The Right Kind of Fear

Proverbs 15:33 "The fear of the LORD is instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility."
Proverbs 16:6b "And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil."
Psalm 85:9 "Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land."

What does it mean to "fear the LORD"?

In the original Hebrew the word for fear is "yir'ah" -it is a word that means "moral reverance"

The word study in the back of my Bible defines it as this...
"A feminine noun meaning fear. The word usually refers to the fear of God and is viewed as a positive quality. This fear acknowledges God's good intentions (Exodus 20:20). It will motivate and delight even the Messiah (Isaiah 11:2,3). This fear is produced by God's Word (Psalm 119:38; Proverbs 2:5) and makes a person receptive to wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). It is even identified with wisdom (Job 28:28; Proverbs 15:33). The fear of the Lord may be lost by despair of one's own situation (Job 6:14) or envy of a sinner's (Proverbs 23:17). This fear restrains people from sin (Genesis 20:11; Exodus 20:20; Nehemiah 5:9); gives confidence (Job 4:6; Proverbs 14:26); helps rulers and causes judges to act justly (2 Samuel 23:3; 2 Chronicles 19:9; Nehemiah 5:15); results in good sleep (Proverbs 19:23); with humility, leads to riches, honour and life (Proverbs 22:4). The word also refers to the fear of briers and thorns (Isaiah 7:25); and the fear of Israel that would fall on other nations (Deuteronomy 2:25)." -taken from "The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Key Word Study Bible"


I love it! All the wonderful benefits from fearing the Lord. The Holy Spirit has been pressing this on my heart the last few days. God has shown me specific areas where I am not fearing Him. What areas of your heart are hard and in your rebellious flesh you don't care to fear God? Ask Him to show you and put a little fear in you. The truth will set you free. Let's be on a pursuit after God's own heart!