The lions fear.
There are approximately 20,000 lions left in the world. Lions are known as the king of the jungle. Lions are called “kings of the jungle” for their imposing and majestic look, they earn this nickname for their strong, fear-inducing roar and their royal mane. The roar of a lion can be heard for about 5 miles. Throughout time gradually people have lost their fear of lions; not utterly and have hunted them. Lions play a big role throughout the bible. They represent in the bible for symbol of royalty, strength, power, judgement and courage. Jesus is called the lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev5:5). The bible teaches that God calls his children from the west with a roar of a lion and they come trembling (ho11:10). They appear in as one of the faces of the cherubim’s in the bible. But Satan also has biblical representation of a lion, it says that he walks around like a roaring lion seeking to whom he may devore (1Pt5:8). The fear that lions induce is that of the common fear of the unpleasant emotions of danger. Such fear is the fear that the prince of darkness induces on all mankind. The fear of God is geared towards reverence and awe of his power. The most common fear in the bible has a twofold meaning “Yir’ah” which has the meaning of terror and reverence. God should be the only one that “Yir’ah”.
2 Kings 17:23-25
23 Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof.
25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
God sent a plague of lions to kill some of the people of Israel, because they had chosen to follow Jeroboam and his sinful lifestyle. They had drifted so far from the Lord that they had forgotten how it was to fear “Yir’ah” God. They had forgotten how they were supposed to come before God, that is with fear and trembling. The church is called to come back to fearing God. Jesus said that we should not fear man who can hurt our body’s, but him that can both hurt our human body’s and cast us into hell (Mt10:28). The king of Assyria after taking over Samaria sent all sorts of people from his kingdom to rule over God’s people. God’s people became more and more distant from him to the point that they became like them. But when the lions came and tormented them, they requested from the king someone to reteach them how to fear the God of the land.
The king sent a priest that was from the captives who served in the worship of the calve when Moses was in the mountain with God. They learned to fear God but chose to love their idols and not leave them (2Kg17:33). These lions who were devouring them served as a symbol pointing them to whom they needed to fear. Fearing God is the entire duty of man (Ecc12:13-14).
(1) Lions Roaring Compilation – YouTube
Revelation 5:5
5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Hosea 11:10
10 They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.
1 Peter 5:8
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
2 Kings 17:28
33 They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.