The Fear of the Lord Leads Us

Introduction

There has always been a misunderstanding about the fear of the Lord. I have heard different preachers speak about it in ways that I think was inadequate. I am the biggest culprit that I know. There are some that will tell you that we are not to be in fear like we know fear. That we are to be in awe of him, that is the fear the Bible talks about. The problem is that it does not use the word awe, it uses the word fear. Michael Reeves, in his book , “Rejoice & Tremble” gives two different kinds of fear that the Bible speaks of, or at least two types of fear that we have with God.

The first kind is a sinful fear. This is a fear that people have of God that drives them away from God. Think of Adam and Eve in the garden. Adam had been given things to do in the garden, name the animals, subdue the earth. He was also given one thing not to do, eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This seems pretty simple, but as we know he did not obey. Adam and Eve eat from the tree, they immediately felt shame and attempted to cover their nakedness. Do you remember what they did next? They heard God walking in the garden and they hid, because of their nakedness. This is a sinful fear. This is a fear that is based on unbelief. Not believing that God is for us, not believing in the grace of God, not believing in the mercy of God.

There is a righteous fear of God that we are to have. One that sees the holiness of God and it completely overwhelms us. Think of Isaiah 6, where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in all of his glory and all he can do is say that he is ruined. But he experiences the grace of the Lord and tells God, “Here am I Lord, send me!”

When we talk about the fear of the Lord today, it is important that you understand what it is that we are talking about. One that draws us closer to the Lord, seeing and understanding more and more of the mercy and grace of God.

Ezra 5:1–2 (CSB)

1 But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them,

2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began to rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them.

I know that the word or phrase, “fear of the Lord” does not appear in this passage. If I remember correctly, in all of the thirty-nine verses in chapters five and six, you will not find that phrase. I promise we will get there. We have seen God initiate the return of the Israelites from exile. They have rebuilt the altar, the foundation is complete and then the writer tells about some troubles that they faced. Not just in rebuilding the temple, but even later as they are rebuilding the city walls. Last week I told you that the book of Ezra does not simply run in chronological order. So we looked at the theme that the writer was trying to tell us, about difficulties in the life of believers. So I feel the need to give a background to where we are in the timeline of the Jews coming back to Jerusalem. The altar and foundation were completed fourteen months after they returned to Jerusalem, but nothing had been accomplished after that in the entire reign of King Cyrus. Now, in chapters five and six, we are in the second year of King Darius. Meaning we are about 17-19 years after the foundation was completed.

How much does life change in twenty years? I have been at Faith Fellowship for fourteen years. When I started here, I had three kids at home, all fifth grade and under. People didn’t just have smart phones in their pockets, flip phones were what everybody had. That was two presidents ago. Things change and change quickly. The people of Israel had grown pretty comfortable with how things were going. They had their altar, they had the foundation of the temple, and an excuse for not having the rest of it done. They were making their sacrifices, but the people around were stopping them from building the temple. They were even beginning to live in pretty nice houses themselves, all while the house of God, the temple, was a repaired foundation, with no walls.

But a fear of the Lord puts the tools back into their hands to finish the task that they have been assigned. Maintaining a healthy fear of the Lord keeps us from taking our walk with the Lord for granted.

The Fear of the Lord Leads Us to Repentance

In the second part of our study of Ezra, we talked about repentance. The people of Israel had built the altar and had celebrated the Day of Atonement. Where they would confess their sins and make sacrifices to the Lord. We talked about how we should be people of repentance. We do not always know what we need repentance for. In those times, God will remind you if you are willing to listen.

As for the Israelites, God sent two prophets to them. These two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, spoke the word of the Lord to the Israelites.

Haggai 1:1–4 (CSB)

1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:

2 “The Lord of Armies says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”

3 The word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:

4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”

God does not spend a lot of time beating around the bush. He sends Haggai and has him speak not just saying build my house, but speaks of the kind of houses that they live in, paneled houses. Meaning, they were way beyond the basic house to live in, but adding decor. These panels did not serve a structural purpose or need. They were making their house pretty. God tells them that they are living in paneled houses, while his house is in ruins.

