Thursday, September 10, 2015

In our last visit we found out what happens when you choose to not fear the Lord – you leave yourself vulnerable to evil. You will also leave yourself vulnerable to the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27 says, “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.” The converse would be that if you choose to not fear the Lord you would tend to follow the crowd going down the broad road that leads to the snares of death. The essence of choosing to not fear the Lord is the spirit of rebellion. That’s why Proverbs 24:21-22 warns, “Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious, for those two will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?” Kings fear rebellion among their subjects. Rebellion could lead to their being deposed or even killed. That’s why they usually take strong actions to quell rebellion. God is not afraid of losing His authority. He will never be deposed. He might allow puny man to go his own way, even to thumb his nose at God. But the end of that kind of rebellious spirit is dangerous. God can and at times does take His protective hand off of a rebellious person and when He does anything can happen. He doesn’t need to send sudden destruction. The devil who is our enemy “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” according to 1 Peter 5:8. With God’s protective hand removed the rebellious are vulnerable to the devils whiles: sudden destruction and calamities. The warning is clear: Wise men fear the Lord and shun, hate and avoid evil.