Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...
Proverbs 9:10 says,
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
What exactly does it mean to fear the LORD and how is this help us to gain wisdom and understanding about anything? After a little research, I have come to the conclusion that the phrase 'fear of the LORD' has two prongs to it. First, let me explain my prior sentiments of fearing the LORD.
I used to think that this fear solely had to do with a sort of terror that was felt when I realized how sinful I was before a holy and perfectly righteous God. It's similar to the fear that the Israelites had when they encountered God on mount Sinai after the exodus (Ex 20:18, 19) or the fear that Isaiah felt when he realized his sin before God (Isaiah 6:5). It's a true biblical fact that our sin deserves to be punished by God; he has every right to do so because he is the just judge of the universe. This should all cause us to tremble before God, knowing that our existence lies in the hands of a God who at any moment could snuff us out due to our hurtful transgressions against him and others. Some would argue that to have this kind of fear of God is healthy, because it will keep us from brazenly sinning against God, which would ultimately land us in hell. It's what we would call negative reinforcement, kind of like the threat of a parent's punishment toward their child in order to correct wrong-doing. God has the power to afflict us by various means of chastening in order to correct us in the hope that we would choose life and true protection under His care rather than die due to our sin. This is would some would term 'tough love'. Psalm 118:18 and Proverbs 3:11-12 back up this view. Also, Jesus echoes this sentiment as well when he says,
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matt 10:28
With this, I think we can reason that there is a healthy fear of God. But is this kind of fear truly sufficient to keep us from sinning and being banished to hell? Put another way, does this type of relationship with God truly endear us to him? I don't think it does. I don't know about others, but I tend to shy away from relationships wherein I am mainly terrified of the other person. For a relationship to flourish, there has to be more than the fear of punishment or rejection at its core. And when we read about the God of the Bible doesn't he offer more than that? Take a look at this passage from Exodus:
5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”- Ex 34:5-7
Even from the OT perspective, we see that God's character is bound up not only in his designation as Judge but also as the Forgiver or Merciful One. In addition to this, take a look at the Strong's Concordance definition of the word fear. It lists the common definitions of fear, but then it lists a special definition when the word is used in relation to God. It says (my paraphrase),
"The Hebrew word yi'rah, when used of God denotes respect, reverence or piety."
At first glance, this seems remarkably different from fear as we know it; perhaps even a totally different concept altogether. But is this really the case? Are we to no longer affix notions of terror and dread to God but instead a deep respect and reverence? Given God's characteristics I mentioned above, I want to argue that both of these sentiments towards God are necessary when we relate to him. It seems almost paradoxical, the conjoining of judgement and mercy. But the coupling of these qualities make a ton of sense. If one claims to be compassionate he must have the power to adjudicate between right and wrong or rescue one party from the other party that is harming it. Put another way, if God never judged, condemned and did away with evil, then his compassionate efforts would be powerless, perhaps mushy sentiments at best. Additionally a judge without compassion, though he or she may be correct, would condemn in a sort of cold, black and white manner. In my assessment, only God is able to balance the qualities of justice and mercy perfectly so that our reaction to him is one of deep fear (in the common sense of the term), yet deep awe and respect (the other sense of the term). We shutter at the reality that at any moment He is just in condemning us to hell due to our sin; yet at the same time, because of His personal, one-sided mercy to us through His forgiveness and his powerful ability to save us, we adore, revere and respect God to the uttermost. In this light, I'm going to try to interpret one particular verse:
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” - Ex 20:20
This was after the event at Sinai where God descended in a dark cloud and thunder on the mountain. The word fear is used here twice. At first glance, it sounds as though Moses is contradicting himself. It sounds like he's saying, "do not be afraid; the fear of God will be with you." But I don't think it's contradictory. It can be viewed in two ways.
1) Let your fear (or terror) of the sights on the mountain give way to the fear (the greater terror) of God's presence; this will keep you from sinning.
or
2) Let your fear (or terror) of the sights on the mountain give way to the fear (respect, reverence, etc.) of God's presence; this will keep you from sinning.
