“Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. Proverbs 1:28-29.

Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:

I give you precious treasure and wonderful gifts, your wonderful Savior and your Wonderful Counselor both of whom generate deep within and proceed from Me and are one with Me. And We are My Word and that is how each of us operate as one, in My Words. The Holy Spirit breathes forth My Word into manifestation and births forth all things as new! Jesus is My Word living and actively working My works and revealing My very being and nature. I make everything by My Word, I sustain everything by My Word, and how you treat My Word determines the quality of your life on earth and determines your eternity.

Because of the rejection of My Word by Adam, in order to live the life I planned for you before the foundation of the world, for I knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb, you must receive Jesus (My Word) and confess Him as Lord so that you are born again by water (the Word) and the Spirit, but from there you need to go higher and higher as you walk the life of good deeds I prepared for you in advance that you might have a life that you love and delight in. And how do you go higher? By My Spirit dwelling in you and on you and all the help He brings you as He teaches you ALL things, brings to your remembrance ALL that I said, guides you to ALL truth, and leads you in the way you should go. And what does He teach you?

“Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, from the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord (Adonai) LORD (Yahweh) has sent Me, and His Spirit.” Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being (shalom) would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:16-18.

You notice that this prophecy of Isaiah that together My Son (Adonai) and I (Yahweh) sent you Jesus and the Holy Spirit to do a work, a redeeming work, so that I, through them, teach you to profit and lead you in the way you should go. If only you would pay attention (Shema – actively listen and obey), then your shalom would be like an unending river of life giving water from My throne of grace and your righteousness would be Mine shared with you. And like the waves of the sea I, by the blood of Jesus, continually cleanse you of all unrighteousness as you walk in My light and stay out of the darkness. And you do that by walking in the truth. My Word is truth. My Word sanctifies you and washes you of all the filth with which the world, the flesh and the devil would defile your soul.

Beloved, I desire that in all things you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of My children walking in the truth. 3 John 1:2-4.

Walking in the Spirit is walking in truth, for to walk with and in Me you must be in agreement with Me and not discord. And I am My Word and My Son and Spirit are as well.

People perish for lack of knowledge of My Word and there is a famine in the land for My Word, so there are too many people perishing and acting with no restraints to evil because they do not know My Word and therefore lack any vision or purpose in their lives. No matter how many worldly things they grab to fill their lives, they are like broken cisterns that hold no water.

The call to eternity and sonship that I have put in every person’s heart is seeking for the truth that will set them free, but if they have no knowledge how can they know?

But read on to the context of when I tell you people are perishing for lack of knowledge of My Word, you will find it is not My fault, I make My Word available and will even feed it to you and put it in your mouth so that you may prosper and succeed, but if you spit it out as not valuable there is not much I can do.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because you have rejected knowledge. I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6.

Today many people, even believers, have no “fear of the LORD” before their eyes. Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. Psalm 36:1. The “fear of the LORD” comes with knowledge of who I am which is learned from My Word. And it will give you great confidence and peace once you find and live it, like treasure in a field upon which you then build your whole life now and forever.

In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death. Proverbs 14:26-27.

Fear of the LORD is not the fear of punishment and torment, for perfect love casts out all of that kind of fear, the kind of fear that made Adam hide from Me. When you know My love for you and all I did and do for you eternally in Jesus you have strong confidence to come to Me and bring everything in you into My Light that I may heal, help, and purify you by My favor and grace to true holiness and the peace of a blameless life. My Spirit is working in you with resurrection power if you will be willing to repent and walk with Me. But when you know Me you change your ways to My higher ways so you may live above and not beneath the churning waves of the ungodly. Jesus walked on the churning, stormy waters and did not sink and when He took Peter by the hand, he did the same.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. Psalm 37:23-24.

In the first chapter of Proverbs, Wisdom begins calling and talking with you, this is a personification as Wisdom of the Person of My Spirit, which continues throughout the book of Proverbs. So when you see Wisdom speaking, it is My Spirit’s Word to My people. Just as in the beginning of the book of Revelation it is My Spirit’s Word to the churches, the body of My Son, My people in Him.

At the head of the noisy streets Wisdom cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you . . . Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would not accept my counsel; they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.” Proverbs 1:28-33.

