May 20
The Fearful God
Ps 112:1 Blessed is the man
that feareth the LORD,
that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
“Hey,
Jesus, I’m no fool, walk across my swimming pool!”
That
line is from the 1970’s Rock Opera Jesus Christ, Superstar. I hesitated to use
it because I find it so flippant and offensive, but it is a great example of a
culture that has lost the concept of “fearing God”.
Our
first task is to define what “feareth the LORD” means. Mr. Webster says the
primary meaning today is dread or loss of courage, etc. But the 3rd
definition speaks to our topic today. “An extreme reverence and awe, especially
of God.”
The
capital letters of LORD mean that the text is referring to Jehovah. Some of you
may be aware of the reverence of scribes for the word Jehovah. When they came to that word they would stop
copying the text, go wash themselves and use a new quill or pen to write
Jehovah. It may have been just a tradition, or custom, to do that, or it may
have been that there was such a feeling of awe, reverence, respect, adoration,
that they could do no less than come to the word with clean bodies and a new
pen.
Blessed is the man that
feareth the LORD…
So
why do we find so many Christians that are not double happy? Many today speak
of their problems instead of bubbling over with happiness. Could it be they do
not fear the LORD? Most people do not.
Our
culture thinks of God as “the man upstairs”. Jesus is no more than a mild curse word. Jesus
Christ is a stronger oath, and asking God to damn things is a normal part of
speech for many.
Christians
usually avoid such disrespectful language. They recognize that Jesus, the Son
of God, is their friend. But when most read the phrase “the LORD Jesus Christ” they fail to understand that he is the
Jehovah Savior Messiah. Instead he is
just Jesus, more a friend than their LORD.
The
Old Testament starts in the garden of Eden and ends with a curse.
Mal 4:6 ….lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Yes, that is
how the last book of the Old Testament ends. The book of Malachi is a complaint
against the people because they had lost any fear of God. Perhaps the reason there are so many troubled
Christians today is because our culture is like the people in the book of
Malichi.
Mal 1:6 ¶ A son honoureth his father, and a servant his
master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master,
where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my
name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
This
“conversation” between God and His people continues throughout the book. God
gives them specific evidence of how they have lost their fear of God and
despised His name but they don’t think they have.
“Ye offer polluted bread upon mine
altar” vrs 7
“if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it
not evil?” vrs 8
” Who is there even among you that would
shut the doors for nought? vrs 10
Vrs
10 says they wouldn’t even close the temple doors without compensation. Vrs 13
continues
“Ye said also, Behold, what a
weariness is it!
and ye have snuffed at it,…”
referring to God’s table and services.
The 2nd
chapter ends with
“and let none deal treacherously
against the wife of his youth.”
Here God says he hates divorce and troubled
marriages.
Mal 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye
say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is
good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; …
God
was tired of hearing from people who praised things He despised and ignored His
commandments. They overlooked the evil in their own lives and the lives of
others and claimed everything was just peachy.
Our
modern church culture seems to be headed in that direction. Some see church
attendance as a boring drudgery. Not something that requires getting dressed
up. Divorce is common even in our churches. Sins that God calls “abomination”
but society has accepted and even praised are creeping into churches. A few
years ago the world was filled with sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Now
“contemporary services” which use rock bands to lead worship, are common and
seen as an improvement.
But
none of these have increased our reverence for God. Instead there is less fear of God. The pathway to happiness is to learn to fear God and find delight in
study of God’s Word! Our meditation for today is to think of how we can
increase our reverence for God. Do you fear God? Ask God to show you what things diminish your
fear of God and how you can change that.
The
book of Ecclesiastes may be difficult to understand until you gain an overview
of the books purpose. Solomon is the author and in it he describes how he
gained the kind of things that interest Christians today. Wisdom, wealth,
pleasure, and things.
He
sought wisdom and became exceedingly wise. He sought pleasure without
limitations and enjoyed wine women and song. He sought wealth and became
exceedingly wealthy. He desired things and did not hold back anything his eye
desired. But he discovered they were all
vanity (empty). His conclusion is in
next to the last verse of the book.
Ec 12:13 ¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole
matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments:
for this is the whole duty
of man.
It is
noteworthy just preceding our verse in psalms 112:1 is this verse.
Ps 111:10 The fear
of the LORD
is the beginning of wisdom…