As I argued before, a definition like the first one would ultimately be ineffective. History shows that Draconian rule (governance by way of oppression through harsh and cruel tactics) ultimately results in the mass revolt of the subjects. Also, prominent psychologist B.F. Skinner understood that while a fear-based or negative reinforcement paradigm produces quick results on the surface, in reality subjects within these systems become bitter, resentful and ultimately end up committing the bad behavior that the system sought to purge in the first place. Perhaps God was truly shooting for something like a relationship with the people based in a context of a combination of 1) and 2). Sometimes, I think that we tend to look at all of the ugly stuff in the OT and reason that the people must have lived in great terror of God. But if one truly understood who God was, like David did, then their sentiment toward God would have been a mixture of fear and awesome respect. After all, they had the sacrificial system and the blessings of God, not only his terror and judgment. Even still though, we must conclude that the relationship under the Mosaic covenant was not as robust as the one that we have through the New Covenant. Perhaps there was more fear (terror, dread) under the former. In the gospel, in light of Christ taking upon the judgment we deserve for our sins, we have I think, a healthy balance of the two, that is eternal mercy and the reality of eternal judgment. This is what Hebrews 12:18-24 has to say about the matter,
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[c] 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”[d]
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
This is what we are afforded through the gospel. I still think that we should keep the idea of judgment fresh in our minds for it gives us a context or reference point through which to view God's mercy. If we got completely rid of the idea of judgment, then God's grace would be greatly diminished. When we balance judgment and grace, then we come to truly fear (have apprehension, terror of as well as deeply revere, respect) God. When this happens, we are brought into a lively relationship with the Creator of the universe. What ensues from there is the beginning of wisdom and the true attainment of understanding. God is pleased to teach us marvelous things as we draw closer to Him. In a personal context, I realize that when my judgment is clouded by my sin or rebellion against God, I cannot truly understand my existence and the world around me; I begin to lack wisdom. I notice that the clarity of my thinking, the sensitivity of my heart and my ability to be physically self-controlled are greatly enhanced when I kneel before an awesome God who has forgiven my sin and saved me from his terrifying judgment. I begin to wisen up and understand myself and the world, interacting with it in a meaningful and healthy way. This is what the fear of the LORD affords us.
What do you think about this interpretation? accurate, deficient or borderline heretical?
Proverbs 9:10 says,
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
What exactly does it mean to fear the LORD and how is this help us to gain wisdom and understanding about anything? After a little research, I have come to the conclusion that the phrase 'fear of the LORD' has two prongs to it. First, let me explain my prior sentiments of fearing the LORD.
I used to think that this fear solely had to do with a sort of terror that was felt when I realized how sinful I was before a holy and perfectly righteous God. It's similar to the fear that the Israelites had when they encountered God on mount Sinai after the exodus (Ex 20:18, 19) or the fear that Isaiah felt when he realized his sin before God (Isaiah 6:5). It's a true biblical fact that our sin deserves to be punished by God; he has every right to do so because he is the just judge of the universe. This should all cause us to tremble before God, knowing that our existence lies in the hands of a God who at any moment could snuff us out due to our hurtful transgressions against him and others. Some would argue that to have this kind of fear of God is healthy, because it will keep us from brazenly sinning against God, which would ultimately land us in hell. It's what we would call negative reinforcement, kind of like the threat of a parent's punishment toward their child in order to correct wrong-doing. God has the power to afflict us by various means of chastening in order to correct us in the hope that we would choose life and true protection under His care rather than die due to our sin. This is would some would term 'tough love'. Psalm 118:18 and Proverbs 3:11-12 back up this view. Also, Jesus echoes this sentiment as well when he says,
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matt 10:28
With this, I think we can reason that there is a healthy fear of God. But is this kind of fear truly sufficient to keep us from sinning and being banished to hell? Put another way, does this type of relationship with God truly endear us to him? I don't think it does. I don't know about others, but I tend to shy away from relationships wherein I am mainly terrified of the other person. For a relationship to flourish, there has to be more than the fear of punishment or rejection at its core. And when we read about the God of the Bible doesn't he offer more than that? Take a look at this passage from Exodus:
5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”- Ex 34:5-7
Even from the OT perspective, we see that God's character is bound up not only in his designation as Judge but also as the Forgiver or Merciful One. In addition to this, take a look at the Strong's Concordance definition of the word fear. It lists the common definitions of fear, but then it lists a special definition when the word is used in relation to God. It says (my paraphrase),
"The Hebrew word yi'rah, when used of God denotes respect, reverence or piety."
