Fear of God - Part 1
Posted by: bneumann848 <bneumann848@...>
And I [Jesus] say to you, My friends, do not be
afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can
do. But I will show
you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast
into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
(Luke 12:4-5 NKJV)
What do you think of when you hear the
word fear? A haunted house? A close call? A leap of faith? Do you find it odd that
Jesus would tell us to fear a loving and gracious God?
The English language has only one
word for fear, but in Hebrew, there are two: pachad and yare. Pachad holds the meaning we typically
associate with fear – dread, terror, to be startled or alarmed. Too many
people have this type of fear for God. Sadly, that fear keeps them from knowing
a truly caring, devoted Father (see Romans 8:31-39).
Yare, on
the other hand, has a very different meaning. It means to reverence, honor,
respect, or stand in awe of. This is the fear we are to have of God.
The proper fear of God is based
upon an overwhelming awe of His righteousness, holiness, creativity, love,
mercy, and infinite nature. Someone once said it is the “Wow!” of God. It is the reason the angels cry “Holy!” in
Revelation 4.
It also includes a respectful fear
of displeasing Him. When Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit in Acts 5
and suffered the fateful consequences, a great fear came upon the church. They gained
a new understanding of the awesomeness of God.
King Solomon spent his entire life
pursuing the best of everything. In the end he concluded that the most
important thing in life is to, "Fear God, and keep His commandments"
(Ecclesiastes 12:13).
More on this in Part 2.
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