Definition of the Fear of God
Albert N. Martin
The fear of God is the soul of godliness. As I pointed out, it is obvious to observant Christians that this pervasive and dominant theme of Holy Scripture has well nigh been lost to our own generation. As we endeavor to acquaint ourselves with at least some of the pivotal aspects of the scriptural teaching on this subject, we sought in the last study to do but one thing—to capture and feel something of the predominance of the fear of God in Biblical thought.
In this second chapter we will consider the meaning of the fear of God as defined by Scripture. It is one thing to capture and feel and sense something of the predominance of this concept of the fear of God in biblical thinking. It is another thing to know that we attach to that concept the meaning that Scripture demands that we attach to it. How shall we attempt to arrive at the meaning of the fear of God in the light of holy Scripture? Since the Holy Spirit saw fit to use the two most common Hebrew words and the most common Greek word for fear when describing the fear of God, we will simply begin by finding out how the word “fear” is defined in its general usage. Then we will see how the two facets of its general usage have been attached to it when it refers to the fear of God.
The Word “Fear” in its General Biblical Usage
How is the word “fear” used in everyday, common, ordinary language in Scripture? First of all, there is the fear that can be described as being afraid—having terror or dread. It is the kind of fear a little 9-year-old boy feels when he is walking home from school, and he turns the corner to walk the last block to his house, and he sees, standing there in the middle of the sidewalk, the neighborhood bully. There stands a 14-year-old kid who is five feet ten inches tall, who weighs 170 pounds, and who loves to beat up little nine-year-olds. When this little nine-year-old turns the corner and sees the bully, who looks like a giant to him, suddenly he is gripped with terror and dread. That terror is based on the recognition of the potential harm that the object of that dread can do to him.
The word “fear” in biblical usage is sometimes used to describe this kind of fear. Notice this in Deuteronomy 2, beginning with verse 24. God gives command to His people saying,
Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of Arnon: behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the peoples that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee (Deuteronomy 2:24-25).
God says, “I will so attend your efforts to subdue these Canaanites, that when word begins to spread around of how mighty you are in battle because of My presence and power upon you and in your midst, people who hear of you shall be filled with dread. They shall be filled with terror, with anguish.” The word used here in verse 25 is the same word used to refer to the fear of God.
There is a similar reference in Psalm 105:36-38. Speaking of the deliverance by which God brought His people out of Egypt we read, “He smote also the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength. And he brought them forth with silver and gold . . . . Egypt was glad when they departed; for the fear of them had fallen upon them.” That is, they had begun to dread the presence of the Israelites because of the terrible judgments the God of the Israelites inflicted upon them. This again is the fear of dread and of terror.
There is an example of this in the New Testament in the familiar “Christmas” passage. We read in Luke 2:9 that when the angels suddenly appeared to the shepherds, the shepherds were terrified. They were filled with fear, and it was the fear of dread. Their fear at the presence of the angels in this unusual manifestation was the fear of dread. One other reference in the New Testament is Acts 5:11. When the news went out about how God struck Ananias and Sapphira dead because of their attempts to lie to the Holy Spirit, Scripture tells us that fear came upon all who heard about it. The wording is, “and great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all that heard these things.”
Thus, in both the Old and the New Testaments, this common word “fear” is used to describe this emotion of being afraid, of being gripped with terror and with dread.
But there is another kind of fear. The same word is used for this second kind of fear, but it is used with an obviously different meaning. That is the fear of veneration and of honor, the fear of respect. Let’s take that same nine-year-old boy. He is no longer turning the corner on his way home and confronting the town bully, but he is with his schoolmates. They have taken a class trip and gone to Washington, D.C. As they walk through the various parts of the White House on a guided tour, suddenly an official breaks into the ranks and says to this young boy, “The President of the United States wishes to talk with you.” Immediately the little boy’s eyes open wide, his breath begins to come hard and he stammers, “He wants to talk to me?!” “Yes, to you; your name is Billy Jones, isn’t it?” The boy is filled with fear. But this fear is not the fear of dread. He is not afraid that the President is going to issue an order that will bring soldiers out and that they will hold rifles to his head. No, his fear is the fear that comes when an individual stands in the presence of an object that is superior in worth and in dignity. It is the fear of veneration, of honor and of awe.
