Q. I’ve just begun reading the Book of Sirach and am bothered by the expression “fear of the Lord.” Are we supposed to be afraid of God?
A. My friend, whose troubled childhood conditioned him to be fearful of authority figures, is not alone in asking this question, or in the suffering which prompted it. For him and for many readers of the Bible, the recurring theme of fearing the Lord can be off-putting, especially in a book like Sirach, where the expression appears 12 times in Chapter 1 alone, with at least 40 more occurrences in the remaining chapters. What follows is a slight expansion of my initial response to his recent inquiry.
The word ‘fear,’ on its own, in isolation from its surroundings, evokes unpleasant images of being frightened, anxious, or terrified by someone or something perceived to be dangerous, painful, or threatening. Remarkably, when the Bible speaks of “fearing God” or “the fear of the Lord,” it almost never carries any of these negative connotations.
Consider the first chapter of Sirach, for example, where the “fear of the Lord” is associated with “glory and exultation and gladness and a crown of rejoicing” (v. 11); it “delights the heart and gives gladness and joy and long life” (v. 12); it assures one of blessing on the day of one’s death (v. 13); it is “the beginning” and “the crown” of wisdom” (vv. 14, 18); and it “drives away sins” (v. 21). There’s not even a hint of being scared of God in these verses, is there?
So what does “fear of the Lord” mean in the Bible, and why is it given such prominence, especially in books like Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Sirach? One way to find out is to observe the meaning of this expression in its very first biblical occurrence. You will find it in the familiar story of Abraham’s sacrificing Isaac in Genesis 22. When the Lord sees Abraham’s unqualified trust and unhesitating obedience, the angel calls from heaven and says to him, “[N]ow I know that you are a fearer of God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (vv. 11-12).
What just happened here? Abraham’s worship (v. 5), expressed in absolute trust, unreserved obedience, and total surrender, proves him to be a “fearer of God.” It’s for this reason that he is called elsewhere “the friend of God” (Isa 41:8; Jas 2:23)––an unlikely description of someone who shrinks in terror from the Lord.
From this episode in the life of Abraham and from the usage of “fear of God” language elsewhere in the Bible, we are able to arrive at a definition: “fear of the Lord” in Scripture is a shorthand expression for worshipful submission before God’s majesty and authority, an awe-inspired devotion and willing surrender to One who is worthy of our complete trust and loving obedience. This is its usual meaning in the Bible.
The biblical expression “fear of God/the Lord,” in other words, has almost nothing to do with being scared, anxious, alarmed, or terrified. Rather, it describes the attitude and posture of an admiring and submissive servant before a worthy Master. And therein, as the Bible insists over and over, lies the key to being truly wise in God’s eyes, which is precisely the point Sirach is making. Wise people are those who bow in worshipful surrender to the worthy Lord and who proceed to live in that light. Those who refuse to do so, who substitute themselves for God and their opinions for God’s, are what the Bible calls fools. Jesus is the perfect exemplar of the former; the world gives us abundant examples of the latter.
Still, we might wonder, is there any instance at all when a person should fear God in the familiar sense of dread? Well, yes, when someone chooses to be a fool as just described. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ …. There they are in great terror” (Pss 14:1, 5; also Pss 53). Jesus sternly warned of this in Luke 12:4-5: “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But … fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (See also Hebrews 10:26-31: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” [v. 31].)
These are sobering warnings about the choices we make and the paths we take. For those who put themselves in place of God, judgment awaits. It would not be loving of God, nor would God be worthy of our devotion, if he did not take his own lordship seriously and if he issued empty threats without consequences. But even then, our Lord is not capricious; he does not lose his cool, fly into a rage, or demand the last pound of flesh. God is not like us (or like some of the people we know), praise God! He remains ever worthy of our joyful worship and unreserved surrender—of our fear, in other words. That is the key to being truly wise in God’s eyes, and that is the resounding message of Sirach.
This question was answered by Dr. Vern Steiner, president of the Emmaus Institute for Biblical Studies. For more information, visit www.emmausinstitute.net.
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