Fear God, 11

~ The Israelites Were Commanded to Fear God, 4 ~

God does not want His children living in fear.  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:2-3).  However, God does want His children to have a proper respect and reverence for Him.  We are told in many places in Scripture to “fear God.”  

Comment  ~  The Scripture for this week is a continuation of the Scripture last week.  Again, it is in relation to the Moral and Ceremonial Laws which were given to the Israelites by Moses. 

This Week’s Passage  ~  “You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying.  You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.  You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.  Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness.  You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.  Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

“You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.

“And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him.  The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord  your God.  You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume.  You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.  Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the Lord'" (Leviticus 19:26-37). 

Comment  ~  In our society today we will fear God when we understand His requirements.

Fearing God Results in Salvation  ~  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).  “A wise person fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident” (Proverbs 14:16).  This does not mean the Christian is to live a fearful life—but a life which reverences God and seeks to do His will. 

Fearing God Results in Fearlessness  ~  “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).  The answer is: only God.  With the gift of salvation comes responsibility.

Fearing God Results in Witnessing  ~  “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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