The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death (Proverbs 14:27).

It's fascinating to me that the structure of this verse is exactly the same as Proverbs 13:14 (the verse which stood out to me yesterday).  Both verses say, that something "is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death."  But in Proverbs 13 it's "the teaching of the wise," and in Proverbs 14 it's "the fear of the LORD."  In part, this helps to reinforce what I had already learned about teaching/preaching as being a fountain of life -- as opposed to being the fountain of life.  But even more than that, these Proverbs got me to wondering about what some other fountains of life might be.

So I got out my trusty concordance, looked up the word "fountain" (and "fountains") -- limiting my search primarily to the wisdom books of the Bible -- and I was encouraged to see that there are more than a couple fountains of life that can be found in Scripture.

In Proverbs 5:18, healthy sexuality within the context of marriage is referenced as being a life-giving fountain; this metaphor is also repeated numerous times in the Bible's steamiest section, the Song of Solomon.  In Proverbs 10:11, the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.  As already mentioned above, Proverbs 13 says that the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, and Proverbs 14 says that the fear of the LORD is a fountain of life.  Proverbs 16:22 says that understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it.  And Proverbs 18:4 depicts wisdom as a fountain, bubbling up with fresh vitality.  Psalm 36:9, it says that God Himself is a fountain of life.

Sexuality, the mouth of the righteous, the teaching of the wise, the fear of the LORD, understanding, wisdom, and God himself... What binds all of these concepts together?  I have no idea!  It's a bit challenging (and perhaps futile) to try and find some magical truth that binds all of these "fountains of life" together.  But I do see the fear of the LORD (as expressed in Proverbs 14:27) as being something of a least common denominator, when it comes to these various fountains of life.  That is:  when we have an appropriate respect for God and his commandments, our sexuality is going to be healthy and life-giving, our communication is going to be healthy and life-giving, and our relationship with God is going to be healthy and life-giving.  Of course this is going to express itself in myriad ways:  sermons, marriages, conversations, relationships, decisions, and devotions.  But when Jesus talks about giving abundant life, like a fountain of living water, it makes sense that this would come bubbling up all over the place, not just in one specific aspect of our existence.  I like that about faith.  I like that about God.  He's extravagant and abundant, not just adequate and back-door accessible.

In Psalm 87:7, God is praised saying that "All my fountains are in You."  And that, to me, is the best conclusion when it comes to examining the various fountains of life that can be found in life and in Scripture.  They're numerous, and they're widely varied -- but they're all in God.  And his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 1:3).  Thank God for that!