1Samuel 11:7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
To muster the people to go to battle against the Ammonites, Saul sent a graphic and urgent message to all the people, pieces of oxen. Saul’s bold move stirred them into action, and Israel won a decisive battle. Saul’s response to the plight of the brothers in Jabesh was decisive and fruitful.
Because of the graphic nature of the call to action the fear of the Lord fell upon the people and they came out with one consent. We don’t know whether they would have responded without such a grisly message or not, but the fact remains that the message stirred up the fear of God, and all came out to battle. Perhaps they simply feared for the loss of their own oxen, but that fear was transferred into a believing and obedient fear of the Lord. This fear (really, sincere faith) stirred them up and moved them to action.
Likewise, we also “fear and love God so that we may, or may not….” This kind of genuine faith (fear and love) stirs us up to fight against our enemies of sin and evil and live a godly life. This kind of faith is born in us by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel. We are brought to see the ugly and foul nature of sin, death, and evil and to use the spiritual weapons of God’s love to defeat the Enemy. There is value in responding to evil with the fear of the Lord.