Now notice how this aspect of the word “fear” is captured in a text like Leviticus 19:3: “Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my Sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God.” Is God commanding children that, every time they look at their mother and father, they are to have the same feeling that comes over them when they meet the neighborhood bully? Does He want them, whenever they see Mom and Dad, to tremble in their boots? Of course not. But He says they should fear their parents. The same word is used, but it obviously has a very different meaning. God is saying to children that they are to recognize in their father and mother, not just someone who is taller, bigger, wiser and a bit more experienced. They are to recognize that, because they are the father and mother, they are God’s representatives to administer His rule and His will to them. Therefore, because of the dignity of their position, children are to regard their parents with veneration and honor and awe. This is not the fear of dread, but the fear of veneration and honor.
These two common usages of the word “fear” that are found in the vocabulary of the people of biblical times, and that are found in some measure in our vocabulary, are the two concepts which come together in the biblical notion of the fear of God. The fear of God involves both of these concepts. There is a legitimate sense in which the fear of God involves being afraid of God, being gripped with terror and with dread. Though this is not the dominant thought in Scripture, it is there nonetheless. The second aspect of fear, which is peculiar to the people of God, is the fear of veneration, honor and awe with which we regard our God. It is a fear that leads us not to run from Him but to gladly submit to Him.
The Fear of Dread and Terror
Let’s first consider the fear of dread or of terror—the fear that leads to anguish. The first instance of this fear is in Genesis 3:10. This is the first recorded instance of any fear of God, and it is the fear of dread or terror. The setting is the Garden of Eden, where God has placed Adam in a perfect environment and surrounded him with everything that his holy nature could desire. God had issued the threat to Adam, that, if he ate of that one forbidden tree, in that day he would die. We read, when the Lord comes and calls to the man, that he responds by saying, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” God had threatened Adam with death if he disobeyed. Adam has sinned. And now, upon hearing the voice of God, he says, “I was afraid; I was gripped with a terror and a dread that led to aversion. I hid; I was afraid.”
The question is, is it right for a person to have this kind of dread with reference to God? Is this kind of fear any part of the fear of God which is commanded and commended in Holy Scripture? Is this sense of dread and terror any part of that virtue which is such a dominant theme in Holy Scripture? The answer, as John Murray has so beautifully and accurately stated, is that, “It is the essence of impiety not to be afraid of God when there is reason to be afraid of God.” Once Adam had sinned, suppose he had simply tripped up to God when He called and said, “Hello, how are You, God? Nice to see You again. Have a great day!” That would have been the essence of impiety and hardness of heart and the manifestation of a seared conscience. For if Adam had any remaining sense of who God was, of the terribleness of sinning against Him, and of the certainty that God’s threat would be fulfilled, anything less than this fear of dread and of anguish would have been the grossest form of impiety and brazen religious and moral folly.
This kind of fear is right and proper in every situation where our condition leaves us exposed to the righteous judgments of God. Is it right to be afraid of God? Yes, if you have Scriptural grounds to be afraid of God. Was it right for Adam to be afraid? Of course it was. He had sinned against God. He had flown into the face of the explicit command of God, “Thou shalt not eat.” And now as God draws near to him, he is gripped with this dread which leads him to run from Him. And Scripture warrants this dread of God whenever the cause of that dread is present.
