Proverbs & The Fear of the Lord

July, 2003

by: Chris Grazor

Last spring I took a class in the MABC (Masters of Biblical Counseling) program at The Master's College. The class was entitled, Counseling and the Book of Proverbs. To date, this has been one of the best courses and most life changing courses that I have had the privilege of taking. Without fail, I would find myself slithering out the door at the end of each class. I would be utterly convicted, as the professor would bring the Scriptures to bear on my life. Whether he was addressing slothfulness, pride, the tongue, time management, stewardship, discipline or any other of the numerous issues that the Book of Proverbs addresses, I could clearly see my shortcomings.

One topic, which is the thrust of the Book of Proverbs and challenged me immensely, was “the fear of the Lord”. The fear of the Lord is not antithetical to the love of God; they are the dual sides of the same coin. The love of God and the fear of the Lord are two great truths that manifest themselves in the one and only perfect and true God. We must love and accept both of these truths as they relate to us and our God and Savior. The fear of the Lord is the Christian living each day loving God and fearing His displeasure. Fearing the Lord is not an option but it must come as natural to the Christian as a desire for holiness, a hunger and thirst for righteousness and a pure love for Christ. Just as a lack of any of these desires should cause you to question your salvation, so should a lack of fearing the Lord.

Proverbs 1:7 states, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” What does this passage assume about our sanctification? From the get go, the Christian must comprehend and live with a fear of the Lord. It is not something that needs to be learned, it is something that is given by God's grace at the moment of salvation. It says that fools despise wisdom and this word for fool is someone who is full of pride. This sort of fool has no fear of God and therefore has no place in His kingdom.

Proverbs 3:7 poses, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” What does this verse assume about our sanctification? It assumes that if left to ourselves, we would consider ourselves to be wiser than God and that we have the ability to turn from evil at our own discretion. We know that this is not the case. Left to ourselves, we love ourselves and our sin. In fact, we are in bondage to our sin, but those who fear the Lord have the God given ability to turn from evil. The Christian can guard their faculties from anything that would dirty or sully their conscience. This would include any evil thing. Don't fool yourselves when it comes to these all–inclusive words; take time to let these truths dig deep. What are those evil things that you allow yourself to linger long over?

To whet your appetite, there are fourteen times that the Book of Proverbs uses the phrase, “the fear of the Lord” and I would like to show you some of the benefits given to those who fear the Lord according to this wonderful text of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (1:7), it gives us a hatred towards evil (8:13), it increases our life span (10:27), it grants us a fruitful life (14:27), it is the instruction of wisdom (15:33), it grants wisdom, honor and life (22:4), and so on.

Now, in studying the Book of Proverbs, it is important to remember that it is in the genre called “wisdom literature” along with Job and Ecclesiastes. The primary difference between this type of literature and that of Paul (which is “prose”) is that it is not commands with promises but nuggets of wisdom. Take Proverbs 22:6 for example which states, “Train up a child in the way the he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Is this always true? Of course not! It was not true of Minoah and his wife whom raised Samson in the fear of the Lord and it is not true of all Christian homes today. It is wise for parents to raise their children in a God honoring way but it doesn't promise that their children will be God–fearers; this is only by God's grace. But, a life that manifests the fear of the Lord will be characterized by wisdom and a positive outcome will usually follow.

I hope and pray that this article will give you an itch that only the fear of the Lord can scratch. Below are the fourteen references where “the fear of the Lord” is used in the Book of Proverbs. May you be as encouraged and edified as I was in doing this study.

Proverbs 1:7, 1:29, 2:5, 8:13, 9:10, 10:27, 14:26, 14:27, 15:16, 15:33, 16:6, 19:23, 22:4, 23:17 .