Psalm 67:7 says "God will bless us. All the ends of the earth shall fear him."
There appears to be a contradiction here - Blessing and fear in one verse. Will God Bless us only if we "fear" Him? John also talks about fear when he says -
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18).
The contradiction deepens and confuses. So what is this "fear" we talk about when we say "God fearing", "Fear of God", etc.
Often Christians interpret “the Fear of the LORD” as the fear of the punishment that God could give us for our deeds. Certainly, we will all stand before God’s judgment when we die. But if we know that Christ has paid for our sins, we should not have this kind of fear anymore. And yet the word fear occurs in the Bible 500 times.
What we should understand is that the English language is much limited as compared to Hebrew and hence may encourage apparent contradictions. Like many words in Hebrew, "Fear" has a much broader range of meaning than we have in English. To us, “fear” means fright, dread and terror. But according to Lois Tverberg the Hebrew equivalent of fear , yirah (YEER-ah) encompasses a wide range of meanings from negative (dread, terror) to positive (worship, reverence) and from mild (respect) to strong (awe).
So should we cringe before God or stand in awe or dread Him? what does it mean to fear the Lord?
This is what John preaches against when he says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18).
The Jewish rabbis often spoke of the “fear of the Lord” as — Yirat Adonai — but they always thought of it in terms of the most positive sense of the word yirah. They defined it as awe and reverence for God that motivates us to do his will. They pointed out that fearing God’s punishment is actually an inferior understanding, because at its core it is self-centered. It doesn’t even focus on God. Rather it looks at God only through the lens of your own interests, by asking what will happen to you because of Gods knowledge of your deeds.
On the other hand - If you have Yirat Adonai, awe and reverence for God, it fills you with a better kind of fear.
Imagine that you work at a mega-corporation and one day you’re promoted to work directly under the CEO. Wouldn’t you tremble as you report for your first assignment? When you have great respect for someone, you feel terrible knowing you’ve disappointed them. And when you love another person deeply, you earnestly want their approval. How much more should this be true with God!
Therefore, when we say reverence and respect and love which is so deep that it teaches us how to live, and reassures us of God’s power and guidance
It is reverence of his will that keeps us from getting caught in sins that will destroy our relationships and lives. Which also means that there is a constant reminder that God is with us, every moment of the day. If we have Yirat Adonai, a Sense of God’s Presence becomes a critical state for humans. In fact, In many synagogues, over the ornate cabinets that hold the Torah scrolls is the phrase:
Know Before Whom You Stand.
This means to realize that an infinitely powerful God is close at hand. Wow!
**** Todays reflection is adapted from Lois Tverberg and a detailed reading is available here.
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