Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

What is meant by “the fear of the Lord”? I am exploring this for myself and inviting you to come along. You don’t have to agree with me. I think that the fear of the Lord for believers is completely different from those who are in rebellion against God. The fear of the Lord for the unrepentant is terror, but to the believer I think it is characterized by trust in the God who is sovereign, holy, all-knowing, everywhere present, all powerful and loving. For me it is a recognition that God is all of that and, as a result, he is worthy of praise and adoration. Moreover, because he is all of that, no one is his equal and therefore He alone rules over all creation.

With the foregoing in mind, it leads me to think that my fear of the Lord should then manifest itself in obedience – that is how I access wisdom, knowledge and understanding.  Let’s see if we can find any illustration in Scripture. In Deuteronomy 4: 1-14, Moses addressed the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt and had spent a good forty years in the wilderness because of their rebellion against God. Having already defeated two Kings, it was time to move on and continue their conquests for the Promised Land. At that point, although he was about to relinquish his leadership of them to Joshua, Moses’ job was to remind them how important observance of the laws and decrees (The Ten Commandments) would be for their future: “Hear now O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”  In verse 6 he pointed out, “Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

The knowledge that God cares deeply about those who have accepted his Son Jesus as Savior puts the believer in a unique position to hear God’s voice and do what He asks. Not only that, like the Israelites, we are charged with the responsibility of teaching our children fear or reverence for the Lord and obedience to his Word, knowing that it will impact their futures for good.