Whenever someone mentioned “the fear of the Lord,” Ethan would smile patiently and explain, “Fear doesn’t mean being afraid. It just means deep admiration and respect, like how you admire a brilliant leader or a benevolent king. We’re supposed to stand in awe of God’s love and kindness. That’s what fearing Him really means.”
He said it so often that people in his small group started repeating it. Ethan felt good about helping people move past what he called “unhealthy, Old Testament ideas of God.”
Because of this belief, Ethan lived with a very relaxed faith. He prayed casually — sometimes while scrolling on his phone. He watched shows and movies that used to bother his conscience, telling himself, “God knows I admire Him. He’s not looking for me to be perfect.” When he felt convicted about his temper or his habit of stretching the truth at work, he brushed it aside. “Admiration is what matters. God sees my heart.”
One Wednesday night, his small group was studying Isaiah 6. When they read about the seraphim crying “Holy, holy, holy,” and Isaiah falling on his face saying, “Woe is me! For I am lost,” Ethan spoke up. “This proves my point. Isaiah was just overwhelmed by how amazing God is. It’s the ultimate form of admiration. That’s what fearing God looks like.” No one argued with him.
A few weeks later, Ethan’s life began to quietly unravel. His marriage had been struggling for some time, mostly because of his sharp tongue and emotional distance. One night after a particularly ugly argument, his wife said something that stayed with him: “You say you admire God, Ethan. But you don’t seem very afraid of disappointing Him.”
Many Christians today reject the idea that we have to be afraid of God. They insist that the fear of God means admiring Him. However, the 17th chapter of Numbers illustrates something we see throughout the Bible. Every human, including every Christian, should be afraid to disobey God.
The 16th chapter of Numbers tells us about a rebellion led by Korah, a Levite. Korah wanted to be equal to the priests. He and his fellow rebels challenged the authority of Moses and Aaron. Yahweh responded by opening the earth to swallow Korah and the leaders of the rebellion. Then He sent fire to consume 250 other men who had joined the insurrection.
Num. 17:1 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num. 17:2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod,
There was a rod for each tribe of Israel.
Num. 17:3 and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households.
Num. 17:4 You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony, where I meet with you.
Num. 17:5 And it will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will rid Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.”
Look at the word “rid”. This was Yahweh’s plan to put an end to the grumblings. Yahweh had chosen Moses to lead Israel. He had chosen Aaron and his descendants to serve as priests. Korah’s rebellion had questioned the legitimacy of those choices. The rods were part of Yahweh’s plan to eliminate any doubt about who was to be the leaders and priests of Israel.
Num. 17:6 Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods.
Num. 17:7 So Moses deposited the rods before Yahweh in the tent of the testimony.
Num. 17:8 ¶ Now it happened on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced flowers, and it bore ripe almonds.
Aaron’s rod could only have budded and produced blossoms if Yahweh had miraculously intervened.
Num. 17:9 Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of Yahweh to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.
Num. 17:10 But Yahweh said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.”
Num. 17:11 Thus Moses did; just as Yahweh had commanded him, so he did.
Num. 17:12 ¶ Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, we are breathing our last breath, we are perishing, we are all perishing!
Num. 17:13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of Yahweh, must die. Are we to breathe our utter last?”
The sons of Israel finally grasped the reality of God. They were afraid of dying. They had questioned God’s choices. They had seen Yahweh kill those who rebelled against Yahweh. Thus, they were now afraid they were going to die. This is true fear of God. They were afraid to disobey and disappoint Yahweh.
Num. 18:1 ¶ So Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s household with you shall bear the guilt in connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt in connection with your priesthood.
Num. 18:2 But bring near with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and minister to you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.
Num. 18:3 And they shall thus keep your responsibility and the responsibility of all the tent, but they shall not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, so that neither they nor you will die.
Notice the word “die”. There were consequences for failing to obey Yahweh’s rules about the tent of meeting.
Num. 18:4 And they shall be joined with you and keep the responsibility of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but an outsider may not come near you.
Num. 18:5 So you shall keep the responsibility of the sanctuary and the responsibility of the altar, so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel.
Look at the word “wrath”. Failing to obey Yahweh would bring wrath. This meant the Israelites had to be afraid to disobey Yahweh.
Num. 18:6 And behold, I Myself have taken your brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are a gift to you, given to Yahweh, to perform the service for the tent of meeting.
Num. 18:7 But you and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood in everything that concerns the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as a bestowed service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
In this verse we see the word “death”. This is one more reminder that failing to obey Yahweh can have dire consequences, meaning humans should be afraid to disobey God.
Many Christians today think the fear of God does not mean being afraid. Instead, they think the fear of God merely means admiring God. However, just as the Israelites faced death if they disobeyed Yahweh’s rules for how to treat the tabernacle, so too the New Testament tells us that every person, including every Christian, will appear before the judgment seat of Christ in order to be recompensed for every deed, whether good or bad (see 2 Corinthians 5:10).
The fear of God means every non-Christian should be afraid of going to hell. Christians do not need to fear hell, but the fear of God does mean every Christian should be afraid to disobey and disappoint God.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”