“The fear of ADONAI is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of holy ones is understanding” (Prov 9:10)

Genesis 1 ‘begins with the Hebrew letter B or Bet – Bereschit bara Elohim’ – which in Hebrew script looks something like this: ב. As the Hebrew script is written from right to left, in contrast to our own, we can see that this letter is closed in behind, above and below, reminding us to walk or look forwards.

The base structure of B or Bet is also the base of P or Peh, which is the ancient pictorial alphabet symbol for mouth, indicative of God speaking. And similar to our own language, it is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet following on from Aleph, the first letter of Elohim – an active reminder that everything, including creation, begins with God.

So God initiates our walk of faith: through His creation of us, through His word (both written and spoken), and through Him calling us forward. But our response to it is vital too. My understanding is that this response begins with a proper fear of the Lord. Let me explain.

Fear in the Scriptures

To our 21st century minds, fear can be an odd concept when associated with God. We are taught that God is love. So how can fear happily co-exist with love? We gain a clue from the text of Exodus 20:20, where we read “Moshe answered the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come only to test you and make you fear him, so that you won’t commit sins.”

Psalm 25 is similar: it extols the virtues of God, but right in the middle, the question is rhetorically posed; ‘who is the person who fears God?’ (v.12) In like manner Proverbs 1 reiterates that the ‘fear of God is the beginning of wisdom’, though it also helpfully adds that fools despise God’s wisdom. Solomon reiterates this in the closing phases of Ecclesiastes where he sums up the journey of his life by exhorting the reader to ‘fear God and walk in line with his instructions’. God Himself commends Abram for ‘fearing God’ in Genesis 22:12.

It is in essence a humility before the all-surpassing glory of God

Isaiah 6 gives us another perspective on the issue with the magisterial passage that details his vision. Isaiah’s response to recognising God’s presence is striking: ‘The doorposts shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “Woe to me! I (too) am doomed! — because I, a man with unclean lips, living among a people with unclean lips, have seen with my own eyes the King, the Lord of hosts (ADONAI-Tzva’ot)!”

Isaiah’s response here is what the Bible describes as ‘Yi’rat Adonai’. It is the mark of a covenanter: not a cringing terror, but a reverential respect; a reverent approach that is rooted in love together with an awe-struck appreciation of reality. It is in essence a humility before the all-surpassing glory of God – and as scripture consistently tells us, God draws near to the humble.

Reverence with results

What I am trying to share is that fear of God is not a cringing  terror of the divine wrath. Nor is it a dread of punishment, driven by self-interest. Unarguably, fear of God is not an ego-centric faith that paces our own wellbeing as the number one priority. Fear of God is a sense of awe and reverence towards God that takes us out of ourselves and causes us to think about ourselves less (a very different state from thinking less about ourselves, by the way).

a fear of God can be typified as reverence with results, or awe accompanied by actions.

I say this because following the model of Isaiah, a fear of God can be typified as reverence with results, or awe accompanied by actions. We read this in the Book of Acts over and over again:

• Acts 2:43 “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles”
• Acts 9:31 “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase”
• Acts 10:2 “(He was) a devout man and one who feared God with all his household and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. “

Yes, there is a passage in Acts 5 where actual fear is spoken of but it is not fear of the Lord.

The simple fact is that God respects those who respect Him. Play fast and loose with God and sooner or later you'll pay the consequences.

A precursor to love

Fear of God is thinking less about ourselves and more about Him. And let me tell you this with complete certainty: fear of God is an essential precursor to love of God. Actually, we know fear of God is mentioned far more frequently than love of God in Scripture. Without that fear of God – Yir’at Adonai – then we simply end up with sloppy agape. What God is asking of us is to surrender our self-awareness in response to His majesty.

Without that fear of God – Yir’at Adonai – then we simply end up with sloppy agape. What God is asking of us is to surrender our self-awareness in response to His majesty.

What is even more remarkable is His promise to us, when we do what is encapsulated in Psalm 25:14 – we somehow attain to the friendship of God. “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant” (ESV). Once again, the interpretation leaves quite a bit to be desired. The Hebrew word is Sod, it is interpreted variably as friendship, counsel (NIV) sometimes even secret (KJV) and seems to be a good word. However, Sod speaks also of intimacy  such intimacy that is at the level of pillow talk between two lovers.

Remarkably the Bible only describes two individuals as being friends of God. Their common denominator is that they listened to what God instructed them. One was Moses: “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend" (Ex 33:11). The other was Abraham: “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend” (Isa 41:8).¹

Brothers and sisters, heed the words of Proverbs and recognise that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Then go out and get wisdom, walking in respect and awe of the Almighty One who sets our feet to walk and sends us.

Endnote
1 James 2:23 references this Isaiah passage when he mixes Genesis 15 and Isaiah 41 to describe the nature of God’s relationship with Abraham.

Nick Thompson worked extensively in national newspaper marketing teams in the 80's and 90's. He currently lives in North Lincolnshire and works in software development and football. He is a Trustee of Prayer for Israel and a member of the Prophecy Today Editorial Board.