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Fear Defined
[know it] |
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"For
who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among
the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? God
is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
and to be held in reverence by all those around Him." PSALM
89:6-7 (NKJV) |
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A Touchy
Subject
It's
easy to see why "the fear of the Lord" isn't
the most popular topic on Sunday mornings or
in your local Christian coffee house. Anytime
the words "fear" and "God" are
mentioned in the same sentence, questions immediately
begin swirling:
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Does
that mean I'm supposed to be scared of
God? |
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I
thought I heard that "God is Love"? |
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How
am I supposed to have a relationship with
someone I'm scared of? |
These
may be valid questions, but they're each based
on presupposition and emotion, rather than
on a true understanding of God or His Word.
The Word is filled with such "uncomfortable" topics — and
that's precisely why Proverbs 2:3-5 challenges
us:
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"Yes,
if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And
search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear
of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God." (NKJV) |
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| How
PC Study Bible helped this portion of
my study: |
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Wherever you see this icon, click
it to view a screen shot from
PC Study Bible of the item described. |
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Let's
Seek Understanding
In
any quest, success is dependent upon two factors:
1.) having a reliable guide, and 2.) having access
to the proper resources. With the Holy Spirit as
my Guide and Revealer of Truth, and with a set of
the best tools available (the reference works in
my PC Study Bible library), here's some
of what I discovered about our topic: |
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Strong's
Greek/Hebrew Dictionary — 'arats — "be
affrighted (afraid, dread, feared, terrified),
break, dread, fear, oppress, prevail, shake terribly" |
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Brown
Driver Briggs Definitions — 'arats — "to
be awesome, to be terrible" |
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Nelson's
Bible Dictionary — FEAR — A
feeling of reverence, awe or respect...The
Scriptures also declare that "the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov
1:7) as well as "the beginning of wisdom" (Prov
16:16). |
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Holman
Bible Dictionary — FEAR — God's
work, His power, majesty, and holiness evoke
fear and demand acknowledgment. The fear of
God is not to be understood as the dread that
comes out of fear of punishment, but as the
reverential regard and the awe that comes out
of recognition and submission to the divine.
It is the revelation of God's will to which
the believer submits in obedience. |
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Evangelical
Dictionary of Biblical Theology — AWE — The
Bible emphasizes, however, that genuine awe
is primarily a disposition rather than merely
an emotional state. God's person and his works
of creation, providence, redemption, and judgment
are astounding and demand both sober contemplation
and humble submission. God's people are commanded
to show proper regard for his power and dominion — his
absolute authority to rule (Job 25:2; Jer 33:9)
and his power to perform what he will (Deut
4:34; 34:12; 1 Sam 12:18; Hab 3:2). |
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The
Handbook of Bible Application — FEAR — Knowing
God increases reverent fear. To fear
the Lord is to recognize God for who he is:
holy, almighty, righteous, pure, all-knowing,
all-powerful, and all-wise. When we regard
God correctly, we gain a clearer picture
of ourselves: sinful, weak, frail, and needy.
When we recognize who God is and who we are,
we will fall at his feet in humble respect.
Only then will he show us how to choose his
way.
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In
addition to these definitions, The
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge instantly
gave me a listed of related verses (see list below),
so that I could quickly browse other Scriptures containing
the same thought as my key passage in Psalm 89. |
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REFERENCE
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COMPLETE
PASSAGE (all taken from the NKJV)
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Lev
10:3
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And
Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke,
saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded
as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.'" |
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76:7 |
You,
Yourself, are to be feared; And who may stand in
Your presence when once You are angry?
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| Isa
6:5 |
So
I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because
I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen
the King, The LORD of hosts."
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| Isa
66:2 |
For
all those things My hand has made, And all those
things exist," says the LORD. "But on this
one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite
spirit, And who trembles at My word."
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| Jer
10:7 |
Who
would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this
is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men
of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There
is none like You.
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| Jer
10:10 |
But
the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and
the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will
tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure
His indignation.
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| Luke
12:4-5 |
And
I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those
who kill the body, and after that have no more that
they can do. But I will show you whom you should
fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power
to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
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| Heb
12:28-29 |
Therefore,
since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be
shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve
God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For
our God is a consuming fire.
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| Rev
15:3-4 |
Great
and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your
name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall
come and worship before You, For Your judgments have
been manifested.
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What
have we learned?
From
our brief word study, we can come to a
few important conclusions:
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There
is no one like the Lord. (Ps.
89:6) |
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God
alone is holy. (Rev. 15:4) |
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God
deserves our reverence. (Jer.
10:7) |
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God
must not be "reduced" to
our level. (Job 38-41) |
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| In
the next portion of our study,
we'll look at what a life that fears God looks
like, as well as the astounding benefits God
promises to those who fear Him. |
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| Action
Step: Study |
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| Use
this Bible study as a starting point for
your own study on what it means to fear the
Lord. Meditate on the Scriptures (memorize!).
Examine commentaries, Bible dictionaries,
and original language word studies. Don't
settle for "surface study"...dig
deep! |
| And
if you're interested in finding out more
about how PC Study Bible can impact
your Bible study, browse
our online store to find the library
that's right for you. |
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| • |
THE
NEW KING JAMES VERSION. Copyright © 1982,
Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. |
| • |
BIBLESOFT'S
NEW EXHAUSTIVE STRONG'S NUMBERS & CONCORDANCE
WITH EXPANDED GREEK-HEBREW DICTIONARY. Copyright © 1994,
2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators,
Inc. |
| • |
THE
ONLINE BIBLE THAYER'S GREEK LEXICON & BROWN
DRIVER BRIGGS HEBREW LEXICON, Copyright © 1993,
Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed
from the Institute for Creation Research. |
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NELSON'S
ILLUSTRATED BIBLE DICTIONARY, Copyright © 1986,
Thomas Nelson Publishers. |
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HOLMAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY. Copyright © 1991 by Holman
Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. |
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EVANGELICAL
DICTIONARY OF BIBLICAL THEOLOGY. Copyright 1996
by Baker Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
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THE
HANDBOOK OF BIBLE APPLICATION. Copyright © 2000
by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. |
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| 1 |
FEAR
DEFINED.
A deeper look at what it means to fear the Lord. |
| 2 |
FEAR
IN ACTION.
Examining the "undivided heart" of
King David, and why he found it a necessity
for fearing God. |
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