"My daughter is a very wise young woman. She said she was troubled by the Biblical instruction to "fear" the Lord. She told me that if God is Love, isn't it CRAZY to fear LOVE? She asked, "As a father, do you want me to FEAR you?" Of course I don't, I desire to be loved and respected. So, what does the Bible really mean by Fear the Lord?
Greek and Hebrew words translated as "fear" in the Bible have several different meanings:
The Hebrew verb yare can mean "to fear, to respect, to reverence" and the Hebrew noun yirah "usually refers to the fear of God and is viewed as a positive quality. This fear acknowledges God's good intentions (Ex. 20:20) and makes a person receptive to wisdom and knowledge (Prov. 1:7; 9:10).
The Greek noun phobos can mean "reverential fear" of God, or a wholesome dread of displeasing Him. This is the type of positive, productive fear Luke describes in the early New Testament Church: "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied" (Acts 9:31).
Our home was filled with love as we raised the children but we had rules like never touch the stove, don't cross the street without looking both ways, and don't stick anything into the electrical outlets. The consequences for those, among other things, were SEVERE and I got LOUD in what appeared to be anger. They FEARED ever doing those things again but I did not yell out of anger, I did it out of LOVE. That healthy fear of disobeying me, I hope was the beginning of wisdom for them. I believe the fear of God is the same."
- From Men's Online Bible Study
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