Old Testament Witness
Notice how this aspect of fear is commanded and commended in Holy Scripture in Deuteronomy 17:13. The context is a warning that, if a man disregards the directives of the appointed judges in Israel, he is to be put to death. One of the reasons for this God clearly states in verse 13: “And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.” Imagine that the people go out one day for their neighborhood meeting, and they find that one of their friends is missing. Someone asks what happened to him. Another answers that he flaunted the laws of God, and he was indifferent to the enforcement of those laws by the judges, so he was taken out and stoned the day before. When the first person asks what the offense was, they explain that it was something relatively insignificant in itself. But the initial offense was not the issue so much as the man’s disregard to the institution of the law and the administration of that law by God’s directive. So the man was put to death. His friends are filled with fear. There is a dread lest anyone else dare do as he did, and get what he got. And God said that the very purpose for which He gave this directive was that His people might be possessed of the fear of God—a fear which has dread and horror in it.
In Deuteronomy 21, God directs the Israelites how to deal with a stubborn and rebellious son who, in spite of the faithful discipline of his parents, refuses to walk in the ways that they have commanded him. When the situation seems hopeless, these directives are given:
Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; and they shall say unto the elders of his city, “This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.” And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear (Deuteronomy 21:19-21).
We could imagine an Israelite teenage boy who was tempted to begin to be a smart aleck toward his parents. He begins to do what is the “in thing” in his particular tent neighborhood out there in the wilderness and starts mouthing off about his dad and mom and showing how smart-alecky he can be. Then one day his group gets together to have their clandestine session of bragging to one another about how they have been able to get away with things at home. On that day, one of their cohorts doesn’t show up, and some of them begin to wonder where Johnny is. “Didn’t you hear what happened to Johnny?” say the others. “No, what happened to him?” His dad and mom took him to the elders. Now, he’s dead under a pile of stones.” Suddenly the air of gaiety leaves the little group, and they stop their bragging. The group just gradually dissipates, and they go to their homes, gripped with dread and fear, lest by coming into the same sphere of guilt, the same condemnation come upon them. God gives this mandate not only to put away evil so that it will not be infectious, but to put fear in the hearts of the people. This is the fear of dread, the fear of terror.
New Testament Witness
But someone says, “That’s in the shadowy, hard-angled, iron-like climate of the Old Testament. The New Testament is a new climate.” Is it? Listen to the words of our Lord Jesus:
And I say unto you my friends, “Be not afraid of them which kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea,” I say unto you, “Fear him” (Luke 12:4-5).
What is that fear that Jesus commands? It is not the fear of veneration and awe. It is the fear of dread and of horror. Jesus said, if you begin to conduct yourself in a way that warrants the damnation of God, you should be gripped with terrible dread. The God who condemns such conduct has power to cast into hell. Our Lord not only commends this fear, He commands it.
We find the writer in Hebrews, exhorting his readers, who have begun to waver, to press on into the full knowledge of Christ and into an unswerving commitment to the Christian faith. Some of them who had been enlightened, who had tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come, tended to go back to the old, shadowy forms of the past. He says in his exhortation, “Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it” (Hebrews 4:1). What fear is that? It is a fear of horror and dread at the thought that we might fail to enter in to full Gospel rest. And failing to enter in, we will find ourselves under the condemnation of God.
In chapter 10, the writer expands the same thought:
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that hath set at naught Moses’ law dieth without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that said, “Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense.” And again, “The Lord shall judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:26-31).
Do you hear what he is saying? He is saying that, if a man places himself in a position in which the judgment of God is inevitable, then he should be filled with fear as he expects that judgment to fall—for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For a man to believe himself to be a candidate for the judgment of God, and not to fear, is to show a total insensitivity to all that Scripture reveals about the character of God and the terror of His judgment.
The Legitimacy of Feelings of Dread and Terror Towards God
Therefore, in answer to the question, Is it right to have this aspect of the fear of God, this dread or terror of the Lord?, Scripture gives a clear, “Yes.” But a second question is, What lies at the root of this dread and fear? Negatively, it is not a work of God’s grace, for this fear is found in unconverted people. But positively, that which lies at the root of this fear is some comprehension of the character of God as holy. And because He is holy, He is infinitely opposed to all sin. It is the recognition of who God is as a holy God, and, consequently, how He regards sin, that lies at the root of this fear of dread and of terror. It is what Adam knew of the holy character of God, a holiness that had been stamped upon his own inner being but was now marred by his sin. It is what he knew of the character of God as holy that caused him, when he heard that voice calling to him, to run, because of the dread and terror God’s voice elicited.
