When I first read in the Bible about the fear of the Lord many years ago, I assumed it meant literal fright. I could never understand how being terrified of God could bring me closer to God. As I begin to study the nuances of the Hebrew language, I saw that the fear of the Lord meant something different than being scared of God. Fear of the Lord is more accurately described as the awe of the Lord. The awe of God is a beautiful thing. It carries with it the ideas of jaw-dropping amazement, passionate reverence and anxious wonderment. There is an element of fear, but it is not based on the type of terror a battered child feels toward a brutal father who regularly abuses him. The ancient rabbis distinguished between what they called higher fear (awe) and lower fear (terror). Godly fear is motivated by the matchless presence, power and goodness of God. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Ps. 19:9. This produces spiritual butterflies in the belly of every lover of God. Just as new brides experience jitters of nervous desire on their wedding nights, so do God-lovers tremble with anxious passion as they seek to grow in intimacy with God. Our honeymoon thrill is never over with God as we seek to always relate to Him in the newlywed way of first love. Rev. 2:4. Richard Murray
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 22:46:18 +0000
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