Fear (Part 1)

Old Testament words for fear

One of the words for fear, Yir’ah (Hebrew) means reverence and awe. In this sense, fear is a good thing.

Ps 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

"Fear is a natural and, in its purpose, beneficent feeling, arising in the presence or anticipation of danger, and moving to its avoidance; it is also awakened in the presence of superiors and of striking manifestations of power, etc., taking the form of awe or reverence.”

(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)

My father believed in corporal discipline. There were clearly set parameters and I knew if I stepped over the line and got caught I was going to get a spanking. He wasn’t abusive, and it wasn’t often but when I pushed things too far I would get punished. I can remember a handful of times in my life when I got spanked. I clearly remember the last time. I was in my early teens when my father installed new light fixtures in the car port. He told me not to play ball in there because they were glass and they would break. However, I was very confident in my ball skills, so when the car wasn’t there I would bounce the ball against the wall and catch it. That is until one day when it bounced up in the air, caught the light fixture and I remember the glass cover falling to the ground as if in slow motion. I remember crouching in dread. When my father got home, he immediately saw what had happened and asked me if I had broken the glass. I was caught and had to tell him the truth. He looked at me and told me to go into my room and kneel by my bed and wait for him. I don’t know how long I waited, but the wait was worse than the spanking. He came in and we went over what happened and he asked if I knew why I was getting spanked. I answered yes and then he delivered the punishment. He never, ever had to lay a hand on me again.

There were times when I went away to college that the thought of my father finding out what I was doing kept me out of trouble. Now please understand, I wasn’t afraid of my father. He wasn’t abusive. However, I didn’t want to disappoint him or suffer his wrath if I messed up. This is the kind of “fear” that this passage is talking about.

We want our children to be afraid of touching a hot stove; we want them to be afraid of traffic so we teach them to look both ways before crossing. We want them to be afraid of strangers so we teach them not to talk to strangers. In all these ways, fear can be a healthy thing that keeps us from harm.

Another Hebrew word for fear is pachad (pakh’ad). This is the word for sudden alarm. This what causes you to react quickly in the face of a crisis. It is a warning that if not heeded can bring about terrible consequences.

1 Sam 11:7

He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man.

This is more tangible fear, but one that can have positive results if the proper steps are taken.

Yaré begins a trend towards the negative implications of fear. It is the first step that the enemy uses against us to neutralize us in spiritual warfare. This is when the enemy causes us to be timid, he paralyzes us with fear.

Deut 20:8-9

Then the officers shall add, "Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his brothers will not become disheartened too."

Judg 7:3

3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

Mahar is a word that literally translated means to turn liquid. It is when someone melts with fear and as a result tends to act hastily or to flee.

Isa 35:3-4

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come,

The enemy wants you to turn tail even before you engage in battle.