As we read through the Scriptures we find such phrases as “the fierceness of [God’s] anger” (Isaiah 42:25) and “the fire of [his] wrath” (Ezekiel 21:31). We read such expressions as “wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil” in Romans 2:9 and, in II Thessalonians 1:8-9, “in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, . . . who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction.” What do such expressions and statements communicate to us? It is the biblical concept that when Omnipotence is wielding the sword of vengeance, and the infinite God takes the finite creature into His hands for judgment, that creature ought to tremble with horror and with dread. For it is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And it is only ignorance of the character of God, or a spiritual insanity, that would keep a man from this type of fear of God if he were in the path of the judgment of God.
What would you think if you saw a man walking down a railroad track, and a train, about 100 yards away, was bearing down on him at 50 miles per hour, yet the man just kept walking right down the center of the track, toward the oncoming train, whistling Yankee Doodle? You would conclude that one of two things is wrong with that man: either he is blind and deaf and therefore utterly ignorant of what is about to overtake him and completely destroy him; or, if he has eyes and ears and all his senses, he is insane. For whatever reason, he cannot relate the onrush of those tons of steel at that speed to what it will do to his body—to his life. He is a man either completely oblivious or insane, who has failed to be able to perceive and/or relate facts that are obvious to everyone else. He is out of touch with reality, so he has no fear. In the same way, the only reason any unconverted person does not find himself gripped with a constant terror and dread of God is that he is either blind or insane. He is blind to the character of the God of the Bible or, having been made acquainted with that character, he is so filled with spiritual insanity that he can make no connection between the fury of God’s wrath and his own reception of that wrath in judgment.
Are you reading these words as a stranger to the God of heaven? Have you never entered into a saving union with Jesus Christ? You know that it is difficult to shove out of your mind this aspect of the dread and terror of God. No man likes to live in dread and terror. Every son of Adam, prior to a work of God’s grace in his heart, tries to rid himself of that terror. What is he doing? He is trying to convince himself that the locomotive is only a papier-mache plaything, and he tampers with the character of God. He will convince himself that God loves His creatures too much to destroy them.
I once read some sermons preached by a minister in a liberal church on the subject of the future life. At one point he said, “Now, of one thing I am absolutely sure: God would never send one of His creatures to hell. That I know.” One would expect a man to back up such a dogmatic assertion with Scripture, but he did not produce one verse from Scripture to prove his claim! What was he doing? He was standing on the tracks, beholding the train coming, knowing it will destroy him, yet trying to convince himself that it’s not a train made of tons of steel that will crush him. He tells himself—and, in his case, others—that it is simply a mirage. That is what lies behind all the attempts to change the character of God, because men don’t like to live with terror and with dread.
Even the heathen man who has never seen the Bible has something of this terror and dread. You read about it in Romans 1:32: “who knowing the judgment of God.” You read about it in Romans 2:15: “their conscience accusing them.” Yet men continue to tell themselves that the train of judgment is not coming—no, it’s just a mirage. They will either seek to change the character of God, or they will find some way to so utterly blunt their senses that they can remove these thoughts completely from their minds.
What makes incessant television watching such a national pastime in our own country and in other places where people have easy access to TV? I suggest that the main reason behind it is this: to avoid facing the reality of God’s judgment. Men don’t want to leave themselves alone with their thoughts for five minutes. Unless the conscience has been totally seared, they hear the rumbling of the wheels of an onrushing God, coming to judge, and they see themselves upon the tracks. They do not believe in God. But they possess at least some apprehension of the character of God as holy, and of the fact that they are in the way of judgment. They reason, “If only I can so fill my mind with other things between now and then, I won’t have any agony until it overtakes me.” So they become obsessed with noise and activity.
