Fear, Faith and Fruitfulness
‘Fear of God - Abraham’Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son - Genesis 22:12
It is a healthy thing to fear God. It is unlike a worldly fear that causes us to be anxious or worried. A Godly fear is about standing in awe in the presence of God, trusting in his word, and bowing before Christ in his beauty and majesty.
‘The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom’ – Proverbs 9:10
A person who fears God has their life built on a wise and solid foundation.
Abraham was a man just like this. He had waited for years to have a son. He stood on the promise of God that he would be ‘father to all nations’ and that his offspring would be like the sand on the beach, and the stars in the sky. God gave Abraham a Son, Isaac. When Issac had grown up, God decided to test Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his one and only Son. Abraham obeyed and was about to kill his son to offer him as a sacrifice.
Just as he was about to do it, the Angel of the Lord (Jesus Christ) called to him to stop and not sacrifice Isaac. He declared that now he knew that Abraham feared God and continued to repeat the covenant promise of increase and fruitfulness over Abraham’s life and offspring (Read Genesis 22 for the full story – it’s amazing!)
This foundation of the fear of God in Abraham’s life has a journey and progression that we can learn from for our lives and actions in 2006:
- Abraham heard God and obeyed what he said to him
- Abraham demonstrated that he feared God in the context of Worship
- Abraham showed he was a man of faith by showing he feared God
- Because of this fear and faith in God, God made him very fruitful
'I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore' - Genesis 22:17
Labels: Abraham, Faith, Fear of God
posted by Gavin White @ 8:11 am
1 Comments:
Beautiful piece Gavin. I just did a post on the fear of the Lord also. Indeed the fear of the Lord is not a phobia of God, but a reverence, communion, obedience and love for God. What more, living in the fear of the Lord commands God's blessings.
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