The Fear of the Lord

Holy, Holy, Holy

☐

After Ananias and Sapphira died, “great fear came upon all the church” (Acts 5:11). What kind of fear was that? To understand it, we need to see how holy God is.

Holy means set apart. God is completely pure, good and perfect. There is no one else like Him, and He never does anything wrong.

Isaiah’s vision. Isaiah saw the Lord “sitting on a throne, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). Shining angels called seraphim stood above Him.

What the angels said. They cried to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). The Lord of hosts means the Lord who rules all the armies of heaven.

Isaiah’s answer. “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). Undone means falling apart. Next to God’s holiness, Isaiah saw his own sin.

Heaven sings it too. In heaven they never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8).

Awesome. “Holy and awesome is His name” (Psalm 111:9). Awesome means so great that it fills us with wonder.

Two kinds of fear. Being scared of a bully is one kind of fear. The fear of the Lord is different. It is deep respect and wonder for a God who is holy and good.

The beginning. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). Real wisdom starts with taking God seriously.

Fear and joy. “Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling” (Psalm 2:11). Fearing God and being happy in God go together.

A consuming fire. “Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29). Reverence means deep respect.

Called to be like Him. “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15). Conduct means the way you live.

He is the same. “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). The holy God Isaiah saw is the same God we pray to today.

What we learn. God is not someone we can fool or someone who does not notice. He is the holy King of heaven, and He deserves our love and respect.

What to do. This week, before you pray, stop and remember who you are talking to. Thank God that He is holy.

Acts 5:11 says “great fear came upon all the church.” That fear was not panic. It was the awe of people who had just seen how holy God is.

Qadosh. The Hebrew word for holy, qadosh (say: kah-DOHSH), means set apart. God is not just a better version of us. He is in a class by Himself.

Isaiah 6:1-2. In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord “sitting on a throne, high and lifted up.” The seraphim, a name that means burning ones, covered their faces with their wings.

Holy, holy, holy. Hebrew often repeats a word to make it stronger. The angels repeat holy to say that God’s holiness is beyond all measure.

Undone (6:5). Isaiah’s first answer was not excitement but confession: “Woe is me, for I am undone!” Seeing God clearly always shows us our sin clearly.

Revelation 4:8. Hundreds of years later, John heard the same song in heaven: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.” God’s holiness has not changed.

Fear that listens. In Proverbs 1:7 the fear of the Lord describes a heart that bows before God and listens to Him.

Proverbs 1:7. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Knowing God rightly starts with honoring Him rightly.

Hebrews 12:28-29. Believers receive “a kingdom which cannot be shaken,” and they serve God “with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” Grace does not make God less holy. It lets us come near the holy God.

Psalm 2:11. “Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.” Fear and joy belong together in worship.

Proverbs 28:14. “Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” Reverence keeps the heart soft toward God.

Malachi 3:6. “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” God’s holiness and His faithfulness both stay the same, and His faithfulness is why sinners are not destroyed.

1 Peter 1:15-16. “Be holy, for I am holy.” The holiness that filled Isaiah with fear is the holiness God now shapes in His people by His Spirit.

Application. Treat God’s name, God’s Word and God’s people as holy. When you pray, sing or read the Bible, remember who is listening.

A Fear That Draws Us Close

☐

The fear of the Lord does not push us away from God. It brings us closer, because the holy God is also full of love.

Isaiah was cleansed. An angel touched Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal from the altar and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged” (Isaiah 6:7). Purged means washed away.

Then Isaiah went. After he was cleansed, God asked who would go for Him. Isaiah said that he would go (Isaiah 6:8).

Merciful and gracious. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8). Gracious means kind to people who do not deserve it.

Not what we deserve. “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).

New every morning. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Good for us. “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him” (Psalm 34:9). No want means they have what they need.

Children, not slaves. “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15). Adoption means God makes us His own children.

Brave, not scared. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Draw near. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

Through Jesus. Because of Jesus, we have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19). The Holiest means God’s very presence.

Jesus welcomes us. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The holy Son of God opens His arms to tired, sinful people.

A church that grew. Right after the great fear came, more and more people believed in the Lord (Acts 5:14). God’s holiness and God’s love drew them in.

What we learn. Fearing God means loving Him, trusting Him and respecting Him all at once. The closer we come, the more amazed we are.

What to do. Read Psalm 103 with your family this week. Thank God for one way He has shown you mercy.

The fear of the Lord is not the opposite of love. It is the soil where trust and worship grow.

Isaiah 6:6-7. The coal came from the altar, the place of sacrifice. The cleansing came from God’s side, not Isaiah’s. The holiness that undid Isaiah is the same holiness that healed him.

Isaiah 6:8. Once he was cleansed, Isaiah offered himself to go wherever God would send him. Awe led to service.

Exodus 34:6-7. God told Moses His name: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.” God also says He is “by no means clearing the guilty.” Mercy and justice are both part of who God is, and they meet fully at the cross.

Psalm 130:4. The psalmist says there is forgiveness with God so that He may be feared. Forgiveness does not make us careless with God. It makes us worship Him.

Psalm 103:11-13. God’s mercy toward those who fear Him is as high as the heavens are above the earth. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

Romans 8:15. Slaves fear punishment; children trust their father. We received “the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out” to God as Abba (say: AH-bah), the Aramaic word a child used for his father.

1 John 4:18. John teaches that perfect love drives out the fear that has to do with punishment. Reverence stays; terror goes.

Acts 9:31. The churches were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and they grew. Fear and comfort go together.

Hebrews 10:19-22. Through Jesus’ blood we may “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” The fear of the Lord brings us in, not out.

Lamentations 3:22-23. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.” A holy God could consume sinners, but His compassion keeps them.

Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus, the holy One, calls the weary to Himself: “I am gentle and lowly in heart.” Fearing God never means being afraid to come to Jesus.

Psalm 34:9. “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.” Those who honor God find Him generous.

Application. Let God’s holiness make you serious about sin, and let His mercy make you quick to come home. Both are part of fearing the Lord.

📖

Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.