The Legitimacy of Dread and Terror in the Child of God
The next question is, What about the child of God who knows he is accepted in the Beloved One, the person who knows that the train of judgment has crushed his Lord but will never crush him? Should a child of God, who knows that there is no condemnation for him in Christ Jesus, experience any of this aspect of the fear of God? Should he know any dread, any terror? I answer with an emphatic “Yes,” and I will demonstrate from Scripture why.
Even before Adam sinned, this element of the fear of God was intended to be part of what deterred him from sin, for God gave the command and couched it in the form of a threat. He said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it” (Genesis 2:16-17). The Lord could have stopped at the point of having simply given the command; but to enforce the command and to give added motivation to obedience, what did He do? He made a threat. He said, in effect, “For if you begin to contemplate eating that tree Adam, listen: in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Adam, if you have any dread of Me as a God of judgment don’t eat, or you are going to put yourself on the train track of My judgment” (cf. Genesis 2:17b).
If the fear of judgment was a legitimate motive for a man in an unfallen state, how much more for us who are in a redeemed state, but not yet perfected. The sin that is still within us and about us can have terrible, terrible effects upon us and bring great reproach to the Name of our God and cause us to be wounded and pierced through in many ways by God’s chastening hand. It is not surprising then to find saints confessing that they fear God’s judgments in both the Old and the New Testaments.
Consider Psalm 119:120: “My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.” This is the nine-year-old-looking-at-the-bully-on-the-street-corner variety of trembling. This is not the trembling of awe; David mentions that in other places. But here, he is contemplating God’s judgments. He is contemplating what it would be like when this God whom he knows by divine revelation—this God whom he has come to see and love in all the magnitude and glory of His holiness and power—takes men in hand for judgment. Just the contemplation of it, he says, causes his flesh to tremble! The believer has a greater and more accurate view of the character of God than the non-Christian. And when he contemplates those darker sides of God’s character as they relate to judgment, he cannot help but tremble, because he knows God is true.
People object to such teaching and say, “That’s the Old Testament.” Does the New Testament present us with a different perspective? Not at all. In fact, the New Testament only enforces this perspective. We read in I Peter 1:17 this clear command of Scripture: “And if ye call on Him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear.” That is, never permit yourself to become irresponsibly happy and so flippantly over-confident that you forget you are dealing with a God who judges without respect of persons. Let there be something of holy dread about you throughout the entirety of your days.
Should the child of God be characterized by this aspect of fear? Yes, he should. The fear of dread is not to be the dominant element of the fear of God in the Christian, but it is nonetheless a vital part of what comprises the fear of the Lord, which is the chief part of wisdom.
The Crucial Nature of this Dread and Terror
As you ponder this subject of the fear of God, do you do so as a stranger to vital union with Christ and to the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit? Do you bear no marks of a saving union with Christ and of true discipleship? Have you no dread of God’s awful judgment? Do you believe that God is the God He has revealed Himself to be in Scripture? If He is that God, then His judgments are bearing down upon you just like the train bearing down upon that man on the track. Can you contemplate that reality without any inward trembling? Can you consider the onrushing judgment of God and remain a stranger to grace and to the cleansing of the blood of Christ, which alone can save you from that judgment? Will you close this book ignorant? . . . or spiritually insane? Do you resent the thought that someone would attempt to scare you into becoming a Christian? Suppose someone were to yell to that man on the tracks, “Man, a train is coming, get off the tracks!” Would he not be trying to scare him out of the way? Indeed, he would be! But he would not be scaring him with a phantom terror. He would be scaring him with naked realities, the reality of hardened steel that will crush his throbbing flesh.
So, when you hear the warning, “Flee from the wrath to come!”, you ought to repent! Give yourself no rest until you know that you are joined to Christ. The time between now and the day of judgment will be but a few short seconds as God reckons time. Should you die an untimely death, that day will come even more swiftly for you. May God grant that you will fear with a fear that will cause you to flee from your sin and from His wrath and judgment.
