Fear of the Lord

The most natural sense of “fear” to English speakers is the idea of terror. We find that ‏ירא‎ is often used in this sense in the OT. A general sense in which ירא is used to denote a genuine terror or dread is Ex 2:14 in which Moses fears that he will be discovered to have killed the Egyptian who was persecuting a Hebrew. Essentially, there is dread that punishment will obtain for his actions in killing an Egyptian.

This general concept of fear as terror or dread gets applied with reference to God in several places in the OT:

· Jonah 1:10 Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them so.

· Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

· Hab. 3:2 O LORD, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe (fear), O LORD, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy.

The sailors on board Jonah’s ship feared YHWH because they were in terror that their lives would be taken from them. Although “fear” language is not always present, when a prophet was visited with a vision of YHWH’s presence, there was often fear:

· Is. 6:5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

· Ezek. 1:28 Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.

· Rev. 1:17 When I saw him (Jesus), I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last…

In each of these instances, it seems that the prophet or seer was in fear for his life. This is likely based on YHWH’s statement to Moses:

· Ex. 33:20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.”

So, when a human being perceived himself to be in the presence of YHWH, there was a genuine terror that his life would be taken because, as a sin tainted human being, he could not stand in God’s presence.

A second step in the Fear of the Lord, especially in the Old Testament, is provided in looking again at Jon 1:16

· Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

This verse links the idea of fear as terror with a worship context. Because they were afraid of YHWH killing them with the storm at sea, they worshipped Him by offering sacrifice in hopes that He would spare their lives. Thus fearing a deity was often synonymous with worship and devotion towards that deity.

· 2Chr. 19:9 He charged them: “This is how you shall act: in the fear of the LORD, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart;

· 2Kings 17:7 ¶ This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had feared other gods

· 2Kings 17:35-39 The LORD had made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not worship other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, but you shall worship the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm; you shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. The statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to observe. You shall not worship other gods; you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not worship other gods, but you shall worship the LORD your God; he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.”

· Deut. 10:12-13 So now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being.

· Psa. 22:23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

The reason why fear language would be used synonymously with worship and devotion is apparent from the ANE background to worship. Deities were worshiped in the ANE because of the benefits that they could provide for the people. They were thus feared because people recognized that the deity had the ability to give or withhold that which the people wanted or needed, i.e. abundant crops, victory over enemies, etc. (all of which were life or death matters). This is made explicit in Ps 90:11

· Psa. 90:11 Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

Therefore, YHWH is to be feared because of the potential of His wrath which would take away happiness.

Thus from the OT perspective, those who did not worship YHWH are described as those who did not fear him:

· Gen. 20:11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.

· Deut. 25:18 how he attacked you on the way, when you were faint and weary, and struck down all who lagged behind you; he did not fear God.

· Psa. 55:19 God, who is enthroned from of old, will hear, and will humble them— because they do not change, and do not fear God.

For Israel, the Fear of the Lord was mediated by the context of the covenant. In Lev 18:5, Moses makes it clear that life (life in the land as a picture of eschatological life) would be the result of Israel’s covenant faithfulness. Interestingly then, there are several instances in which life is said to be the result for those who fear the Lord.

· Prov. 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

· Prov. 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, so that one may avoid the snares of death.

· Prov. 19:23 The fear of the LORD is life indeed; filled with it one rests secure and suffers no harm.

· Prov. 22:4 The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.

Thus, fearing the Lord is linked very closely with obedience in that it results in the same thing as obedience. This is confirmed in that there are many places where the “Fear of the Lord” is said to result in covenantal obedience or hating that which is evil:

· Gen. 22:12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

· Ex. 18:21 You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

· Is. 50:10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light, yet trusts in the name of the LORD and relies upon his God?

· Job 1:1 There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

· Prov. 14:2 Those who walk uprightly fear the LORD, but one who is devious in conduct despises him.

· Psa. 19:9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

· Prov. 8:13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

· Prov. 16:6 By loyalty and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one avoids evil.

· Neh. 5:15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people, and took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.

· 2Chr. 19:9 He charged them: “This is how you shall act: in the fear of the LORD, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart;

Fear of God is inextricably linked with obedience. However, it is not just abstracted obedience to some universal standard, it is obedience that is within the covenant relationship. Fearing God leads to acting faithfully within the confines of the covenant relationship. It is important to recognize that obedience here flows directly out of worship. Because fear is used in the context of covenant in the sense of “worship” it is this worship of God for God’s sake which will lead to obedience which will then bring about the covenant blessings.

In addition, Jer 32 makes it explicit that fearing God is something that ultimately can be given to a person only by God Himself.

· Jer. 32:40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me.

Therefore, it is important to recognize that the “Fear of the Lord” can thus become the basis of confident expectation for God to work on one’s behalf. In other words, someone who fears God can have hope that God will grant Him the blessings of life.

· Job 4:6 Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?

Job’s friends were wrong in the fact that they thought that fearing God would result in temporal blessings now and insulate one from sufferings. However, they were correct to judge that fearing God, which is something that God gives to us, is the basis upon which we can hope for God to work on our behalf now but more especially in eternity. In light of this, fearing God removes the need to fear anything else in all creation:

· Psa. 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Nothing else can be feared because when one fears the Lord and is in right covenant relationship with Him, there is nothing that can threaten to take away what satisfies us because God is what gives us our satisfaction. In Christ, there is nothing that can remove us from His grasp.

· 1Pet. 3:14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,

Fear implies a mastery over something. What someone is afraid of, that he is a slave to. Fearing someone who persecutes us implies that they have mastery over us. Fearing God means that no person or thing on earth is able to control us or have mastery over us save God.

Furthermore, in Christ, even the threat of God’s wrath is removed. As John says:

· 1John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Therefore, for Christians, the terror element of God’s wrath is forever removed. Although, if perfect love casts out fear and there is no fear of God’s wrath anymore, then what is the cause of Christians continuing to fear God after being regenerated and justified?

· 1Pet. 1:17-19 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

These passages indicate that, for the Christian, fear (in the sense of worship and devotion) is the result of knowing that God judges impartially and recognizing that the cost of our ransom was the life of Jesus, the Son of God. The knowledge of this should produce an awe or reverence that works itself out in a life of obedience that magnifies the ransoming work of God in Christ.