Fear – Genesis 22:12 (NKJV) vs Genesis 26:24 (NKJV)

 

“And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

 

“And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.”

 

The Hebrew word fear in these two verses is yare which is both a verb and adjective. There’s also a noun version: yira. It can be used in a way that isn’t easily understood in English. But we have two different contexts. In the first verse, the Angel of God is telling Abraham to not sacrifice his son on an altar after being instructed to do so. That obedience is the result of Abraham’s “fear” or “awe” of God. In the second verse God is now comforting to that same son, Issac, with the promise of His presence. That promise of supernatural companionship is supposed to be valued over the very rational growing fear due to the escalating human conflict Issac finds himself in as a wanderer in a foreign land.   

 

So we have one word in one language that reliably translates to several in English. There’s one that means to be afraid and there’s another of reverence. [Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. – Ps 66:3 ] The word awesome in the Hebrew is once again yare. The arrogant thing to do is dismiss Hebrew by considering it lacking in dexterity, that it’s a limited language in regards to expression. I’d like to make a different assumption. What if God in His Bible is showing us a principle about ourselves, our psychology and behavior?

 

What if that which humanity finds itself afraid of, they serve, whether aware or unaware? Serve in its simplest terms means to perform duty for. What a human fears, they perform a certain way for. Do humans not allow awe to modify their behavior as well? What if fear and reverence are two sides of the same behavior modification coin, albeit in different contexts? What if fear is the awe of the unknown and awe is the fear of what we understand? Joshua is commanded to not be afraid of the human enemies he was about to face on the battlefield. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9  However God Himself IS to be feared and Joshua was commanded to do so in several verses in Leviticus chapters 19 & 25. What on the surface presents as a contradiction becomes clear principles upon closer inspection. God wants to be the main catalyst in humanity’s behavior modification and as we know fear is an effective behavior modification tool.

 

How does fear shape human behavior? It makes one careful and cautious. Like how a little child treats the imaginary monster under their bed or the way an adult observes lightning in a storm. Both are in a situation that elicits a form of trepidation, but in the English language the way we use the word fear versus the word awe, there is a presumption of whether there is knowledge, control or understanding. The child who is scared of the monster under the bed, has the word fear attached because the child doesn’t believe they are in control of their safety, whereas the adult who is observing the thunderstorm from the comfort of their screened in porch believes that they are in control of their safety. The imaginary monster and the very real lightning bolt elicit that same fight or flight response however, the belief systems are diametrically different. Fear is something humans try to deny, avoid, control or overcome. Awe/reverence is something humans are attracted to, seek, let be and submit to. Both seem similar to our flesh but our belief dictates the response to that feeling. Our faith or lack thereof matters in how we determine our next course of actions. 

 

How would you give if you believed God would never let you go hungry? How would you love if you believed God would never let you feel alone? How would you trust if you believed that God paid so close attention to you that He knew the very number of hairs on your head? When we see fear in the Bible, we see a choice of belief systems. Who or what do you REALLY believe is in control? 

 

Do we fear what man can do to us? Or God? “In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? – Ps 56:11 Do we dress modestly the way God commands us or do we fear what the world will say about our lack of fashion sense? Do we forgive people the way God commands us or do we fear how humanity will continue to mistreat us? Do we look with awe at all the riches of the world that one may gain for selling their soul? Or do we fear that we might miss out on a timeless treasure because we gave too much importance to things that moths and worms can spoil? We have a choice of what we fear and are in awe of. In God we can be in awe of what we understand of Him and fear what we don’t. In fact, that mental posture is the beginning of wisdom according to Scripture. [The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. – Ps 111:10]  Because you’ve gotten to the place where you understand you don’t have to know how everything will work out to have faith that God WILL work it out to the good of those who trust and believe in Him. 

 

Fear is something that changes our behavior, what source will you choose? God or man? The spiritual or carnal?