Proverbs 14:27 Commentary and Bible Study

Closely associated with the previous proverb is this next one, again on the theme of the protection and security of the people of God. As the law of the wise is a fountain of life (Proverbs 13:14), so also is the fear of the Lord. The word fountain is from a Hebrew word meaning to dig, describing the work involved in digging a well, and which came to mean the result of that work: a fountain bursting forth with life giving water. Again there is a riddle in the verse for we normally expect fear to result in paralysis of action and demoralisation, but here it leads to life and not to death. How does this come about? The fear of the Lord is not a fear equivalent to terror; it is not some cringing fear which makes men shrink back from God’s presence, but it is a noble fear. It is the fear of one who has received some great benefit and does not want to be ungrateful or to do anything to displease his benefactor. He regards him very highly and wishes to repay his debt as best he can, therefore he honours his benefactor’s name before the whole world, he does not make alliances with his benefactor’s enemies. This fear therefore has a transformative effect on his conduct. The believer is acutely aware that the Lord has delivered him from the snares of death and that it was sin that lead him into this dangerous state. He knows that God has forgiven him at great personal cost to himself, for it could not be done without the giving of his only begotten Son to pay the price of redemption. Therefore the child of God cannot enjoy the benefit of salvation while continuing to do the very things that made redemption necessary in the first place. This fear therefore is a fountain of life, for the consideration of it constantly leads him to choose the paths of life and to shun temptation which would entice him back into his old ways. He sees the possibilities of sin but fears to return to them again because he knows them to be the snares of death from which he has already been released once.