Bible
verses to build your life on
Jesus
said: “…
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise
man who built his house on the rock…” ~ Matthew 7:24
*** ** ***
Dear
friends, Welcome to this very intriguing study/list of verses. I believe this
topic is foundational for us having a relationship with our Creator, and as you
read the verses, I believe you will agree. The "fear of the Lord"
is where things must begin. It is also helpful to keep in mind that this fear
that is being described in various different ways isn't: 1) a casual respect
for God or 2) a terror of Him that drives us away from Him. ~ The definition is
somewhere in between and I encourage you to explore these verses and ask God to
show you what He is describing here, and avoid man's shallow definitions.
Your
friend and a servant/life-slave of Jesus Christ, Steven J
Ø The
phrase: "fear of the Lord"
In Repentance [turning from evil]:
2nd Chron. 19:7
"Now
therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor
taking of bribes."
Job 28:28
"And
to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from
evil is understanding.' "
Psalm 19:9
"The
fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."
Psalm 34:11
"Come,
you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord."
Psalm 111:10
"The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good
understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures
forever."
***
Other
references:
Proverbs 1:7
"The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But
fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 1:28-33
"28Then they will
call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will
not find me. 29Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the
fear of the Lord, 30They
would have none of My counsel and despised My
every rebuke. 31Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
and be filled to the full with their own fancies. 32For the turning
away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy
them; 33But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be
secure, without fear of evil."
Proverbs 2:5
"3Yes, if you cry
out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, 4if
you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; 5then
you will understand the fear of the Lord,
and find the knowledge of God."
Proverbs 8:13
"The
fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate."
Proverbs 9:10
"The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Proverbs 10:27
"The
fear of the Lord prolongs days, But the years of the
wicked will be shortened."
Proverbs 14:26 -27
"In
the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a
place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away
from the snares of death."
Proverbs 15:16
"Better
is a little with the fear of the Lord, Than great
treasure with trouble."
Proverbs 15:33
"The
fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, And
before honor is humility."
Proverbs 16:6
"In
mercy and truth, atonement is provided for iniquity; And
by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil."
Proverbs 19:23
"The
fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will
abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil."
Proverbs 22:4
"By
humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life."
Proverbs 23:17
"Do
not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for
the fear of the Lord all the day."
Isaiah 33:6
"Wisdom
and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And
the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure."
Acts 9:31
"Then
the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were
edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy
Spirit, they were multiplied."
Of Jesus:
Isaiah 11:2-3
"The
Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the
Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the
sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears."
In Justice:
2nd Chron. 19:9
"And
he commanded them, saying, "Thus you shall act in the fear of the Lord,
faithfully and with a loyal heart."
Ø The
command to "fear the Lord"
Of Israel's Rebellion:
Exodus 9:30
"But
as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God."
His command – our blessing:
Psalm 15:2-5
"2He who walks
uprightly, and works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; 3he
who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does
he take up a reproach against his friend; 4in whose eyes a vile
person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; he who swears to his
own hurt and does not change [They keep
their promises to their neighbors, even when it hurts.]; 5he who
does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the
innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved."
Psalm 22:23
"You
who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!"
Psalm 33:8
"Let
all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe
of Him."
Psalm 34:9
"Oh,
fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him."
Psalm 115:13
"He
[the Lord] will bless those
who fear the Lord, both small and great."
Psalm 118:4
"Let
those who fear the Lord now say, 'His mercy endures forever.' "
Psalm135:20
"Bless
the Lord, O house of Levi! You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!"
Proverbs 3:7
"Do
not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil."
Hosea 3:5
"Afterward
the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their
king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days."
Fear Him because of His blessings:
Jeremiah 5:24
"They
do not say in their heart, 'Let us now fear the Lord our God, who gives rain,
both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed
weeks of the harvest.' "
His command – our protection:
Deut. 6:24
"And
the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God,
for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day."
Psalm 115:11
"You
who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield."
Jeremiah 26:19 (God protecting
Jeremiah)
"Did
Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? Did he not fear the
Lord and seek the Lord's favor? And the Lord— relented concerning the doom
which He had pronounced against them. But we are doing great evil against
ourselves."
Jonah 1:9
"So
he said to them, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven,
who made the sea and the dry land."
Preserving the fear of the Lord
among the people:
Deuteronomy 6:2
"1Now this is the
commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach
you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to
possess, 2that you may fear the Lord
your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you,
you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your
days may be prolonged. 3Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it
may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised
you— 'a land flowing with milk and honey.'"
Deut. 6:13
"You
shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name."
Deut. 10:20
"You
shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold
fast, and take oaths in His name."
Deut. 14:23
"And
you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make
His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the
firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord
your God always."
Deut. 17:18-19
"Also
it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for
himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests,
the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his
life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all
the words of this law and these statutes…"
Deut. 31:12, 13
"Gather
the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is
within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord
your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their
children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God
as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess."
Joshua 4:23-24
"…
For the Lord your God dried up
the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which
He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the
earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the
Lord your God forever."
Joshua 24:14
"Now
therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the
gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt.
Serve the Lord!"
1st Samuel 12:14
"If
you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against
the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you
will continue following the Lord your God."
1st Samuel 12:24
"Only
fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what
great things He has done for you."
Ø The
phrase "feared the Lord (examples)"
Because of His Word through His
messengers:
Exodus14:31
"Thus
Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people
feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses."
1st Samuel 12:18
"So
Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all
the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel."
1st Kings 18:3
"And
Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared
the Lord greatly)."
1st Kings 18:12
"…
But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth."
2nd Kings 4:1
"A
certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha,
saying, 'Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared
the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.' "
Jonah 1:16
"Then
the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and
took vows."
