‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬There is a blessing reserved for those who fear the Lord. Our present focus will be to understand what is meant by the fear of the Lord. The first thing to avoid is extrapolation of fear of idols to the fear of the Lord. Anyone with background knowledge of idols will probably quake at the mention of the fear of the Lord. This is because some of those gods are scary, to say the least. Their practitioners are always on edge. They make endless sacrifices to appease the gods. The idols are always angry and must need be appeased. If we hold that concept, we will misrepresent God. Jesus who was God incarnate came and called us friends! Then we are told that He came as High Priest, and His type of priesthood is one that could be touched by our infirmities. So the fear of the Lord being advocated here is not the one that cripples us; it is a fear that is exercised through reverence to the Lord. We approach Him with all the honour and majesty that is due to His name.

There is a blessing reserved for those who fear the Lord…those who fear the Lord need no policing, the fear in their hearts is what regulates them both publicly and privately.

Secondly, the fear of the Lord is demonstrated by departing from iniquity. This is clearly stated in Proverbs 16:6 – “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” I love saying that those who fear the Lord need no policing, the fear in their hearts is what regulates them both publicly and privately. Our fear for the Lord should stem out of love for Him; and it is the same love that should motivate us out of everything that is displeasing to God. If we truly walk in the fear of the Lord, we will hate what He hates.