Proverbs 16:5-6 – The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be
sure of this: They will not go unpunished. Through love and
faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.
Genesis
20:11 – Abraham replied, “I said to
myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in
this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
Exodus 20:20 – Moses said to
the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you,
so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you
from sinning.”
Hosea 4:1 – Hear the
word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
Isaiah 1:18 – “Come
now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
Ezekiel 18:30,32 – “Therefore, you
Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the
Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses;
then sin will not be your downfall…For I take no pleasure in the death of
anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
Ezekiel 33:11,14-15 – Say to them, ‘As
surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn
from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’…And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they
then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right—if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return
what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that
person will surely live; they will not die.
Hosea 14:1-2 – Return, Israel,
to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you
and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that
we may offer the fruit of our lips.
Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Application:
- · The moral quality of conduct that God desires is sometimes summed up as “love and faithfulness”.
- · “Fear of God” is a conventional phrase equivalent to “true religion”. “Fear” has the sense of reverential trust in God and commitment to His revealed will.
- · Do not think that God’s display of His majesty is intended simply to fill you with abject fear. He has come to enter into covenant with you as your heavenly King.
- · “Faithfulness” is loyalty to the covenant Lord and right dealing with others
- · “White as snow” is a powerful figurative description of the result of forgiveness.
- · While the house of Israel as a whole was guilty, God’s judgment was just and individual.
- · The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of anyone.
- · God’s basic intention for His creation is life, not death.
- · The purpose of God’s law was to foster and protect life.
- · Repentance has to be sincere in order for the people to receive the gracious response from the Lord promised.
- · None could appear before the Lord empty-handed, but animal sacrifices would not be enough. Only words of true repentance would be sufficient.
- · Fear of the Lord is a loving reverence for God that includes submission to his lordship and to the commands of His word.
All Scripture verses taken from NIV
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