The Word for today comes from Job 28:28:

28 And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.”

The phrase the “fear of the Lord” or “fear the Lord” appears 135 times in the Bible! If we go by word counts, it must be important. And it is.

But fear in these instances does not mean like C. S. Lewis wrote, like one fears a tiger or a ghost. But rather it means that one is filled with awe and reverence, a word sometimes used to replace “fear” for a better understanding of its meaning.

When a people fear God, they listen to what He says and when they listen to what God says, their minds and decisions are molded by God.

The fear of the Lord, then, is the proper and humble response to God and his commands.

In one of the greatest of all Proverbs, Solomon wrote that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7) From the fear of the Lord grows not only knowledge but wisdom.

Other wonderful gifts of God will flow from a fear of the Lord, including long life, confidence, riches, honor and life, to name but a few (Proverbs 10:27, 14:26-27, and 22:4). This is a good deal that God has for us, if we but claim it!