Fear the Lord. No Other Word Will Do the Trick.
“Even close relatives like ‘awe’ and ‘reverence’ don’t quite capture the passionate intensity of trembling in the presence of a holy God.” - C.Today
I have not read the book, just the review. But, after reading the review, I don’t think I would want to read the book.
I think the fear of God takes a different direction than being struck by His love. I agree that the fear of the Lord is not just reverence.
I think the fear of the Lord is a fear of God’s disapproval, His stern look, if you will. And it is also a fear of His discipline and a fear of disturbing our relational closeness (remedied by confession, according to I John 1:8-9). It is also a fear of being ashamed before Him (I John 2:28). It motivates us to persuade others toward right or toward Christ (2 Corinthians 5:11). Passage that speak about the judgment seat of Christ suggest that fearing the Lord is fearing His judgment of we who know Him (Romans 14:10 as an example of motivation via fear of God’s judgment of believers). His judgment, even of the believer, is supposed ot be fearful. We have somehow lost this concept.
Consider Revelation 2:5, where the fear of the Lord removing His blessing is to motivate the people of a church to repent.
Romans 13:2 admonishes believer to live in fear of God’s judgment, and thus make the effort to respect authority:
Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
"The Midrash Detective"
Discussion