The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Wisdom defines the fear of the LORD by what it hates, not by what it feels, and then names four things: pride, arrogance, the evil way, and twisted speech. So what kind of "fear" is this, and how would you know if you have it?
Reverence, not dread
The word "fear" makes many people picture cringing before an unpredictable God. One writer separates the two, and links the real thing to joy, not terror:
H J VineThis fear of the Lord is not the slavish dread that marks the superstitious. No. It is reverent trust joined with hatred of evil. Where this is kept up, the presence of the Lord is real, and a joy.
Forgiveness produces this fear
Forgiveness does not cancel this fear. One writer shows what God's forgiveness does to the person who truly knows it:
The Christian's FriendChristian teaching draws an important distinction. Judicial forgiveness is full, complete, and everlasting. Governmental forgiveness brings the believer back to enjoying the relationship he already stands in with God. The passage here does not make that distinction clear. It points instead to a fact just as important: God's forgiveness has a sanctifying effect when a person truly knows it. "But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared." "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil."
The test: what you hate
One writer counts how often this book defines the fear of the LORD, and turns this verse into a test:
W. T. P. WolstonThis book states seven times what the fear of the Lord is... The fear of the Lord is the first step to knowledge and progress... The things He hates, we should hate too, or His fear is not in us.
Four things, one root
The verse names pride, arrogance, the evil way and a mouth that twists things. One commentator groups them as two pairs, and traces both pairs back to a single source:
William KellyGod's wisdom in the Word trains the godly in obedience. It does not train them in the cleverness that beats cunning with more cunning. That would only dishonour God and stain the soul. So God and His people hate pride and arrogance on one side, and the evil way and the perverse mouth on the other. They are the ways and the words of self, far from Him who leads in the path of obedience.
Wisdom speaking is a Person
From verse 12 the chapter stops describing wisdom. Wisdom now speaks as "I." One writer reads that shift as a move from our experience to Christ Himself:
L M GrantNow the word "she" is exchanged for "I." We are no longer looking at wisdom's activity in the believer, that is, subjectively. We are looking at wisdom objectively, in Christ personally, apart from people's experiences or feelings... In Christ we also see perfectly "the fear of the Lord" (v. 13). He hates "evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way." Such is His character as "Wisdom." He hates the perverse mouth, for the words of His mouth are pure and good.
Fear without separation
One writer measures a man's fear of the LORD against this verse:
H. L. RossierAhab brings in Obadiah, the steward of his house, a man who held a public place at the king's court. "Obadiah feared the Lord greatly" (v. 3). This might seem to be enough for a faithful walk... But we are also told: "fear the LORD, and turn away from evil" (Prov. 3:7). And again: "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil" (Prov. 8:13). A person may fear the Lord greatly and still dishonour Him by keeping company with the world that rejects Him.
The first thing to build on
One writer compares this fear to a wall, and makes it the ground floor of a person's spiritual life:
VariousAll spiritual growth begins with what the Bible calls the fear of the Lord. That means real reverential respect for Him, recognizing His power and authority over us. It leads to hating evil and turning from it. It lets a person stand like a wall against the evil influences around, and keep them out. This is the beginning of all spiritual growth and character. Where it is lacking there is no foundation to build on.
Summary
- Reverence — the fear of the LORD is not the dread of the superstitious but reverent trust; where it lasts, God's presence becomes joy, not terror.
- Received — forgiveness known does not cancel this fear, it creates it: "with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared."
- Refused — that fear proves itself by what it hates; if what God hates leaves us unmoved, His fear is not in us.
- Revealed — the four evils fall into two pairs: pride and arrogance, then the evil way and the perverse mouth. All of them are self. Their perfect opposite is Christ, who speaks here as Wisdom.
- Real — Obadiah shows the gap: a man may fear God greatly and still keep company with what rejects Him. Reverence that never separates has not yet become hatred of evil.