He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. He said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.” (5-7)
When you follow the history of the kings of Israel and Judah, there are often more negatives than positives. Most kings were wicked and led the people back into pagan idolatry; not so with Jehoshaphat. He was a reformer and sought to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He not only removed idols from the land, but he also tried to create an atmosphere of “fearing” the Lord. We typically think of fear as something related to being frightened, which is sometimes the case in the Bible. Yet, fear is profound reverence and awe when it refers to God.
Jehoshaphat believed that everything we do must be motivated by the fear of the Lord. When he appointed civil and priestly judges, he adjured them to do their work “in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and wholeheartedly.” Jehoshaphat knew that God was always watching and that there was no division between the sacred and the secular. Whatever you do, you must do it as unto the Lord. Regardless of our vocation, our work must be to serve God as we serve others. We honor Him when we do what is right because it is right, even when no one else but God is watching.
The greatest need we have in our society today is for people to fear the Lord. If people truly feared Him, it would change their behavior. Yet, even in the church, there tends to be very little fear of God today. Many brazenly thumb their noses at God’s word and the gospel. Our culture worships at the altar of individualism and personal freedoms. We believe that no one should be able to interfere with our lives or tell us what to do, even God. This lack of fear has created an entire society of selfishness and hedonism. If you genuinely love God and care what He thinks, you will fear Him. If you don’t fear Him, you don’t really know Him. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the only means of finding true peace.
1 Comment
Michael Blythe · May 13, 2022 at 3:00 pm
You have emphasized it correctly our Nation and each individual must “Fear the Lord.” I am amazed every day how our country has become so irreverent and callous about God and the “Gospel of Christ.” The evidence of this is becoming over whelming in our local and federal politicians, our industrial leaders, our selfish culture and blatant in the US media bombarding us daily with the ungodly ideals of the unrighteous. The time of Christian persecution in our country is upon us and I pray that I continue to stand among those who love and fear the Lord. God bless you and your family, may you continue to fear the Lord.
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