Obviously the thought behind it was to emphasize the "hold fast to Him" part, which is a wonderful thing that we all must be doing. The thing that struck me though, and i don't believe that the artist or Heartlight was trying to de-emphasize this, but i know that i, especially in speaking to and with others, have de-emphasized this. To be honest and risk sounding clever, i have fear of the phrase "fear the Lord." I spend a lot of energy telling people that it doesn't really mean "fear" as we know it or understand and have played down the seriousness of the word "fear." Here's the Hebrew lesson for the day. The word fear in the Hebrew is transliterated "yaw-ray' " (i would use the Hebrew alphabet if i could figure out how to use it in this forum). The definition is:
to fear, revere, be afraid
(Qal or plain)
to fear, be afraid
to stand in awe of, be awed
to fear, reverence, honour, respect
(Niphal or passive)
to be fearful, be dreadful, be feared
to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe
to inspire reverence or godly fear or awe
(Piel or causative)
to make afraid, terrify
to shoot, pour
That is probably more info than you cared to have but i am a new student and feel i might make things more complicated, but with this word, "fear", i want to know more about. i want to understand because obviously this is an important idea because God chose to use this verb to speak about how we view Him and relate to Him so often in the Bible. To me, the frequency of a subject or idea in the Word denotes its importance. Basically, the things that are really important to God are mentioned quite frequently so we don't have to leave things up for guessing about how important it is (something to consider in other topics we deem the utmost importance.) When i went looking for other verses to find how that word yaw-ray' is used in the Bible, i found one time it was used in 2 Samuel 11:24 (NASB) "Moreover, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead ." yaw-ray' is the 'archers shot' in the verse. For those on the front line with the innocent man Uriah, whom David wrongly sent to his death, those arrows being shot from the wall was something to fear, it was a very fearful thing. It was a danger that those attacking the wall needed to to be aware of as they moved towards their goal. Now i have always been very hesitant to say that God is a very dangerous being that we need to be aware of. The truth is, He is. God is power beyond anything and we are warned in Hebrews 10:31 (NIV) that "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Some translations use fearful instead of dreadful, but the thought is the same. He is someone to be feared. That idea can not be denied.
I have a fear of electricity, a very healthy respect for it. It can, in the right voltage, kill me. It can also knock me out, it could also be used to restart my heart. It powers many things. It is a great tool, but not something that we can abuse or take for granted. When it gets taken away for me, it can totally disrupt my life. It is something that, used in the right way, greatly benefits me, but abused, it can do great harm. Water is the same way. Wind can also be viewed the same way. These are things that are a wonderful blessing and brings about many wonderful things, but also can bring disruption. They need to be feared for what they can do. Do we need to avoid them? No. Does this fear of them a bad thing? No. It has to be there to ensure that they aren't taken for granted or, worse, abused. When i was a child i was warned to keep my hand off the burner. i needed to know how much damage it could bring if i wasn't aware of how i acted around it, whether i acted wrecklessly around it. If i acted in an appropriate way, it could bring about many great things, not just lack of injury but great food.
i am not saying that God is a great tool that is there for our benefit that we need to watch how we act around. i am not saying that God is some kind of impersonal force that we need to respect, but can be harnessed to benefit us. i do think that many approach God in this way. This is a dangerous thing. i am saying that God can bring great blessings if we respect the power that He has. If we don't respect the power He has, terrible things can come about. If i take His power too lightly . . . let's just say, there isn't a very bright history presented in the Bible for those who do that. He is a great God, a Power unlike anything we have ever seen or heard. I fear His power. I fear Him, and that is a wonderful thing. Here is why, He is my God, my King, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Father, my Abba (dadda), my friend. He decided to design and create me. He has decided to adopt me. He has decided to have a relationship with me and has gone through great lengths to have that relationship with me not just for the present time, but for all eternity. i love Him because of that. i love Him even more because of the fear i have of Him, that even though He is so fearful and has such amazing power and abilities, He has decided to be with me. i take great pride in that and i pray that i will only take pride in the Fearful One taking such great interest in me. Regardless of how someone's relationship is with Him, He is One to be feared. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? The answer depends on that someone's relationship with Him.
raymond, a child of the King
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