We live in an anxious age. There are worries and concerns about the coming election, the war in Ukraine, the global heatwave, artificial intelligence, and race, and gender issues, just to name a few. There are localized fears of health, finances, and personal safety. We are one of the safest and most secure societies in history, yet we appear to have more anxieties and fears. Sometimes too much information is not good for the soul. How can we best address this?
I started a new sermon series on Proverbs this past Sunday, and I mentioned the theme of the book is summarized in Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Yesterday I started reading a helpful book on the topic. Michael Reeves writes in his book, Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord, that we can easily misunderstand the fear of the Lord. We may think of the fear of God as judgment. The problem is sinful fear drives you away from God just as it did for Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:8, "The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God. They did not know, believe or trust that the Lord would still be for them despite the curse for their disobedience."
Martin Luther writes about his medieval Roman Catholic background and fear's role in his understanding of Jesus. "Christ was depicted as a tyrant, a furious and stern judge who demanded much of us and imposed good works as payment for our sins. This makes us reluctant to go to him. If my conscience is stricken with fear, I felt sufficiently repelled." Satan’s chief labor is to misrepresent God.
We may think the Lord loves and forgives us, but who or what we are afraid of is (fill in the blank). By being afraid of (fill in the blank) you show more respect and deference to that person or thing than the Lord.
When the prophet Samuel is saying goodbye to the nation of Israel after appointing (through the Lord) a king, he appears to contradict himself. I Sam 12:20-24 Samuel told the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord but serve the Lord with all your heart…. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you." So, are they supposed to fear the Lord or not?
The term ‘fear’ is used positively and negatively in this passage. It is a feeling of being overwhelmed, weak-kneed, trembling, staggering, and discomposed. John Bunyan put it like this, "devil's work is to promote a fear of God that makes people afraid of God such that they want to flee from God. The spirit's work is the opposite: to produce in us a wonderful fear that wins and draws us to God." For this reason, there is no need to fear that person, that outcome, this chaotic world for He is in control.
Jeremiah says the same thing in Jeremiah 33:8-9, they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it. When Jesus raised a young man from the dead in Luke 7:16, the text says, "Fear seized them all, and they glorified God saying, A great prophet has arisen among us!" To fear the Lord is to enjoy him.
The content has been informed by Michael Reeves, Rejoice and tremble: The surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord (Crossway, Wheaton, Il, 2021).