And for the people of God, let us not be caught up in the notion that the essence of spirituality is the measure to which we can carelessly disregard the judgments of the Almighty God and the terror of the Lord. As one has said, humility, contrition and lowliness of mind are the essence of biblical godliness. The dispositional complex which is characterized by these fruits of the Spirit is one that must embrace the fear and trembling that reflect our consciousness of our sin and frailty. The piety of the New Testament is totally alien to the presumption of the person who is a stranger to a contrite heart. And it is alien to the confidence of the person who never takes account of the holy and just judgments of God. A wholesome, holy dread is no small part of our motivation to persevere in the faith. When sin becomes so seductive and attractive in its overtures, and it seems as though the reality of a dying Savior and all the other motives of grace have suddenly been cut off in our minds and hearts, this is one motive that God often uses to awaken his children. The familiar warning, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), was written to believers—the saints in the church at Rome.
Finally, this fear should motivate us not only with reference to ourselves. The apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:10-11, “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ…. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” If you see the train bearing down on another man, you don’t stand there and whistle and say, “Well, at least it’s not going to hit me.” Just the thought of what the train will do to him will make you tremble. Likewise, the child of God who has been rescued from the tracks and knows from what he has been delivered cannot help but tremble as he beholds the train of God’s fury and wrath bearing down upon others. Thus, the terror of the Lord becomes part of the motivation to persuade men to flee the wrath to come.
May God grant that this aspect of His fear will become an increasing part of our heart and our thinking. And may it have its commensurate effect in our lives. The presence of this dread and terror is no evidence of grace. You may, like Felix, tremble and still be impenitent (Acts 24:25). But it is doubtful there is any grace where this fear is not present, for grace has introduced you to the knowledge of God, the God who is terrible in His judgment.
The Fear of Veneration and Awe
Without negating or diluting that first facet of the fear of God—the fear of terror and dread—nevertheless, it is the second aspect of fear—the fear of veneration and reverential awe—which is the dominant theme of Holy Scripture. When Scripture says, “The fear of the Lord is the chief part of knowledge,” it is not so much the fear of terror and of dread that is in view, but the fear of veneration, of awe and of reverence. It is this fear which God says He will put into the hearts of men in the blessings of the New Covenant and which will cause them to adhere to His ways and to keep His statutes.
Old Testament Examples
Genesis 28
What must there be in a man if he is to have this fear of God—the fear of dread and of terror, but primarily the fear of awe and of reverence? We may think through this second aspect of the fear of God by considering some biblical examples of it. We begin with Jacob. In Genesis 28:12-22, we have the familiar account of Jacob’s dream. In his dream he sees a ladder and angels ascending and descending upon the ladder. In the midst of this very strange vision, he hears the voice of Jehovah, the God of the covenant, who comes to renew that covenant with Jacob. When he awakes from his dream and begins to reflect upon it, he comes to certain conclusions.
His first conclusion is stated very clearly in verse 16: “Surely Jehovah is in this place; and I knew it not.” He said, “I came out and camped under the open skies, and I had no thought of the immediate presence of God—but I was mistaken.” He said, “The Lord Himself is in this place, and I was unaware of it.” Then his consciousness reflects upon the fact that the Lord Jehovah, the great God of Creation, the great God of covenant-making and covenant-keeping promise, has indeed been there and that he has actually been in His presence. Then the reflex action of his whole being is this: “And he was afraid, and said, ‘How dreadful is this place!’” (verse 17). That is, “If God is here, and if He is the God He declared Himself to be in my vision—the God of Abraham and of Isaac, the God of creation, the great God of my fathers—and if I am what I know myself to be—Jacob, a fallen son of Adam, a weak creature of the dust—that I should be in the presence of this great God . . . how dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven.”
