Fear of the Lord = Obedience
Looking at what it means to fear the Lord, I was intrigued with the following interesting passage:
“A son honoureth (or glorifies) his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour?(or glory) and if I be a master, where is my fear (reverence or awe-inspired deed)? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.” (Mal 1:6-8)
What was the proof that the Israelites didn’t honor God and didn’t fear Him? After all, they never said they didn’t honor or fear God. He observed their life and concluded they didn’t honor or fear (reverence) Him.
It showed in what they offered God in their sacrifices. They offered polluted bread, probably made with leaven, and they offered less than perfect animals—those they didn’t want that were sick.
It isn’t as if the Israelites didn’t know what God required.
No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire. (Lev. 2:11)
And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. (Deut. 15:21)
Prophetically, this would have been an offense because the sacrifice, which was to be perfect, pictured the coming Christ, who was perfect. They marred the prophetic picture or symbol. Leaven pictures sin. Jesus was the bread of life, and He had no sin. So God wanted the offering to have no leaven.
Practically, they disobeyed God in the sacrifice they offered. God asked for perfect sacrifices. So while they partially obeyed God, in that they did do sacrifices, they didn’t do it completely. Half-hearted obedience is disobedience. God is not interested in a form of obedience. He deserves and demands complete obedience.
I notice that God was especially angry at disobedience surrounding things that were prophetic pictures. Consider Moses striking the rock twice when God just asked him to speak to the rock the second time. (Num. 20:7-12) God was so upset with his disobedience to that, he didn’t allow Moses to enter the Promised Land, even though he was called to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land!
For a quick prophetic view and summary, that rock out of which water came pictured Christ. (1 Cor. 10:4). The first time water came forth from the rock was after God asked Moses to strike it (Ex. 17:6). The second time, God asked Moses to simply speak to the rock, because as a picture, Christ only needed to be smitten once (Isa. 53:4, Heb. 9:28, 1 Pet. 3:18). Moses messed up the prophetic picture by having Christ smitten twice.
Consider Cain and Abel. They both offered sacrifices, but Cain’s wasn’t the type God wanted (Gen. 4:2-5) The correct animal sacrifice pictures Christ; an offering of the tilling of the ground pictures human effort to please God.
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” (Heb. 11:4)
The point overall, though, is that to fear the Lord is to obey completely. Not halfheartedly, not just so it looks good to others around. God wants an obedient, compliant heart. Know what He said and do what He said from the heart completely. That shows Him that I fear Him. This applies to more than our offerings.
“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (1Sa 15:22 AV)
Back to our original verse in Mal about the Israelites offering polluted bread and imperfect lambs. You know, others could have easily overlooked the condition of the offering. On the outside, they were probably pretty inconspicuous. But what matters is what happens between us and the Lord. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Heb 4:13) We just don’t realize that God sees everything, including motives and thoughts.
Our obedience and personal disciplines must be between us and God first. Even if no one ever sees our devotion and the sacrifices we decide to make, God sees it and weighs it. Does it come from a heart that honors Him, and is it pure and right?
This defines the fear of the Lord. God asked these people where their fear was. It was missing because they didn’t obey completely, which stemmed from a heart not perfect toward Him. We’ll take a deeper look at the fear of the Lord.
Jody