Haggai 1:12 (CSB)

12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people obeyed the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord.

So now we see that the Israelites fear the Lord. So, the question that we have to ask, is this a sinful fear or a righteous fear? We do not have to guess or assume, we can see by their actions. After the prophet speaks, they get busy building the house of God.

Ezra 5:1–2 (CSB)

1 But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them,

2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began to rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them.

A rightful fear of the Lord leaves us overwhelmed by his forgiveness and grace. I cannot imagine the heartbreak they felt when they realized that after all the years away, now back in the promise land they are growing cold in their relationship. But we see that they did not run from him in fear, but rather ran to him. They began to build the temple.

That is what repentance is, turning from what separates us from the love and grace of God and come back to him. This is much bigger than what we have made it out to be. The Israelites immediately left their excuses and laziness concerning the temple and came back to what God had called them to do. Our idea of repentance is simply acknowledging that we have a problem. Acknowledging that we are sinful. There are a lot of people who will admit that they have disobeyed, done wrong, that does not make them sorry for it, or show that they have changed. To put it another way, the sin that you struggle with that you continually go back to, over and over again. May not be because we have not set up enough guard rails in our lives. It may be simply that we have not truly left that sin and run to the arms of God’s grace.

A proper fear of the Lord leads us to repentance and a desire to run into the grace of God, to feel his mercy. When we do, then we cannot help but to obey what He has called us to do.

The Fear of the Lord Leads Us to Obedience

There are certain sayings that kind of drive me crazy, or at the very least, are a mild annoyance. When I was kid, my sisters played sports. Their team was not very good. Not that they did not try hard, they just were not good, always losing. After everything that they did, every failure that they had, people would always yell, “Good try!” This did not seem to happen after they succeeded in things, just if they didn’t. So, we began to affectionately call them the “good tries.” I cannot hear people at a game yell that without it going back to my childhood and the good tries.

In the Christian life, the saying that I hear to often is, “Yeah, but...” This is what is said when really people are pretending to agree with you, but are giving a reason or excuse to why they do not. God desires you to be involved in a church, “Yeah, but...” God desires you to read his word and grow in your knowledge of him everyday, “Yeah, but...” “The Bible says that no man knows the time Christ’s return.” “Yeah, but this guy was drinking coffee at a christian coffee shop and the foam was in the shape of a cross and the cross beam was pointed at the clock and it was 10:02 AM and God told him he would come on October second.” This too goes back to the fear of the Lord. A proper fear of the Lord leads us to obedience, without the yeah but.

The people of Israel had their reasons for not completing the temple. They had adversities that they faced. As soon as they begin to obey God and the prophets that he sent, they get questioned again by the local government officials. It would have been so easy to tell the prophets, “ I know God says to build, but...”

Ezra 5:2–5 (CSB)

2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began to rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them.

3 At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”

4 They also asked them, “What are the names of the workers who are constructing this building?”

5 But God was watching over the Jewish elders. These men wouldn’t stop them until a report was sent to Darius, so that they could receive written instructions about this matter.

Obedience to God does not come in our own strength. Too often that is the problem and where we fail when it comes to obeying God, we attempt to do this on our own. Imagine how easy it would have been to stop when they were being questioned again. When they hear them ask for names. Why do you need our names? No good can come from that. But they were not alone in this. The prophets were helping. This does not necessarily mean that they were picking up tools and helping build. They were there proclaiming the word of the Lord to them. Reminding them of the promises of God. Probably reminding them of verse five, that God was “watching over them.”

I am not sure what you think of when you read watching over them. I am guessing it would depend on how your fear the Lord. If you believe that this means that he was supervising and waiting for them to stop again so that he could come down hard on them again, your fear of the Lord might be a little off. If you read that and think that he is watching over them as in protection, and a refuge for them. You might be understanding the grace and mercy of God and what it means to lean into him in our fear of him.

