Week 1: 1st Jan – 7th Jan (The Fear of God)

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The Fear of God

Week 1: 1st Jan 2018 – 7th Jan 2018

Bible passage to read: 2 Chronicles 17:7-11

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Fear of God – Respecting God, Obeying God, and Submitting all to Him, but not being afraid to share all with Him.
This passage gives an account of how Jehoshaphat instructed his officials to go to all the towns in Judah with the Book of the Law of the Lord, to teach his subjects, to awaken their consciousness and their mind to be directed towards the ways of the Lord.

Even in the secular world, at least one where the government strives to maintain the ‘Rule of Law, citizens are always living in constant awareness, (if not fear) of what is termed ‘The Long arm of the Law’, meaning; obeying the law of the land is the duty of every citizen, and the consequent outcome of an unlawful action is feared by many. This stems from the realization that, although we are more or less free to do whatever we like, we’re not in control of the consequences of such actions, especially when such actions is on the wrong side of the law.

This awareness or rather fear is quite clear and present among citizens. As much as this fear is not misplaced in the secular world, so is it not misplaced in spiritual realm as well, although, irrespective of our religious belief or lack of one, the laws of God reigns supreme above all else, the only difference might be the fact that some of us do believe, while some don’t. For those who do believe, the message is quite clear in Ecclesiastes 12: 13 – 14: …..Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man; For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
In 2 Chronicles 17, verse 10 says: ‘The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat“. The passage also emphasizes one thing, that the transformation enjoyed in the kingdom of Judah was a result of Jehoshaphat’s reform (he established a ministry to teach the people the ways of the Lord with the Book of the Law of the Lord, and ensured they were taught).

As a result, all the neighboring kingdoms were anxious to be at peace with the kingdom of Judah. There was nothing in the passage indicating or even suggesting that its military or economic strength was so intimidating that it humbled its neighbours, one can look no further than another passage in the Bible that sums it all up Proverb 16: 7; ‘When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him’. This surely explains why in 2 Chronicles 17: 11; ‘Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought him flocks: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats’
Lesson Learnt: Several lessons can be learned from this passage, but the most obvious and most important is as follows: Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. It might be considered easy or more rewarding to break this law, but living in constant fear of God and awareness of the reward to be enjoyed by obeying His will, should serve as an incentive, especially for beginners to obey the laws of God

 

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Devotional Prayer Points

• God should endow us with the spirit that will enable us to live in constant awareness of the His laws
• God should bless us with the willpower to obey His laws
• The manifestation of the blessings the Lord, as a result of our obedience and the fear the Lord, that will inspire others, even unbelievers to join us in praising the Lord, let us experience such.
  

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