explain the fear of the Lord in terms of respect, or obedience, or reverence - and all of those are definitely aspects of the fear of the Lord, but are we actually supposed to be afraid of the Lord?

In answering the question, let's begin with the Hebrew word used: יִרְאָה yirʼâh, yir-aw. It is a noun, but in terms of etymology, it is from a Hebrew verb which means, "to be afraid." Most of the time when this word is used in the Old Testament, it is used in the context of the fear of the Lord, so those passages don't exactly illuminate the type of fear of God that we are to walk in. Psalm 55:5, however does give us a good idea what the word itself means:

My heart shudders within me;
terrors of death sweep over me.
⁵ Fear and trembling grip me;
horror has overwhelmed me.

Psalm 55:5

Yiraw and trembling grip me, says the Psalmist - horror has overwhelmed me. I'd say that is a pretty good indication that the fear of the Lord means exactly what it sounds like it means. The fear of the Lord is also mentioned several times in the New Testament, such as in these passages:

So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (Acts 9:31)

Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your consciences. (2 Corinthians 5:11)

The Greek word there is phobos, and it is the same word used famously in Luke 2:9 of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks, "The Glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore phobos/afraid."
At least grammatically, the word 'fear' in the phrase 'fear of the Lord,' means precisely what it seems to mean. Fear! How can this be a good thing to be afraid of God?! Let's look at some Proverbs on the fear of the Lord and close up by talking about HOW the fear of the Lord is, in fact, a good thing AND a COMFORT to us.

Ten Verses of Wisdom on the Fear of the Lord:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his instructions have good insight. His praise endures forever. Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are reliable and altogether righteous. Psalm 19:9

How happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!... Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children, like young olive trees around your table. ⁴ In this very way the man who fears the Lord will be blessed. Psalm 128:1-4

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. Proverbs 10:27

In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and his children have a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:26-27

Iniquity is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness, and one turns from evil by the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 16:6

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. Proverbs 31:30

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. Ecclesiastes 12:1

That's quite a bit of Scripture - do you notice how often the fear of the Lord is connected with fleeing from evil, and being protected by God?

Here is what I think is going on. Consider these four Proverbs:

11:4 Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath,
but righteousness rescues from death.

11:8 The righteous one is rescued from trouble;
in his place, the wicked one goes in.

Proverbs 12:7 The wicked are overthrown and perish,
but the house of the righteous will stand.

14:11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will flourish.

There are dozens and dozens and dozens more Proverbs like this. Beyond question, the teaching of the Bible is that God protects the righteous. In Christ, we are not made righteous by our own acts, but by the sinless perfection of Jesus. That doesn't mean, however, as Paul is quick to note, that Christians have a license to sin - God forbid. Old Testament followers of God were called to righteousness and were protected when they obeyed and pursued the Lord. The same is true for New Testament believers. We are not saved by works of righteousness, but by Jesus. That said - SIN is still a deadly danger to Christians - one that modern, Western Christians have not paid nearly enough attention to. James is very stark in his warning:

¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. ¹⁵ Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

James 1:14-15

As I have told you before, I do not know why this plague of coronavirus is shaking the world. I am confident, however, in how we should respond to it, and I believe that this is from the Lord. We must REPENT. Turn from our sins large and small. Consider our ways. Ask the Lord to search us and repent from anything He brings to mind. How does the fear of the Lord fit into repenting? Proverbs 16 tells us, "One turns from evil by the fear of the Lord. "Proverbs 16:6 Brothers and sisters, as I've mentioned before, I believe the Lord has His church right now in a place of repentance. Turning away from sin and worldliness and turning to Him. Healing comes when we do that. Healing comes when our leaders do that. Pray for our leaders to repent. Our government leaders and our spiritual leaders. Great protection will come on our cities, states and countries when we and our leaders turn to God in the fear of the Lord.

ISAIAH 2:
5 House of Jacob,
come and let us walk in the Lord’s light….
11 The pride of mankind will be humbled,
and human loftiness will be brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

12 For a day belonging to the Lord of Armies is coming
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—
…
17 The pride of mankind will be brought low,
and human loftiness will be humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
18 The idols will vanish completely.

19 People will go into caves in the rocks
and holes in the ground,
away from the terror of the Lord
and from his majestic splendor,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day people will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made to worship,
to the moles and the bats.