Our Obedience does not stop in the face of questioning or adversity. Whom do we fear when we have the creator God watching over us? In Acts 5, The Apostles get into trouble for teaching about Jesus in the temple. The same temple that the Israelites are building now. Instead of praying for God to keep them safe, the Apostles pray for boldness to continue to proclaim the word of God in the midst of persecution. Because they understand that the safety, the watching over, does not always mean things will be easy in this world. Remember, he is with us in the valley of the shadow of death, not stop us from walking through it. So how do the Jews respond to this questioning. They give their testimony. They talk about what the Lord has done. They begin by telling that they were here, but doe to their sin they were cast out. But now God has brought them back. That King Cyrus has told them to rebuild the temple. Then they continue to build.

When we fear the Lord, and are overwhelmed by his love and grace, we cannot help but to do all we can for Him.

The Fear of the Lord Leads Us to Blessing

So, just as we saw in chapter four, more letters are sent. The local leaders send a letter to King Darius informing him of what is going on and ask him to investigate on his end to find out if they are supposed to be doing this. He finds the records and discovers that not only were they to rebuild the temple, but the cost of the temple was to be paid for from the royal treasury. So the King send back his own letter basically informing these officials to see to it that nobody stops them. To make sure they have all the money they need to finish it and to give them all they need to make their sacrifices as well. Wow!

What is a blessing? Websters dictionary says, “God's favor and protection.” That certainly comes. They are provided all they need and now the local officials have to make sure they can continue.

Ezra 6:13–22 (CSB)

13 Then Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

14 So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.

15 This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16 Then the Israelites, including the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

17 For the dedication of God’s house they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, as well as twelve male goats as a sin offering for all Israel—one for each Israelite tribe.

18 They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the book of Moses.

19 The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

20 All of the priests and Levites were ceremonially clean, because they had purified themselves. They killed the Passover lamb for themselves, their priestly brothers, and all the exiles.

21 The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the Gentiles of the land in order to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.

22 They observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them joyful, having changed the Assyrian king’s attitude toward them, so that he supported them in the work on the house of the God of Israel.

It is easy to see that God provided all that they needed to finishing building the temple and to make sacrifices. Yes I know that the King made the decree, but we must give credit to where credit is due.

Haggai 2:6–8 (CSB)

6 For the Lord of Armies says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

7 I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of Armies.

8 “The silver and gold belong to me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

Everything belongs to the Lord. It would be easy to end there. To see that the Lord provided for them and that if we fear the Lord that we will get money and physical items as well. But if we stop there we will be missing the true blessing that has been given to them.

When the Israelites finish the building of the temple and it is dedicated to the Lord, they appointed priests, they cleansed themselves according to the law of God, giving us a true understanding of Zechariah 3, where God has the High Priest Joshua before him with Satan accusing him and God cleanses him and puts a new robe and turban on him. Then they celebrated passover. What is Passover? In the book of Exodus, one of the plagues was the death of the first born in the house. God told the Israelites that they were to take a spotless lamb as a sacrifice. They were to take the blood of that lamb and put it over the door posts and the death angel would passover their house. This was something that they were to celebrate every year. Now, the temple is rebuilt they have cleansed themselves and they will celebrate the death angel passing over them because of the blood of the lamb.

God provided a spotless lamb for us. Jesus is that spotless lamb. Jesus lived the perfect, sinless life while on this earth. He is righteous according to the law of God. We are not, Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” Yet Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice so that we may live. We had no part in this. We do not have to clean ourselves up first, like Joshua the High Priest, God cleanses us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That as Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Meaning death has no claim on us. We now can pass from death to life. We are truly alive in Christ.

This is the love and grace that should completely overwhelm us. That should draw us closer to God, not make us hide in shame. Our hearts should tremble consumed by his glory.