At first glance, this seems remarkably different from fear as we know it; perhaps even a totally different concept altogether. But is this really the case? Are we to no longer affix notions of terror and dread to God but instead a deep respect and reverence? Given God's characteristics I mentioned above, I want to argue that both of these sentiments towards God are necessary when we relate to him. It seems almost paradoxical, the conjoining of judgement and mercy. But the coupling of these qualities make a ton of sense. If one claims to be compassionate he must have the power to adjudicate between right and wrong or rescue one party from the other party that is harming it. Put another way, if God never judged, condemned and did away with evil, then his compassionate efforts would be powerless, perhaps mushy sentiments at best. Additionally a judge without compassion, though he or she may be correct, would condemn in a sort of cold, black and white manner. In my assessment, only God is able to balance the qualities of justice and mercy perfectly so that our reaction to him is one of deep fear (in the common sense of the term), yet deep awe and respect (the other sense of the term). We shutter at the reality that at any moment He is just in condemning us to hell due to our sin; yet at the same time, because of His personal, one-sided mercy to us through His forgiveness and his powerful ability to save us, we adore, revere and respect God to the uttermost. In this light, I'm going to try to interpret one particular verse:
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” - Ex 20:20
This was after the event at Sinai where God descended in a dark cloud and thunder on the mountain. The word fear is used here twice. At first glance, it sounds as though Moses is contradicting himself. It sounds like he's saying, "do not be afraid; the fear of God will be with you." But I don't think it's contradictory. It can be viewed in two ways.
1) Let your fear (or terror) of the sights on the mountain give way to the fear (the greater terror) of God's presence; this will keep you from sinning.
or
2) Let your fear (or terror) of the sights on the mountain give way to the fear (respect, reverence, etc.) of God's presence; this will keep you from sinning.
As I argued before, a definition like the first one would ultimately be ineffective. History shows that Draconian rule (governance by way of oppression through harsh and cruel tactics) ultimately results in the mass revolt of the subjects. Also, prominent psychologist B.F. Skinner understood that while a fear-based or negative reinforcement paradigm produces quick results on the surface, in reality subjects within these systems become bitter, resentful and ultimately end up committing the bad behavior that the system sought to purge in the first place. Perhaps God was truly shooting for something like a relationship with the people based in a context of a combination of 1) and 2). Sometimes, I think that we tend to look at all of the ugly stuff in the OT and reason that the people must have lived in great terror of God. But if one truly understood who God was, like David did, then their sentiment toward God would have been a mixture of fear and awesome respect. After all, they had the sacrificial system and the blessings of God, not only his terror and judgment. Even still though, we must conclude that the relationship under the Mosaic covenant was not as robust as the one that we have through the New Covenant. Perhaps there was more fear (terror, dread) under the former. In the gospel, in light of Christ taking upon the judgment we deserve for our sins, we have I think, a healthy balance of the two, that is eternal mercy and the reality of eternal judgment. This is what Hebrews 12:18-24 has to say about the matter,
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[c] 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”[d]
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
This is what we are afforded through the gospel. I still think that we should keep the idea of judgment fresh in our minds for it gives us a context or reference point through which to view God's mercy. If we got completely rid of the idea of judgment, then God's grace would be greatly diminished. When we balance judgment and grace, then we come to truly fear (have apprehension, terror of as well as deeply revere, respect) God. When this happens, we are brought into a lively relationship with the Creator of the universe. What ensues from there is the beginning of wisdom and the true attainment of understanding. God is pleased to teach us marvelous things as we draw closer to Him. In a personal context, I realize that when my judgment is clouded by my sin or rebellion against God, I cannot truly understand my existence and the world around me; I begin to lack wisdom. I notice that the clarity of my thinking, the sensitivity of my heart and my ability to be physically self-controlled are greatly enhanced when I kneel before an awesome God who has forgiven my sin and saved me from his terrifying judgment. I begin to wisen up and understand myself and the world, interacting with it in a meaningful and healthy way. This is what the fear of the LORD affords us.
What do you think about this interpretation? accurate, deficient or borderline heretical?
Thanks, Dave. I agree with you that fear should have elements of terror and dread of punishment because of our sins, as well as an endearing respect and awe of One who is truly great.
ReplyDeleteWhen (not if) I sin, I am sorry that I grieve my God who so loved me beyond measure by giving me His Son. Emotions include contriteness, fear (probably both dread and respect), as well as gratitude that God does not ever treat me as my sins deserve. Even when God disciplines me (Heb 12:11), it is not to punish me but out of His love for me.
Since both you and I like to write/blog, I saw these 10 writing tips which I thought were helpful: http://nwbingham.com/2012/05/10-writing-tips-from-a-real-life-editor/
Keep on blogging, bro!
Thanks Dr. Ben, I like the reference from Hebrews. The fact that God chastens us is actually evidence that he accepts us as sons and daughters. I also like Psalm 103:8-14; God does not treat us as our sins deserve. We can find so many references to God's mercy within the OT.
ReplyDeleteyea, i can agree with how you've articulated it. in John 15, God called us to be friends with him, rather then somone who we are terrorfied of. I don't think I worship God because I'm afraid of him and i definately don't seem him as some tyrannical ruler, but rather i worship because it's something i want to do.
ReplyDelete