Job wisely says, “…do people know WHERE TO FIND WISDOM? Where can they find understanding…WISDOM IS MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD and crystal…“God alone understands the way to wisdom; He knows where it can be found…And God said to man, ‘Behold, THE FEAR OF THE LORD, THAT IS WISDOM, AND TO TURN AWAY FROM EVIL IS UNDERSTANDING.’” (Job 28:12,17,23,28) Hebrew for the word FEAR is Yir’ah: an awesome or terrifying thing. It’s important for us to remember that yirah is strongly connected to ‘trembling’.
Moses was filled with fear (yir‘ah) when he begged God to see His glory and could not behold it lest he should die (God told Moses “I am so wonderfully awesome, anyone who looks upon my face will die“). Moses could not see God face to face. The Israelites were filled with fear (yir‘ah) when Moses came down Mount Sinai his face was RADIATING THE AWESOMENESS OF GOD, so Moses had to put a cloth over his face; the Israelites were so shaken that they promised with one voice to do whatever the Lord said.
There is another side to this yir‘ah, “The FEAR OF THE LORD is a FOUNTAIN OF LIFE, TO TURN ONE AWAY from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:27)
Not only that, but the psalmist explains this to us in Psalm 111:10, “The FEAR OF THE LORD is the BEGINNING OF WISDOM: a good understanding have all they that DO HIS COMMANDMENTS: His praise endures forever.” When we obey God blessings come our way…
“There is no fear in love; but PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)
Remember what Jesus taught us about love, The Pharisees met together to question Jesus again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to TRAP JESUS with this question: “Teacher, which is the MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must LOVE THE LORD your God with ALL your HEART, SOUL, and MIND.’ This is the FIRST and GREATEST commandment. A second is EQUALLY IMPORTANT: ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ The ENTIRE LAW AND ALL THE DEMANDS OF THE PROPHETS are BASED ON these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40) The safest place for us to be is in an intimate relationship with our Abba Father.
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham