Fear – Biblically Speaking
Introduction
In the last post we looked at what fear is today I want to examine what the Bible says about fear. Notably there are multiple senses of fear, in the NT the Greek translates primarily from phobeo/phobos while the Hebrew has multiple words covering the different senses including yare & pahad. When doing a word study in the Bible it is helpful to have a resource that will allow you to look at the original language. Sometimes when you peel back the curtain in English you will find that multiple words from the Greek or Hebrew are translated the same in English. Today we are going to take a slightly different approach to fear. Today we will look at fear from two different angles our fear and the Fear of the Lord.
Our Fear
Genesis
Right out of the gate in Genesis we see Adam afraid of the Lord. Not the reverent fear we’ll get to in the next section but human fear. See they had just been tricked into eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When he heard God in the garden he hid because he was afraid (Genesis 3:10).
Numbers
In Numbers we find that when the initial scouting parties went into the land that God had promised the Israelites, they were afraid of the people saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height (13:32, ESV).” All except Caleb and Joshua firmly believed they had been lied to and there was no way they could take the land and initially wanted to go back to Egypt. Ultimately, they did not return to Egypt but did wander in the desert until the time was right for them to take the land they had been promised.
Matthew
In Matthew 10 Jesus is talking with the disciples and tells them that days of persecution are coming. In two instances in this passage, he tells them not to fear or worry. In the first he tells them not to worry about what to say when they are dragged before the courts. “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you (10:19-20, ESV).” In the second he is reminding them not to fear the people who would persecute them but to continue to teach what they have been taught no matter what. “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (10:26-28, ESV).”
Timothy
Timothy was a young pastor and part of Paul’s inner circle. His mother and grandmother were Jewish, but his father was Greek. He accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey. In 1 Timothy Paul reminds Timothy not to let people use his youth against him but set an example for the people “in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity (4:12, ESV).” By the time Paul writes 2 Timothy he is imprisoned in Rome and it seems Timothy may be leery of continuing his work as a pastor and missionary. So, we come to 2 Timothy 1:6-7 here Paul tells Timothy “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control (ESV).” The word translated “fear” in this verse is different than elsewhere other translations such as the NIV use “timidity.” The Greek word here is deilia not phobos. This verse is the only time in the NT that we find this particular Greek word.
Fear of the Lord
Old Testament (OT)
Fear of the Lord is an important concept in the Old Testament (OT). In looking at the uses in the OT this fear takes three forms. The first is an expression of Israelite theology. Most often found in the Wisdom literature (Psalms, Proverbs, etc.). In fact, both Psalms and Proverbs state that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, ESV).” The second is the personal expression of faith. This is the worship and obedience of individuals. This can take both positive and negative paths. The third is how people of faith were identified. Often when people refer to themselves, such as Joseph when he is reunited with his brothers, they call themselves a God-fearer. Job is referred to as a God-fearer by God when he is discussing him with Satan. In the sense of OT usage fear of the Lord is typically a good thing it relates more to reverence and obedience than fear of punishment in most cases.
New Testament (NT)
Though not mentioned as often in the NT there are still a few references to fearing the Lord. The first we’ve already talked about a little bit with Matthew 10:26-28 but that same thought occurs in Luke as well. This is Jesus’ admonition to have no fear of people who can only kill the body but to fear the Lord who has power over your eternal soul. You will often find that Matthew, Mark & Luke contain similar statements this is why they are often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels. Lastly in Revelation 14 the second angel proclaims, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water (14:7, ESV).”
Conclusion
To conclude, the Bible has quite a lot to say regarding fear. Mainly fear in the Bible comes in two forms what I call human fear and the fear of the Lord. Human fears often have negative implications while fearing the Lord is a healthy thing. There are many more references to fear and deeper studies that can be done than we have space for here, so I encourage you to use this as a stepping stone and do your own dive into the topic.
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