When you reject My Word and hate it, you have no honor or reverence (fear) for Me and My Word as valuable, like Pharaoh who laughed at and rejected My Word when Moses delivered it to him. And just listen to the opponents of My Word in this age who talk as if they are for unity among people and call My Word “hate speech,” and with no fear stand up and say that it curtails their freedom to be who they want to be and divides people. And they do it with unreasonable and violent hatred against Me. It is like Jesus asked the Pharisees, “For what good deed do you want to stone Me?” But what you see today is the spirit of the anti-Christ and it is foretold so you should not be taken in by the deceit of the devil in these times of the latter rain, you have My Word made sure in Jesus.

When you ask anything according to My Will, which is to save all, to heal all, and to bless all, and to bring all to know the truth that will set you free, I hear you. But to those who have rejected My Word, “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD.” They have not repented and are not calling on Me in truth. They want deliverance when they are sick or trapped in the prison of their own making, but they still do not turn their hearts to Me or My Word. They do not want a relationship with Me, just to have the good and continue to live in the bad. That does not work. Unless you repent you shall all likewise perish.

From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can saltwater produce fresh. James 3:10-12.

Let Me share with you the words I gave to My prophet Malachi and you will understand the fear of the LORD better and why it is so important.

My prophet Malachi addressed the priests and the people who had become negligent, complacent, and gave Me no honor in their offerings before Me. They kept the valuable unblemished animals that sold for good prices and offered Me as their burnt offerings, sin offerings, peace offerings, and guilt offerings, the blemished animals they could not sell acting as if this was good enough for Me. When they protested that I was not accepting their offerings as I did of old, I asked them to offer what they were offering Me to their governor or one they were seeking favor from, and see how far they would get.

The priests too were keeping the best for themselves and ignoring to give Me as the law commanded and they were not instructing the people in My Word.

But I had an even bigger issue that was interfering with their prosperity and the very core of their lives that I had to address. And it was the “fear of the LORD.”

First, please realize that Jesus has made you who believe in Him a kingdom, priests unto Me offering spiritual sacrifice from the fruit of lips without deceit. Revelation 1:5-6, 1 Peter 2:5-6, 9-10; Psalm 17:1.

Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, That we may present the fruit of our lips. Hosea 14:2.

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:15-16.

So all addressed to the priests in the book of Malachi applies to you, and so does what was said to My Covenant people, for all who have entered Covenant with Jesus are sealed through Him in the everlasting Covenant He made with Me. You would be wise to read the short book of the prophet Malachi.

Let us turn to the words addressed to My people and learn more about the “fear of the LORD.” You will notice when it has to do with tithes and offerings I address you as the LORD of hosts. There is a reason for that. The angels are ministering servants to those who are to inherit Salvation and they are the ones that shake out the silver and the gold from the earth and from Satan’s possession. I also send the host to guard you from the destroyer, and not only your person but all your good and family as well. But if you are robbing Me they cannot increase you. You yourself have opened your door, goods and family to the one who Jesus calls the thief. Thieves walk with thieves.

Here is the way I brought it up before the eyes of My people who were struggling financially.

“From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’  Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 3:8-12.

This is an amazing promise and if you have been struggling financially it is time you examined yourself in this area. Of course, there could be other reasons such as you are not working or monitoring your possessions and frivolously spending beyond your means and running up debt. But I tell you not to get into debt, because then you are the tail and not the head and the slave to the lender. Even then, you still must tithe with what you have so as to get out of debt and get ideas and inventions, innovations, songs, books, better jobs, and investment strategies.

And when you do not honor Me with the first ten percent of your income as a tithe and make offerings on top, I know I am not first in your life and you have no trust in My Name. For I am the LORD who looks ahead and provides.

Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. Proverbs 3:7-10.

And if you have no honor for Me in that area it will be the same in the other areas of your life for you are not obeying My Word.

 “Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts? So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and escape.’” Malachi 3:13-15.

But for those who fear Me, I keep a special book of remembrance.

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. “They will be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him”. Malachi 3:16-18.

And the final result for those who have “fear of the LORD,” as their strength and confidence like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 4:1-3.

I love you. Perhaps you have become to casual about tithes and offerings and you have just been putting tithing off for months, if not years now, thinking it does not make much difference to Me. Well, try not filing or paying your taxes this year and find out what kind of penalties and interest you accrue. Not because the government has something against you, it is just a law. You break it, you take the penalty. Selah.