THE FOUNDATION · THE ORIGINAL STUDY, SET IN THE ANCIENT ORDER
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Fear Of The Lord — The Foundation — Bible Study
THE FOUNDATION · THE ORIGINAL STUDY, SET IN THE ANCIENT ORDER
Fear of the Lord — Foundational Biblical Doctrine
OPENING WORD
The fear of the Lord is not being frightened of God. It is the reverence that changes what a person does. Scripture ties it to walking, not to feeling. This study follows that thread from a promise made to those who fear God, through a nation that said it feared him while serving other gods, to a church that trembled and then grew.
THREE QUESTIONS THIS STUDY ANSWERS:
1. What does God give to the man who fears him?
2. Can a person say he fears the Lord and be counted as not fearing him at all?
3. What does the fear of the Lord actually look like in a life?
OPENING ANCHOR
Tap Bible Speaks under any verse for its word study, other Scripture, and notes.
Psalms 25:12What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
THE SECRET OF THE LORD IS WITH THEM THAT FEAR HIM --> HE WILL SHEW THEM HIS COVENANT.
(My personal thoughts — the word for secret here is "sod" (H5475, secret counsel), a company of people in close counsel. God does not merely tell his plans to those who fear him. He brings them into the room where the plans are made.)
1. WHAT GOD GIVES TO THE MAN WHO FEARS HIM
Psalms 128:1Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
THE MERCY OF THE LORD IS FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING UPON THEM THAT FEAR HIM.
(My personal thoughts — read the promises together and notice what they have in common. The blessing is attached to walking in his ways and delighting in his commandments. Nowhere is it attached to a feeling.)
2. THE FEAR THAT GOD COUNTS AS NO FEAR AT ALL
2 Kings 17:33They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
2 Kings 17:34Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
THE LORD YOUR GOD YE SHALL FEAR --> HE SHALL DELIVER YOU OUT OF THE HAND OF ALL YOUR ENEMIES.
(My personal thoughts — one verse says they feared the LORD. The next says they feared him not. Both are true, and that is the lesson. Divided worship is counted by God as no fear of him at all.)
3. THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS TO HATE EVIL
Proverbs 8:13The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE.
Psalms 111:10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM + A GOOD UNDERSTANDING HAVE ALL THEY THAT DO HIS COMMANDMENTS.
(My personal thoughts — the word for hate here is "sane" (H8130, hate), and Strong's gives it as hating personally. This is not mild disapproval of evil in general. It is a settled personal hatred of the same things God hates.)
Proverbs 6:16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A FALSE WITNESS THAT SPEAKETH LIES + HE THAT SOWETH DISCORD AMONG BRETHREN.
(My personal thoughts — God names the seven himself, so a man does not get to choose his own list. The last one is worth reading twice, because sowing discord among brethren sits in the same list as shedding innocent blood.)
4. GREAT FEAR CAME UPON ALL THE CHURCH
Matthew 10:28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
FEAR NOT THEM WHICH KILL THE BODY --> RATHER FEAR HIM WHICH IS ABLE TO DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY.
5. DIFFERENT VIEW, SAME SCENE -- FEAR NOT THEM WHICH KILL THE BODY
Luke 12:4-5And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. (5) But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Acts 9:31Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
WALKING IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD + IN THE COMFORT OF THE HOLY GHOST = WERE MULTIPLIED.
(My personal thoughts — Peter told Ananias the money was his own to keep. The sin was not withholding it. The sin was pretending, and the church that saw it grew afterward rather than shrinking.)
2 Corinthians 7:1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
SUBMITTING YOURSELVES ONE TO ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF GOD.
(My personal thoughts — these two verses say where the fear of God shows up first. It shows in cleaning up your own life, and it shows in how you treat the people beside you.)
6. WORK IT OUT WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING
Philippians 2:12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING.
Hebrews 12:28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
DEPART FROM EVIL + DO GOOD + SEEK PEACE + PURSUE IT.
(My personal thoughts — the kingdom cannot be moved, and the same verse still says to serve with godly fear. Security and reverence are not opposites in Scripture. They sit in one sentence.)
MOUTH OF TWO
Proverbs 19:23The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
(My personal thoughts — three witnesses say the same thing in three different books. The fear of the Lord leads to life, and it moves a man away from evil rather than merely warning him about it.)
THE SHADOW AND THE FULFILLMENT
1.Exodus 20:18And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
YE ARE COME UNTO MOUNT SION + UNTO THE CITY OF THE LIVING GOD.
(My personal thoughts — at the first mountain the people backed away and stood at a distance. At the second, believers are told they have already arrived. The fear did not stop, but the distance did.)
CLOSING
Ecclesiastes 12:13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
HIS MERCY IS ON THEM THAT FEAR HIM FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.
(My personal thoughts — the study opened with a secret shown to those who fear God and it closes with every secret thing brought into judgment. The same word covers both, and mercy is the last word spoken over those who feared him.)
PRACTICE QUIZ
1. Psalms 25:14 — The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him, and he will shew them his:
a) glory
b) covenant
c) kingdom
2. Psalms 128:1 — Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD, that walketh in:
a) his ways
b) the light
c) truth
3. 2 Kings 17:33 — They feared the LORD, and:
a) kept his statutes
b) served their own gods
c) built him an altar
4. Proverbs 8:13 — The fear of the LORD is to:
a) hate evil
b) keep silence
c) seek wisdom
5. Job 28:28 — Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is:
a) understanding
b) knowledge
c) righteousness
6. Acts 9:31 — Walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, they were:
a) scattered
b) multiplied
c) established
7. Ecclesiastes 12:13 — Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole:
a) counsel of God
b) duty of man
c) law and prophets
ANSWER KEY: 1-b, 2-a, 3-b, 4-a, 5-a, 6-b, 7-b
HOW THIS STUDY BRANCHES
--> How the fear of the Lord begins wisdom: the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10) — and God is the one who gives wisdom, and knowledge and understanding come from his own mouth (Proverbs 2:6).
--> How a divided heart is judged: they feared the LORD, and served their own gods (2 Kings 17:33) — and no man can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
--> How fear turns into growth: great fear came upon all the church (Acts 5:11) — and walking in the fear of the Lord they were multiplied (Acts 9:31).
--> How holiness is finished: perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1) — and follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
--> How the fear of the Lord guards a life: the fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death (Proverbs 14:27) — and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil (Proverbs 16:6).
--> How mercy answers fear: his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation (Luke 1:50) — and so great is his mercy toward them that fear him (Psalms 103:11).
GREEK KEYWORDS
(the Greek behind the words this study leans on | Strong's number | the original word | what it means | why it matters)
“fear” — G5401 phobos — alarm, fright, terror
This Greek word names alarm or fright at its root. This study's Hebrew word for fear (yare, H3372) carries both fright and reverence in its own definition, so both testaments use fear-language to cover the same range, from dread to reverence.
HEBREW KEYWORDS
(the Hebrew behind the words this study leans on | Strong's number | the original word | what it means | why it matters)
“fear” — H3372 yare — to fear, to revere, to be afraid
The same word covers terror and reverence, so context decides which one a verse means.
“secret counsel” — H5475 sod — a company of persons in close deliberation, a consultation, a secret
Fearing God brings a man into the circle where God tells his plans, not merely into the news afterward.
“hate” — H8130 sane — to hate personally
The fear of the Lord is measured by personally hating the things God hates, not by disapproving of evil in general.
“way” — H1870 derek — a road as trodden, a course of life or mode of action
God teaches the man who fears him a whole course of life, not a single decision.