Is this fear that Jacob exhibits a fear of terror and of anguish that makes him want to run? No; for the subsequent paragraph indicates that it was a fear that was coupled with the tenderest characteristics of trust in the faithfulness of God and of confidence in the love and mercy of God. It is a fear that is perfectly consistent with trust and love. For he then raises a pillar, and he says it will be a monument to the faithfulness of this same God whose presence is dreadful, but who will nonetheless care for him, fulfill His promise and bring him again to this place. And out of gratitude to Him, Jacob vows to give Him the tenth of all that he possesses.
This is a beautiful and clear example of this second aspect of the fear of God. Though it says that he was afraid, and though Jacob even uses the term “dreadful,” his was not that dread and terror that makes a man want to run from the object, like a little boy runs from a bully. It is a dread and a fear that is perfectly consistent with a desire to be in the presence of the object of it and to render to that object honor and worship, love and obedience.
Exodus 3
Another illustration is in Exodus chapter 3. It is a familiar story:
Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb. And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, “Moses, Moses.” And he said, “Here am I.” And he said, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Moreover he said, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:1-6).
Here is Moses, out tending sheep. Suddenly, he notices a bush that has burst into flames. He wants to figure out why the bush is burning but not being consumed. That is the only reason Scripture gives as to why he turns aside. A natural phenomenon caught his eye, and he is curious. But God says, “Moses, don’t even think of coming near just to do a little scientific investigation. I, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, have a word to say to you.” And when Moses recognized that God was there, we are told that, instead of going over and analyzing the bush, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God (verse 6).
Here is a clear statement that Moses was filled with a fear and a dread of God. But was it a fear that made him want to run from God? No. For that same God then reveals His compassion for His people and His purpose to deliver them (verses 7-8). And rather than run from Him, as Adam did, Moses drew near with true reverence to commune with God and talk with Him face to face. So the dread of God that caused Moses to hide his face is not the least bit inconsistent with the most intimate dealings with God. Moses hides his face, yet Moses talks with God. It is a fear of reverential awe, of veneration and of honor.
Isaiah 6
The last example for us to consider in the Old Testament is in Isaiah, chapter 6, another familiar passage:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, “Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts” (Isaiah 6:1-5).
Both the prophet and the celestial hosts looked upon the same object. What is the reaction of the seraphim as they behold this sight of God? They are filled with a holy restlessness. They cannot, as it were, pause and fix their position before the throne, but it says they fly about the throne. Further, they cover their feet and their faces. They are some form of angelic manifestation who have never known sin, yet in the presence of that great God, they veil their faces. As Moses hid his face and said, “I am afraid to look upon God,” so they hide their faces and cover their feet, overcome, filled with awe at the holiness of God. And they cry one to another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts. The whole earth is filled with His glory.”
Of course, there is no indication of any sense of grief or self-effacing shame because of sin on the part of the seraphim. But that is not the case when the prophet looks upon this same God. For when he beholds the same object the seraphim saw, he is not only overcome by the immensity and the transcendent majesty of God in His holiness, but there is an added dimension. There is this reflex action of grief, self-effacing shame, conviction and contrition. For this is not just a creature like the seraphim, looking upon the exalted Creator; this is a sinful creature looking upon the Holy God. Therefore, the only fitting reaction is a fear of reverential awe that is mingled with the sense of uncleanness, which in turn produces conviction and contrition.
This is the only disposition fitting for a sinful creature who gazes upon a Holy God. Seraphim may veil their faces and cry, “Holy, holy, holy” with no shame of sin. But you and I can’t. And if it is incongruous and out of place for sinless beings like seraphim to be in the presence of God without this reverential awe, how much more is it out of place for sinful men and women, laden with iniquity, to draw near to His presence without that reverence and godly fear coupled with a deep sense of self-effacing shame because of our sin.
