The Fear of Man…

 The fear of man brings a snare,

But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.—Proverbs 29:25

Many seek the ruler’s favor,

But justice for man comes from the LORD.—Proverbs 29:26

Beloved…We are secure in Christ. Trusting in Him removes the fear and intimidation that man brings. The word fear “tremble” in 29:25 is not the same word used for reverence of God. When we fear man it brings a snare in that we are now controlled by the very person we dreaded.  The words “shall be safe” or “is kept safe” are from the verb sagav, “to be inaccessibly high or to be exalted.” How much better it is to trust in the Lord…to do as David examples in 2 Samuel 24:14.

And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

And NOT as Abraham did:

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you."—Genesis 12:10-13

And again in Chapter 20 of Genesis

And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

The righteous run to it and are safe.—Proverbs 18:10

 

I thought verse 26 was a good companion to verse 25 because it illustrates its point.  Many seek a ruler’s favor for oh so many reasons, all of which have selfishness at the center. Here is the thing though, when we do this we have no guarantee that things will work out in our favor or that justice will be done.  Worse, we have now ensnared ourself to the very one we dreaded. Not wise.  Beloved…God is the source of true justice. He is the one who will make perfect that which concerns you. Commit yourself to Him who judges righteously.