Malachi 3:16
"Then
those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard
them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the
Lord and who meditate on His name."
Teaching the idolatrous nations to
fear Him:
2nd Kings17:28
"Then
one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in
Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord."
Ø The
phrase "fears the Lord"
God's delight:
Psalm 25:12
"Who
is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses."
Psalm 112:1
"Praise
the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His
commandments."
Psalm 128:1
"(A
Song of Ascents.) Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His
ways."
Psalm 128:4
"Behold,
thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord."
Proverbs 14:2
"He
who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is perverse in his ways
despises Him."
Proverbs 31:30
"Charm
is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall
be praised."
Isaiah 50:10
"Who
among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in
darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon
his God."
Ø The
phrase "cease fearing the Lord"
To protect from:
Joshua 22:23-25
"23If we have
built ourselves an altar to turn from following the Lord, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain
offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the Lord Himself require an account.
24But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying, 'In
time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, "What
have you to do with the Lord God
of Israel? For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you
children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no part in the Lord." So
your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the Lord.' "
Ø The
phrase: "terror of the Lord"
...
Of God's Judgment:
Isaiah 2:10
"Enter
into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the Lord and the glory
of His majesty."
Isaiah 2:19
"They
shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, from the
terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the
earth mightily."
Isaiah 2:21
"To
go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, from
the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake
the earth mightily."
Of God's Holiness, leads us to
obedience:
2nd Cor. 5:11
"Knowing,
therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to
God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences."
Ø The
phrase: "terror of God"
God protecting His own:
Genesis 35:5
"And
they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around
them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob."
Ø The
phrase: "fear of God"
God's protection:
Genesis 20:11
"And
Abraham said, 'Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place;
and they will kill me on account of my wife.' " [Abraham's
doubt was inaccurate]
2nd Chron. 20:29
"And
the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that
the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel."
To rulers:
2nd Samuel 23:3
"The
God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must
be just, ruling in the fear of God.' "
On lifestyle:
Nehemiah 5:9
"Then
I said, 'What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our
God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?' "
Nehemiah 5:15
"But
the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took
from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their
servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of
God."
2nd Cor. 7:1
"Therefore,
having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
Of the Rebellious:
Psalm 36:1
"To
the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. An oracle within
my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God
before his eyes."
Romans 3:18
"There
is no fear of God before their eyes."
Ephesians 5:21
"17Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will
of the Lord is. 18And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be
filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another in the fear of God."
His Command – our blessing:
Eccles. 5:2-7
"2Do not be rash
with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For
God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your
words be few. 3For a dream comes through much activity,
and a fool's voice is known by his many words. 4When you make a vow
to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you
have vowed— 5Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. 6Do
not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say
before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at
your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7For in the
multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God."
Godly leaders will:
Exodus 18:21
"Moreover
you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth,
hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers
of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens."
Eccles. 8:12
"Though
a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely
know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him."
***
More notes: There is much more that I found – here is just another
short sample
Ø The
phrase "did not [do not] fear God [examples]"
Examples:
Deuteronomy 25:18
Psalm 55:19
Luke
18:1-8
Ø The
phrase "feared God"
Examples:
Exodus 1:17
Exodus 1:21
Nehemiah 7:1-2
Job 1:1
Acts 10:2
Ø The
phrase "fears God"
Examples:
Job 1:8
Job 2:3
Ecclesiastes 7:16-18
Ø The
phrase "fearing God"
Challenge to practice:
Colossian 3:22
Ø The
phrase "fear the God of Israel"
Isaiah 29:23
Ø The
phrase "do not fear the gods [idols]"
Of nations:
Judges 6:10
Ø The
phrase "great fear came upon"
In the early church:
Acts
5:3-11
Ø The
phrase "fear Him"
His command ~ our blessing:
Deut.
8:6
Deut.
13:4
2nd
Kings 17:34-39
Job 9:35
(Job feared God)
Job
37:24
Psalm
22:23
Psalm
22:25 (referencing those who fear the Lord)
Psalm
25:14
Psalm
33:18-19
Psalm 34:7-9
Psalm 67:7
Psalm
85:9
Psalm 103:11-18
Psalm 111:5-10
Psalm
145:18-20
Psalm 147:10-11
Matthew
10:27-28
Luke
1:50
Luke
12:1-7
Acts 10:34-35
Revelation 19:4-5
Ø The
phrase "fear of Him"
Job 22:4
Matthew
28:4
Ø The
phrase "feared him" ~ fearing God's faithful messengers
Joshua
4:14
Ø The
phrase "feared Him" ~ Jesus
Mark
11:15-18
Ø Examples
of those who saw God or an angel and their responses:
(Complete
respect or complete terror ~ or is it something in between?)
Noah:
Hebrews 11:7
Joseph's example:
Genesis 39:7-15
Moses:
Exodus 3:1-6
Hebrews 12:18-21 – referring to when
God appear to the Moses and the people of Israel and gave them the 10
Commandments.
Joshua:
Joshua 5:13-15
Isaiah:
Isaiah 6:1-8
Jesus:
Isaiah 11:1-4
Other examples:
Hebrews 5:7 (speaking of Jesus)
Hebrews 12:28 (How our response
should look)
Ø Other
similar phrases:
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
Deut. 13:11
Deut. 21:18-21
1st Kings 8:41-43
2nd Chronicles 6:32-33
Job 28:28
Psalm 2:11
Psalm 61:5
Ps 86:11
Psalm 130:3-4
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Isa 29:23
Isaiah 8:12-13, 14a
Jeremiah 32:39, 40
Mal 1:14
Mal 2:5
Mal 4:2
Revelation 15:4
Revelation 14:6-7