The subject of fearing the Lord appears 13 times in this book—a baker’s dozen for good measure.
Maybe you’ve heard it said that the Bible contains 365 occurrences of the command, “Fear not!” or its equivalent. I could only find about 109! Of course that should be more than enough instances to get the message. David explains that there’s a high road and a low road on this subject, but they both get us safely home. Here’s the low road: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee” (Ps 56:3, KJV). And the high road? “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid…” (v 11). Trust in the Lord is both the prevention and the cure for fear. But obviously there is one great exception to the command, “Fear not!” We find it three times in Deuteronomy 6. “Fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you” (v 2). “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him” (v 13). “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” (v 24). You can see from these verses why David’s son Solomon wrote: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov 9:10). Moses explains that the fear of the Lord is directly linked with four things: consistent obedience to God’s commands, willing service for the Lord, the enjoyment of God’s good things, and the preservation of our lives. These are solid motivations, aren’t they! But what is the fear of the Lord? Obviously it isn’t slavish terror or trepidation at what He might do to us. It means to be in awe of His majestic presence, to highly respect His word and will, to take very seriously who He is and what He says. Every time we open His Word, let’s remind ourselves, “This is God speaking—to me!”