“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.”

Fear vs Reverence

I was told long ago to take this entry of Fear as Reverence. We can think of Fear in connection with self-preservation, but Reverence has more of a focus on God than ourselves, and that sounds fine. But if this advice ignores God’s righteous and almighty power, and only focuses on his loving and merciful nature, then it can give an unreal picture of God. It’s a bit like thinking of Jesus only as a babe at Christmas, and ignoring the need for his victory on the cross at Easter.

Humility

In man’s fallen nature we want to be the one in control, to create a perfect world as our own achievement, and that leads us to proud self-delusion.
And with our stubborn nature, it may need a fearful physical jolt or even a terrifying disaster to wipe away the illusion that we are in control, to change our direction, and give us the humility we desperately need.
So, fear can be an important beginning to our growth.

Fear of the World

This world can be a scary place, and there is much to fear. And that fear can imprison us, it can stop us from going to, or doing and saying what we want.
But as we see that God’s almighty power is more fearful than any worldly power, our fear of God is greater than any earthly fear.
And that fear of God is liberating, it frees us from being controlled and directed by the lesser fears of this world. Even the ultimate enemy of death itself no longer terrifies us, for God in his almighty power in Jesus has given us victory over death.

Wisdom and Action

Verse 10 also states, “A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
We do not gain a true understanding of life and God by reading the ideas of other people, we can only receive that by living obediently in the reality of his presence, guidance, and his provision. It reminds me of the old advice that physical activity gives the essential building blocks of mental ability, and why sport is important at school and university. If fear leads us to live in obedience to God, that experience of his presence in our life and this world gives a real understanding of our world.

Nature of his works that lead us to fear God

God’s work is not just in physical provision, as in “giving them the [inheritance]heritage of the nations (6)”, nor “given food to those who fear Him (5)”.
We can see God’s provision in this world as we see his truth and justice (verse 7:” The works of His hands are verity[truth] and justice”), in contrast to man’s attempts to construct his own highly flawed version of utopia.
Verse 9 refers to his great work of redemption (“He has sent redemption to His people“) secured in Jesus. When the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples they were they were terrified and frightened (Luke 24:37).
Fear can help us recognise the magnitude God’s awesome works.

Angels say “Fear not!”

In contrast, the instruction is often given in the bible to “Fear not!”; e.g. by angels in Luke: 1:13 to Zechariah, 1:30 to Mary, and 2:10 to shepherds.
The difference is that these people already lived in obedience to God. They had placed their hope in the Lord, and their faith had grown from fear into a complete trust Him and his loving mercy.

Praise God for as He works to bring us to a similar stage in our journey of faith.