Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• Acts 9:31
• Ephesians 5:21
• Matthew 10:28
• 1 Peter 2:17

Key OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 6:13
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 10:20
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 24:16
  Jewish Commentary
• Numbers 1:17
  Jewish Commentary

Supportive NT Scriptures

• 2 Corinthians 5:11
• Hebrews 12:28-29
• 1 Peter 1:17
• Philippians 2:12

Supportive OT Scriptures

• Isaiah 8:11-13
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 11:3
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 66:1-2
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 1:7
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 8:13
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 10:27
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 14:26-27
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 16:6
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 19:23
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 22:4
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 19:10
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 36:2
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 89:7-8
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 103:17-18
  Jewish Commentary

Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent

Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

Scripture tells us that God is our Heavenly Father, that we are His created
children, and that He wants us to have a loving relationship with Him. At the
same time, we are not to approach Him with the same kind of comfortable
familiarity as we would a peer, but with awesome respect, having full
knowledge of His power. This is easier to understand for those of us who have (or had) godly and
loving parents here on earth, because we have experienced, in the natural,
what good fathers and mothers are like, and we are able to transfer our
understanding to our relationship with God. It is more difficult (and even
counter-intuitive) for those of us who have not had good parental
experiences, so we must glean our understanding from the words of Scripture,
and from what others tell us and teach us. The attributes of God disclosed in Scripture are many, and often seem
contradictory. God is compassionate, yet He executes judgment. God loves,
yet He punishes. So when we read in Deuteronomy 6:5 " ... you are
to love ADONAI your God with all your heart ... ", and then read in
Scriptures like Deuteronomy 6:13 " ... You are to fear ADONAI your
God ... ", we may not know what to think. The problem is partially that our English language Bibles tend to use the
word "fear" to translate different underlying Hebrew and Greek words used in
different kinds of situations. So, for example, the derivative of ( yarei ) that is
applied to God in Deuteronomy 6:13 means "reverend fear" - the kind
that holds God in awe, deference, and honor. Yes, the word can also mean to
be afraid of God but, when it is used that way, it is meant as a warning to
sinners who ought to be afraid. It is a different kind of fear that is referred to in 2 Timothy 1:7 ,
which the NKJ version translates: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and
of a sound mind. Here, the Greek word for "fear" δειλία ( deiliah ), which has a different connotation than ( yarei ) in that it
means a lack of courage, cowardice, or timidity. Other Greek words such as φόβoς ( phabas ) and φoβέω ( phabei-oh ) in 2 Corinthians 5:11 and 1 Peter 2:17 respectively, have connotations similar to ( yarei ). In addition to the lexical evidence that fearing God (for an obedient
believer) should not mean being afraid of Him, we also have textual evidence
for the same premise. A Scripture that strongly implies this is Proverbs
22:4 ; it informs us that "fear of God" ("fear" being derived from ) is a reward that results
from our being humble. In other words, it is a good thing - not something
to be dreaded. Another Scripture that implies something similar is Ephesians 5:21 that tells us to " submit to one another in fear of
the Messiah " ("fear" here is φόβoς). There
is no other place in the New
Covenant Scriptures that suggests that we should be afraid of Messiah Yeshua
and, in fact, everything we read about Him suggests the opposite. Therefore
"fear of the Messiah" (and therefore φόβoς in this context) could not mean being
afraid and must, instead, be referring to a character virtue.

Classical commentators

Maimonides does not say that we are to fear God, but rather that we are to believe in the fear of God, and be expectant of his punishment at all times. He then launches into a discussion of blaspheming, and pronouncing the Name of God in vain as it is related to fearing Him. Meir states that we must fear God, and that the path to fear and love are the same. He also refers to "reverend fear" that requires that we not pronounce God's Holy Name in vain or without purpose. HaChinuch also uses the term "reverend fear", and warns us to fear God's punishment if we sin. Like Maimonides (and to a lesser extent Meir), HaChinuch spends a considerable proportion of his writing on our not blaspheming or speaking the Lord's Name in vain. The connection that both he and Maimonides make to fearing God is that, doing either, results in our losing the kind of reverend fear of God that God requires. Maimonides and HaChinuch emphasize an expectation and fear of God's punishment, whereas this Mitzvah emphasizes a reverend and loving fear of God, with the hope and expectation of our not sinning. Maimonides also speaks of not speaking God's Name in vain. Although all three commentators state that we are not to speak God's Name in vain, none of them make reference to the third of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:7 3 . Also, even though it is a reality that if one sins, punishment is likely to follow, I do not believe it is the intended meaning of the Commandment to fear God. Perhaps the difference in my approach has to do with my belief that we are exclusively in and subject to the New Covenant. The New Covenant acknowledges the possibility that a believer in God and Messiah will sin, but it does not assume it. This is unambiguously taught in 1 John 2:1 : My children, I am writing you these things so that you won't sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Yeshua the Messiah, the Tzaddik, who pleads our cause with the Father. 3. For a discussion of Exodus 20:7 , see Mitzvah # A6 of this compilation.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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