New Testament Example
Someone may object once again, “But that’s the climate of the Old Testament. In the Lord Jesus there has come an overshadowing revelation of the softer lines of God’s character.” Is that true? One account in the gospels will forever abolish such a thought. In the Gospel according to Luke, we have an incident in the life of our Lord Jesus, who came for the express purpose of revealing the Father. (As He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” [John 14:9]. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” [John 1:18].) It is a familiar incident, in which Peter and his friends have been fishing all night and have caught nothing.
And Simon answered and said, “Master, we toiled all night, and took nothing: but at thy word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking; and they beckoned unto their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was amazed, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken; and so were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left all, and followed him (Luke 5:5-11).
How can we bring these two apparently contradictory reactions together? “‘Depart from me, Lord, I’m a sinful man’” and “they left all and followed Him.” What had happened to Peter? Peter got the message of this act of our Lord. He saw behind the fact that the net was put down and a great multitude of fishes were enclosed. He recognized—to what degree at this point we do not know—that the One who did this, can be none other than the Son of God, the Messiah. When that recognition dawned upon him, his reaction was to fall at His feet, overcome with the sense of reverential awe and dread that made him blurt out, “Depart from me, Lord. It is not fit that I should be in such close proximity to you!” Yet that very reaction was coupled with the most intense longing to be with Him—so much so that he leaves his business, his home, his friends and follows Him.
There is no clashing of concepts here. Without these two concepts being present in the heart of a man, it is doubtful if there is any true attachment to the Christ of the Scriptures. It is a faulty notion that we can just snuggle up to Jesus and feel so much at home with Him, without any sense of our sinfulness making us want to cry out, “Depart from me, Lord; it is not fit that you and I should enter into an intimate relationship.” And yet, wonder of wonders, He so revealed to us the heart of God in its love and forgiveness that we cling to Him. And like these disciples we are, by His grace, willing to forsake all to follow Him.
It is a repetition, in a sense, of Isaiah chapter 6. Here is not only a creature in the presence of Deity but also a sinful creature who senses that something is wrong that he should be so close to the holy God. “Depart from me, Lord.” And yet at the same time, when the commission comes, there is the glad response, even as there was with Isaiah. There is a fear unlike that fear of dread and of terror that makes the person want to run from its object. This dread, this fear, this awe, this reverential veneration is perfectly consistent with attachment and with love.
Summary
In summarizing, I believe it is accurate to say that the fear of God, which is the soul of godliness, is a fear that consists in awe, reverence, honor and worship, and all of these things in the highest level of their exercise. It is the reaction of our minds and spirits to a sight of God in His majesty and His holiness. As John Murray has so accurately said in seeking to define the fear of God, “The controlling sense of the majesty and holiness of God and the profound reverence which this apprehension draws forth constitute the essence of the fear of God.” John Brown gives this definition in his exposition of II Peter: “The fear of God consists in cherishing an awesome sense of the infinite grandeur and excellence corresponding to the revelation God has made of these things in His Word and in His works, inducing in us a conviction that the favor of that God is the greatest of all blessings, and His disfavor is the greatest of all evils.”
The practical effect of all of this is clearly seen when the Apostle Paul, describing the state of all men by nature, gives a pivotal and capstone description of the state of unconverted men in Romans 3:18: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Do you live a life of utter indifference to the claims of God’s holy law and to the overtures of the Gospel of His dear Son? Do you know why you live that way? It is because you do not live life with the fear of God before your eyes. You do not have a sight and sense of His infinite glory and majesty, eliciting from your heart that longing to walk so as to please Him and never to walk in a way that would displease Him. That’s why you live the way you do. There is no fear of God before your eyes. You look out at life and at what you want; you set yourself in a way to obtain it. What your lusts dictate, you do. What your desires and appetites crave, you pursue. The fear of God—that controlling sense of His majesty and holiness and the profound reverence that it draws forth—is nothing to you. No part of it dwells in you. If that is the case with you, my friend, may God by His Spirit teach you the fear of the Lord before it is too late (Psalm 34:11; Proverbs 2:1-5).
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