God and Fear
The Law of Moses was given to Israel around 1445 B.C., and it remained in effect until it was nailed to the cross when Jesus died for our sins (Col. 2:14). The past 2,000 years mankind has lived under a new and better covenant (Heb. 8:6-7)—that of Jesus the Christ, who now has all authority (Matt. 28:18). However, people have not changed even though the Law has. We now rejoice to say that we live under “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). But whether man has lived under the Law of Moses or the Law of Christ, he continues to have the same problem in that he does not fear God. The concept of fearing God was covered under the Law of Moses, as a few verses below show.
\Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deut. 5:29).
“You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name” (Deut. 6:13).
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?” (Deut. 10:12-13).
However, most people—much to their discredit—do not have the good sense to fear God. Solomon tied wisdom and fear together: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Pr. 9:10). So, if we neglect to stand in awe of God and His power, how smart are we? The attitude we ought to have is to realize that God is superior to us in every way possible—power, knowledge, wisdom, ability. God outperforms man in every way measurable—by a country mile. We cannot compete with Him and would do well to acknowledge His greatness.
On what basis can we compare ourselves to Him? We only need to acknowledge His superiority and greatness. To do so means that we recognize that His way is better than what we might invent. For that reason, He has given us commands for our benefit. The alternative is for every man to do what is right in his own eyes (Deut. 12:8)—and that doesn’t work. The children of Israel had a standard by which to live under the Law of Moses. Christians today have a standard also under the New Testament of Jesus. Those laws are different, but they both operate under the principle of fearing God. No better system ever has been or ever will be set forth.