Fearing God Is Obeying His Commandments

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever! [Psalm111.10] 

Like so many statements in the Bible, particularly in the Psalms (songs) and Proverbs, a statement is made followed by another statement saying the same thing in different words. Such is the case with Psalm 111.10.

In short, fearing God IS obeying His commandments.

The "three-legged stool" of all God's commandments can be seen in the first three of the Ten Commandments:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

The fear of the LORD then, is to obediently embrace and trust Him ALONE as God, to make no idols as alternatives or additions, and to never ever speak of Him in a way that blurs the distinction between Him and idols.

When a person has the first three commandments at heart, the 4th Commandment makes perfect sense in that Jesus Christ is the Sabbath Rest. "Keeping the Sabbath" is intimacy with "God in the flesh."

The last six commandments can only really be fulfilled when the "Sabbath" is truly kept holy. Only in Christ can one genuinely love his fellow man.

This is wisdom. This is "fearing God." This is exactly what Jesus was talking about when He said:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

Father, Your Word is not confusing when taken literally. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear when it comes to Your Word. May we feed on it daily. May we bring ourselves into obedience as we understand that Jesus is pivotal in our "loving God and loving man" obedience to Your commandments. So be it.