"...the fear of the Lord is [thy] treasure..." Isaiah 33:6b
The "fear" here is not merely that of the terrifying to the terrified as it is the superior to the inferior. You fear the judge or police officer, not because they are immediately evil or out to harm you, but because you know that on legal grounds they are superior to you. You fear a certain professor because you know that on intellectual grounds he or she is superior to you. As a child, you feared your parents because they seemed superior to you on all grounds. This fear is not mere dread alone; it has with it a sense of awe or wonder. You feel like a peasant coming before a king: you know you are in the presence of greatness.
The same is with God. We fear Him, not because He is evil, but because He is great. He is "high and lifted up," transcended above us on all levels (see esp. Isaiah 55:8, 9; Romans 11:33-36). His greatness does create dread because He is beyond our ability to manipulate or control. We step into His presence and immediately recognize that He is Lord and we are not. The fear of the Lord is, ultimately, an act of submission: you do not fear what you do not recognize as greater than you.
This fear, this submission, is a "treasure" to us. Proverbs seems to stress such wisdom (see esp. Proverbs 1:7, 10:27, 14:26, 15:16, 19:23). There is something in this act of submission that is beneficial to us. Perhaps we should not be surprised. When an authority is good (in every sense) and out for our good (in every sense), we know that submission to them is what is best, even if we do not understand all that is going on (I speak hypothetically, of course; no human government has or ever will reach such an ideal state).
Now, through God's word we know that He is our authority (Isaiah 33:22; Acts 17:24), He is good (Psalm 34:8, 106:1, 136:1), and He is out for our good (Jeremiah 29:11; Roman 8:28). It only logically follows that submission to Him is beneficial to us; for if God is above us and sees far more then we can what really is going on, any defense on our part is a detriment to us, not so much because God smites us as much as we fall head-over-heels into the ditch He was trying to get us to avoid.
"When by my strength I stand
I trip over my own feet.
Carry me,
Lest I fall forever..."
-Jon Vowell
The "fear" here is not merely that of the terrifying to the terrified as it is the superior to the inferior. You fear the judge or police officer, not because they are immediately evil or out to harm you, but because you know that on legal grounds they are superior to you. You fear a certain professor because you know that on intellectual grounds he or she is superior to you. As a child, you feared your parents because they seemed superior to you on all grounds. This fear is not mere dread alone; it has with it a sense of awe or wonder. You feel like a peasant coming before a king: you know you are in the presence of greatness.
The same is with God. We fear Him, not because He is evil, but because He is great. He is "high and lifted up," transcended above us on all levels (see esp. Isaiah 55:8, 9; Romans 11:33-36). His greatness does create dread because He is beyond our ability to manipulate or control. We step into His presence and immediately recognize that He is Lord and we are not. The fear of the Lord is, ultimately, an act of submission: you do not fear what you do not recognize as greater than you.
This fear, this submission, is a "treasure" to us. Proverbs seems to stress such wisdom (see esp. Proverbs 1:7, 10:27, 14:26, 15:16, 19:23). There is something in this act of submission that is beneficial to us. Perhaps we should not be surprised. When an authority is good (in every sense) and out for our good (in every sense), we know that submission to them is what is best, even if we do not understand all that is going on (I speak hypothetically, of course; no human government has or ever will reach such an ideal state).
Now, through God's word we know that He is our authority (Isaiah 33:22; Acts 17:24), He is good (Psalm 34:8, 106:1, 136:1), and He is out for our good (Jeremiah 29:11; Roman 8:28). It only logically follows that submission to Him is beneficial to us; for if God is above us and sees far more then we can what really is going on, any defense on our part is a detriment to us, not so much because God smites us as much as we fall head-over-heels into the ditch He was trying to get us to avoid.
"When by my strength I stand
I trip over my own feet.
Carry me,
Lest I fall forever..."
-Jon Vowell
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