<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="pr+8:1-21">Proverbs 8:1-21</span></span></p><p>We are taught over and over again in Scripture that because God is uniquely and awesomely holy - pure, separated, and shining in His moral majesty - we are to draw near to Him with godly reverence and fear. The fear of the Lord (we said the other day) is the beginning of wisdom. Contemplation of His character, particularly His holiness, will lead to a reverential fear that prepares the soul (as it did for Isaiah) for more profitable service and activity. But what does it mean to "fear" God? There are times in the Bible when we are told to fear, and times when we are told not to fear. There is a fear that helps and a fear that hinders. How do we know the difference? The fear that helps is the fear that expresses itself in reverence, veneration, awe, a sense of grandeur and majesty of God. The fear that hinders is described for us in  <span class="scriptRef" ref="2ti+1:7">2 Timothy 1:7</span>: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." The Greek word deilia, which is translated "timidity" in this verse, comes from a root that means "wretched, sorry, miserable" and implies someone lacking in courage. God is not to blame for attitudes of cowardice or timidity; they come from within our own hearts. Timid people are frightened people, and if you want to explore this thought still further ask yourself: What kinds of things frighten me that are not related to the fear of God? If we fear them more than we fear God then we are being ruled by the wrong kind of fear.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O God, I bring all those fears within me that hinder to You right now and lay them at Your feet. Help me develop such a reverential fear for You that all other fears are quickly swallowed up. In Jesus' Name. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="de+10:1-12">Deuteronomy 10:1-12</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="jos+24:14">Joshua 24:14</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ec+12:13">Ecclesiastes 12:13</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did the Lord require of Israel?</li><li>What did Joshua admonish Israel to do?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"To fear the Lord is to hate evil " (v. 13)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="de+10:12-22">Deuteronomy 10:12-22</span></span></p><p>The first thing God called Israel to do when He announced that they were to be His special people and live the way He wanted them to live, was to fear Him. Loving Him, serving Him and keeping His laws were of great importance, of course, but the very first things God asks of them are reverence and fear. How does all this relate to the love of God? When thinking about God, it is wise to see love and holiness as intertwined; not to do so can lead sometimes to serious error. Many in today's Church present the love of God in such a way that it has given rise to the saying "God loves me as I am." The idea in many minds is: "God loves me as I am, and whether I go on from here or whether I stay the same, it makes no difference to His love for me." This is entirely true, but it is not the entire truth. Because God is love, He loves us as we are, but because He is holy love, He loves us too much to let us stay as we are. We can be secure in the fact that God loves us just the way we are, but the holy love of God calls us to move ever closer to Him and cries out: "Be holy as I am holy." Error is truth out of balance. We need to rejoice in the fact that we are loved because of who we are and not for what we do, but we must see also that God's love is a holy love and thus will inevitably prod us toward perfection.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, help me keep these two things in balance. Don't let the security I feel as I rest in Your love turn to smugness and complacency. Show me that though I am "accepted in the Beloved," that does not mean You don't want me to come closer. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1sa+6:1-21">1 Samuel 6:1-21</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="re+15:4">Revelation 15:4</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What question did the men of Beth Shemesh ask?</li><li>What truth had been revealed to John in the song of the Lamb?</li></ul></div></div>

" what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God ?" (v. 12)

<p> <sup class="verse-number">12</sup> And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,</p>

And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Deuteronomy 10:12

 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm has had a profound influence on the literature of the past 400 years. The King James Version present on the Bible Gateway matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.

OT: Masoretic Text, some LXX and Vulgate influence.
NT: Textus Receptus, similar to the Byzantine text-type; some readings derived from the Vulgate.
Apocrypha: Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate.

Deuteronomy 10:12 KJV

Deuteronomy 10:12 KJV

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