Learning the Fear of God

—

by

Daniel
in
Call To Prayer
Title: Learning the Fear of God
By: Daniel Peter
Date: 30/07/2024
“Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.” – 2 Kings 17:28
Something worth noting happened in Samaria after the king of Assyria brought in foreigners to live in the land and expelled the Israelites. Because they did not know how to fear the Lord, God sent lions to kill them (see 2 Kings 17). In response to this, the king of Assyria sent back one of the teaching priests to teach the people how to fear the Lord (2 Kings 17:28).
From this experience, we can see that the fear of God, though it is a spirit (Isaiah 11:2), can be learned. Many Christians endure hardship and are resisted by God because they do not know how to fear Him.
To develop the fear of the Lord, we need to learn four things:
  1. His instructions: We cannot yield to obey an instruction we do not know. God’s instruction for us in the New Covenant is to love as He has loved us (John 13:34), and we are not to yield to the desires of our flesh but to the leading of the Spirit (Gal. 5:17-18).
  2. His judgments: Throughout scripture, we see how God responded to the sins of men. When we behold His judgments, we are restrained from evil. This is why Apostle Peter reminded his congregation of the judgment of the ancient world in the time of Noah and the judgments of Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Peter 2:5-11, not 2 Kings). This was also done by Apostle Paul and Jude in their epistles.
  3. The consciousness of His presence: Sin thrives in darkness, but when we are conscious that God sees us, even the thoughts of our heart, it restrains us from sinning. Joseph demonstrated this when he refused Potiphar’s wife’s offer for sex, despite no one being there. Joseph overcame because he saw God, for he said, “…how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9-12).
  4. Growing in Grace: To develop the fear of God, we need to learn how to grow in grace. It takes the grace of God to stand. King Solomon knew the instructions of God and His judgments; he documented this in the book of Proverbs. Despite this, he fell into the sin of idolatry (see 1 Kings 11). However, Noah was perfect in his generation because he found grace (Genesis 6:8). You cannot walk in the fear of God if you lack grace.
Learning to fear God is learning to be humble, for the scriptures says in Proverbs 22:4 that “Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life“.
Prayer Points:
Let’s thank God for His word today. Also, let’s ask Him to help us develop the fear of God.

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